Viridiana, Buñuel would have wanted it that way
In Madrid 40 years ago the food scene It was very different from what you find today. (Almost) nobody knew what a curry was or that nopales could be part of a dish until Abraham Garcia and his insatiable curiosity brought the fusion cuisine under his arm to his restaurant viridiana .
Thanks to his travels around the world as horse racing commentator (another of his passions) was discovering products and ingredients that he incorporated into his dishes with the same naturalness as the gallop of the thoroughbred.
He turned his clients into exceptional spectators of the arrival of what would later be called fusion cuisine of which Abraham is, without a doubt, a great forerunner.
Provocative, ironic, intelligent, an excellent speaker and a good writer, Abraham is the body, soul and salt of Viridiana . He opened the place after working 13 years in other people's restaurants, a year after the premiere of the film of the same name by the great Luis Buñuel.
The space is coquettish with a certain bistro air, it is divided into two floors and is decorated with photos and posters of the filmmaker's films.
On the menu are a good handful of seasonal dishes and many others that Abraham himself sings to you depending on what he has found in the market when shopping for the day. It's been months since he got rid of the tasting menus that weighed more and more on him.
To whet your appetite, you can start with some curried lentils with prawns as an appetizer of the house (you always have to eat a spoon dish in Viridiana!) where Abraham's traveling ways are appreciated as well as his dominance in the traditional stew where an intense flavor stands out.
The cod croquettes with mushrooms are very sweet, on the verge of spilling and they keep inside a creamy bechamel cooked with sheep's milk latxa.
It continues with a swordfish, sautéed to maintain juiciness, ( "In this house we use frying pans a lot" -Abraham comments-) accompanied by Chickpeas with a touch of paprika and a pisto as a French ratatouille.
A provocative delight in aesthetics and taste.
To end, a piece of suckling lamb tripe of about 350g . Taking care when cleaning each of the parts of the animal and giving it its optimal cooking involves a great effort, the result of which is a curious taste and a lot of jelly on the lips.
This menu would not make complete sense without a conversation with abraham during the meal in which we sharpen our ears, stomach and mind to everything that this restaurateur from Robledillo has to say.
In Viridiana something happens that he expressed very well in his blog: " Choosing is giving up: fish so varied and appetizing that opting for one, two, three, among the dozen and a half that call me, makes me feel uneasy. Choosing is giving up" . And so with everything.
Interior of the Viridiana restaurant room