Gigi's Salmorejo
After 20 years working in a multinational medical supply "traveling a lot, eating in different places, knowing different cultures", Pilar Menendez she decided to completely change and follow her “second passion”: the gastronomy . And she decided to bet it all and open a restaurant with “personality and identity” in one of the most gastronomically active neighborhoods in Madrid: ** Chamberí **. "It was very risky because it is a neighborhood full of offers but we want to make a difference," she explains.
Gigi, personality and identity on the plate
That's why she started by giving him a woman's name, Gigi , a name that she liked. “ And the photo of my mother presiding over the premises” she adds. “I needed a name that would impact and give personality to the place. That she was almost a person, different from everything in Madrid, a smaller venue, a humbler project , take a step beyond pre-frozen meals, all those places that are out there now and look the same”.
A smaller, humble project
Gigi opened in May, offering breakfasts, lunches, snacks and dinners . But just two weeks ago, Pilar turned around again to make more of that difference that she wanted. and she found in Fernando Alcala , the chef behind the kitchen at Kava Marbella in Malaga, what he was looking for: "A simple cuisine, very attractive, with influences from different countries."
Simple, attractive, international cuisine
In these two weeks she has turned the letter around and in 'Gigi in December' there are dishes like steak tartare, “a classic recipe with a twist, with a little white garlic”, from the cook's land; a tasty chickpea stew with mushrooms and sausage ; or a rice with baby squid and a surprise ingredient: mint.
Rice with baby squid and mint
Gigi's Steal Tartare
"It's a very simple kitchen, although sometimes doing something simple is not easy," says Fernando Alcalá, who is a lawyer by profession, and like Pilar, one day she decided to dedicate herself to cooking when the opportunity arose to take over the local a family house to set up Kava Marbella . Now, while Kava is closed for the season, he comes to Gigi with new ideas. “The idea here is to neighborhood kitchen a little mestizo with influences from everywhere, a bit of a traveler . Know what you're eating and that people can herd, for me the most important thing is that the plate is empty . There is no reason to innovate in everything we do. Sometimes the classic is rich and it works”.
Fernando goes to the market every day to choose the menu of the day. And the letter will change a little each month. "There will be Gigi in January, Gigi in February... We will change two or three dishes every month, so that everything rotates”, says Alcalá . "The kitchen is something alive."
"The kitchen is something alive"
WHY GO?
Because it endorses the concept of neighborhood cuisine in a cozy place with a simple menu but in which nothing is left over or missing.
ADDITIONAL FEATURES
The breakfast. And the desserts: the panna cotta and cheesecake which your chef is very proud of.
Desserts, a necessary EXTRA at Gigi
IN DATA
Address: wrestler, 13
Telephone: 911 37 31 04
Schedule: From Monday to Friday: 9:00-16:30. Saturday and Sunday: 10:00-17:00. Tuesday and Wednesday: 20:00-00:00. From Thursday to Saturday: 20:00-02:00. Closed Sunday and Monday night.
Half price: 25 euros. Menu of the day: 14.95 euros
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Cozy and unique, this is Gigi