Poulard scallops.
Madrid has entered Phase 2, but Zalacaín, one of the most classic restaurants in the city, will probably remain closed until September. Like all hospitality businesses, they had to close with the beginning of the coronavirus crisis and, like many, have found a way to keep the brand of their gastronomic proposal alive while normality arrives, old or new. A) Yes, They have created ByZeta, Zalacaín's home delivery service.
ByZeta is from Zalacaín, but it is not Zalacaín. “Zalacaín is all one: it is the kitchen and it is the living room. Before all this we already had a home delivery service, they ordered food from us and, in some way, we moved the restaurant, we brought the food with a cook and a waiter, ”he explains. Julio Miralles, chef of this Madrid emblem.
However, now, these new times, demanded another type of home service, one that is simpler, faster and more affordable for everyone, for classic customers who miss Zalacaín and for new customers who always wanted to try their calluses, for example, or its famous steak tartare.
ByZeta, the new Zalacaín home delivery service.
Miralles has elaborated a special and differentiated menu for this new home delivery service (through UberEats or if a customer calls, they take it directly) that can also be ordered and picked up at the premises. Is about a short letter (with new dishes, two side dishes, a dessert, a cocktail and a wine) that the cook has developed according to the packaging in which he will travel and that it is designed so that it arrives home in perfect condition. “The presentation of your business is all those containers. Today's tableware is packaging of home delivery,” he says.
We like to open and unpack little boxes, Julio Miralles is convinced, and for this reason, he has thought of an experience in which the ingredients go, in many cases, separately, better for the product and "more fun" for the customer.
The steak tartare, for example, arrives in parts and for the diner to finish it in their kitchen. “On the one hand, you have a tray with your portion of vacuum-packed meat, another bottle with the emulsion, another with the garnish, and a pipette with the hot sauce. In addition, carry a card with a QR code that directs you to the Instagram video where we explain how to finish preparing it and if you don't want to follow the video, there are written instructions", explains Miralles, a chef with more than 25 years of experience, and who continue at the foot of the canyon in this kitchen at home in Zalacaín.
Garden salad, product, product, product.
"It's not about surviving or reinventing yourself, it's a matter of adaptation to the circumstances that we have had to live ”, he continues. “ByZeta is like a kind of white label, that keeps the Zalacaín brand alive while the restaurant remains closed and that if it works as a business it will be able to continue or even other complementary businesses could be developed under that name”.
Cooking in the background of elaboration, product above all. It is the base of Zalacaín and also of ByZeta's menu: "Simple and tasty dishes", summarizes Julio Miralles. As the vegetable salad with lettuce and sweet and sour peanut vinaigrette; or the Huerta de Carabaña tomato, with mascarpone, Provencal herbs and pine nuts that would serve as starters.
Among the main ones, the aforementioned and famous steak tartar, the “Tellagorri” potato omelette with red sauce; the poularde scallops with watercress and apple salad; grilled sea bass with banana leaf, pineapple samba salad and curry sauce; calluses "byZ"; and the zeta burger (Sirloin meat, pickled onion, pickle, cheddar, lettuce and our sauce). The dessert is some strawberries also from the Huerta de Carabaña. And to pair: the Virgin Mary cocktail and two wines: the red Cvne Reserva 2013, exclusive to the restaurant, or a green Complete menu with Zalacaín seal.
Cañí-style strawberries.
Address: Calle Álvarez de Baena, 4 See map
Schedule: Schedule to order and collect: from 12 to 15 and from 20 to 23 hours. Delivery with UberEats. Pick up at the restaurant.
Additional schedule information: Monday and Sunday night closed.
Half price: Main dishes between 18 and 22 euros.