The kitchen of use has no limit. But tell it to Jose Luis Garcia-Berlanga and its magnificent rice omelette. “This was a recipe that was made at my parents’ house with the leftovers,” he says of a dish that is made only at night, with those rice dishes that have been left over from the day. In Berlanga, the restaurant that opened two years ago, and that commitment to the culture of the afternoon and nightlifewith tapas, pinchos and half portions attached to the Mediterranean imaginary, you play with all this and much more.
There are also cocktails and a rejuvenated gin and tonic culture. “From Friday this is non-stop,” says his bartender, Ángel, who also dispatches a well-balanced Espresso Martini, who launches into a variation of the Gimlet, trying lime, gin and the right amount of sugar. .
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Classic ‘picaeta’ from Berlanga.
Classic ‘picaeta’ from Berlanga.
The space, overlooking the park of Retirement on one of its sides and Lope de Rueda street on the parallel, it has two terraces, which helps to enjoy even more this spring-influenced winter in Madrid. “People come here almost every day, but on weekends it is difficult to find a place,” says Berlanga.
Berlanga and rice
The history of this place begins many years ago with Berlanga’s fondness for preparing rice dishes. “I started cooking during filming breaks. I saw that it was a way not to wash the dishes and to broaden my knowledge”, he says with a half smile. Then came his courses at the El Alambique school, one of the most prestigious in Spain, and his interest in making the universe of rice dishes known.
“I had been wanting to leave the world of cinema for a long time, every day it becomes more difficult to carry out projects. Seeing my interests, I got together with a few friends and we decided to start this project”, he continues, telling of a place that was inaugurated a few months before the pandemic broke out, with all the problems that this has produced. “It has been difficult for us to start, but this is getting better and better.”
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Steak tartare at the Berlanga.
Steak tartare at the Berlanga.
Right now, what stands out is the rice culture of Berlanga, built from many of his trips and stays in Valencia and Mallorca. “I have a supplier who gets me trash and a galley to do the a banda”, she points out. With that rice, at night, he also prepares his delicious tortilla, probably one of the most original and tasty in Madrid. He, moreover, presents it accompanied by alioliwhich gives it much more freshness and entity.
The culture of the ‘picaeta’
However, for the evenings of the weekends, what abounds is the tapas and the portions. A way to value the product that they bring from different provincial markets. “I have very good contact with food markets, so we have excellent raw materials,” he recalls of an aperitif that competes with many of the best bars in the area, where it is customary to go out after twelve noon and head afternoon and evening from bar to bar.
Berlanga likes to speak in terms of ‘picaeta’, which is what pecking is called in Valencia. There is esgarrat with shredded cod (aubergine, onion and red pepper), pa amb oli with sobrasada from Ses Salines, chistorra from Arbizu, potera squid tails, ham croquettes, shrimp with garlic, old clothes…
And some spikes that fly to the north, made with Russian salad, marinated salmon, Mallorcan sobrasada and steak tartare. “This last one I do with the stifle. We clean it very well, we cut it in favor of the sinew and we make a classic dressing, with tarragon, onion and Perrins sauce, among other things”, he says.
Extensive cocktail and vermouth menu
The other part for which Berlanga has also become known is for its large bar cabinet. where does it have more than twenty vermouths from different origins and that can be seasoned with soda, gin or Campari. Pointing to an increasingly widespread fashion, which helps to know our liquid history and that lesser known of the aperitif.
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Terrace of the establishment.
Terrace of the establishment.
Angel, the bartender behind the bar, also makes suggestions. There are Mojitos, Caipirinhas, Caipivodka —a fun variant of the well-known cocktail— and Daiquiris of different flavors, where the strawberry one always shines. “And we also like to prepare gin and tonics, it’s part of our culture,” says Ángel.
Citadelle gin recommends trying it with Fever Tree tonic, made with unrefined cane sugar and the best quinine from the Congo. On the contrary, London N1 is infused with a tonic of Mediterranean herbs such as rosemary and lemon thyme.
Something non-alcoholic? “Of course, they ask us more and more”, announces Ángel, remembering that the day is very long and the clientele needs to take a break from time to time. In his menu there are two recommended classics, a Virgin Mary, which is made with tomato juice, lemon, salt, pepper, perrins and celery; and the San Francisco, with orange juice, pineapple, lemon, grenadine and soda. Two options that complement, add up and help to continue with what the afternoon is like in one of the epicenters of going out and drinking in Madrid.