A gastronomic temple par excellence, synonymous with gastronomic experience and a meeting point for personalities from all walks of life since it was founded almost fifty years ago, Zalacaín reopens its doors after being closed for a few months to recover the best of its essence and reconquer its rightful place among the great international restaurants.
Iñigo Urrechu: "Now we have the opportunity to restore all its splendour and to continue making history thanks, in part, to the fact that we can count on the restaurant's staff".
The management of the Urrechu hotel group is at the helm of this new stage of Zalacaín.with the entrepreneur Manuel Marrón and chef Íñigo Urrechu as main partners, with the latter taking over the gastronomic management of all the group's restaurants. Thus, Urrechu now leads a team at Zalacaín in which most of the staff who have worked in both the dining room and the kitchen in recent years remain. in the restaurant, including Jorge Losa as head chef, Roberto Jiménez as maitre d' and Raúl Revilla as sommelier. Both Losa, Jiménez and Revilla are precisely the heirs to the valuable legacy left by their predecessors in their positions with Benjamín Urdaín as chef, José Jiménez Blas and Carmelo Pérez as head waiters and Custodio López Zamarra as sommelier. Four references in the hotel and catering sector who, together with Jesús Mª Oyarbide and Consuelo Apalategui, founders of Zalacaín in 1973, managed to make history, achieving the milestone of making Zalacaín the first Spanish restaurant to be awarded three Michelin Stars in 1987.
In this way, the new ownership has recognised the Zalacaín workers' worth and potential to take on this project, while the staff themselves have been committed to the Urrechu Group's management project from the start of the negotiations. "We decided to take on this project thanks to the enthusiasm shown by all the Zalacaín employees, who have been committed to our project right from the start. It is our responsibility to take this adventure to the top and to provide our customers with a satisfactory response. Given that our aim is to bring Zalacaín back to what it was in its best moments, we are aware that without a great, professional and enthusiastic staff, we could not do anything. That is why we have decided to keep it. The responsibility is ours as much as that of the workers, since to take a business like this to the top, we all need to materialise the enthusiasm we have in giving shape to a great project like this", explains Manuel Marrón, partner of Grupo Urrechu.
Past, present and future
Practically since its beginnings, Zalacaín has been more than a restaurant, it has been an experience. Both its staging and decorationas the service and, of course, its gastronomic quality and its genuine recipes based on the best of the French culinary tradition, are some of the most popular pillars on which this culinary mecca has been built throughout its history.
Named after the protagonist of Pío Baroja's novel "Zalacaín el Aventurero" (Zalacaín the Adventurer), its tables have hosted dozens of international dignitaries, royalty and aristocrats, prestigious writers and artists, as well as Spain's most prominent businessmen. The private rooms and lounges of Zalacaín - named Rosita, Linda and Catalina after the three women who marked the life of the protagonist of Baroja's novel - have witnessed countless lunches and dinners of personalities as diverse as Salvador Dalí, one of the most loyal diners, the Rolling Stones or Mario Vargas Llosa, to name but a few.
The new Zalacaín connects with its origins. Although hardly any work has been done on the previous decoration, it now has a selection of works by José Manuel Ciria whose tones match the cauldron-coloured panels that have been installed on some of the walls to improve acoustics.
In the words of Iñigo Urrechu, gastronomic director of Grupo UrrechuZalacaín is part of the history of Spanish gastronomy in general and of the history of Madrid in particular. The most representative figures of Spain's social, cultural and political life have passed through its dining room over several decades. Now we have the opportunity to give it back all its splendour and to continue making history thanks, in part, to the fact that we can count on the restaurant's staff. This is a team of great professionals who will undoubtedly give the best of themselves so that, between us all, we can achieve even more brilliant results with this exciting project".
Diners who book now at Zalacaín will find that the soul of the restaurant remains practically intact and even, this new Zalacaín connects with its most authentic originsthose of its first stage. To this end, for example, and although hardly any work has been done on the previous decoration, Zalacaín now displays a selection of works by José Manuel Ciria. whose shades are linked to the cauldron-coloured panels that have been installed on some of its walls with the aim of improving the acoustics of the restaurant, while harmonising it with the tones of its original décor.
On the gastronomic side, this new chapter of Zalacaín includes a menu in which a selection of its most popular dishes remain or return. most emblematic dishes such as the legendary Búcaro "Don Pío" (Consomé Gelée, smoked salmon, quail egg and caviar), the Tartar of sea bass with olive oil and dill ice cream; the Tellagorri cod; the Wellington with sirloin centre, pomegranate cream and five pepper sauce or the veal and duck cannelloni with citrus salad. However, the menu reserves space for some novelties such as Jorge Losa's tripe, a recipe with which Zalacaín's head chef won the world tripe championship last May. For sweet moments, the dessert menu also includes some classics such as the spiced biscuit, baked apple and honey ice cream or the creamy and smoky cheesecake with its Intxaursaltsa ice cream and quince jelly.
In addition, in this new venture there is also a menu available that makes up an authentic gastronomic tour of the Zalacaín menu with three appetizers and eight courses (seven dishes and a dessert), ideal for embarking on a journey through the history and present of the restaurant. The price of this Gastronomic Tour is €120 per person (wines not included). The new management team of Zalacaín wanted to preserve everything that made this house a unique place and a point of pilgrimage. not only for gourmets, but for all those people who love gastronomy and enjoy being carried away by a well-executed cuisine with a quality product.
The Urrechu Group
The origins of the Urrechu Group date back to the 1980s. with the Don Pelayo restaurant in Madrid. There, Tino Marrón, together with his brother, the businessman Manuel Marrón (co-owner of the Gilmar Group with his partner Jesús Gil) began his crusade in the world of catering. They were joined by Antonio Menéndez, a young professional in the sector, and the renowned chef Íñigo Urrechu, who developed a large part of his career under Martín Berasategui, with whom he became head chef. He later worked with Didier Oudill (Michel Gerard's former head chef) at the restaurant "Le pain Adour et fantasie" (two Michelin stars), where he also became head chef before moving, in 1993, to the kitchens of "El Amparo", where he managed to win one of the coveted stars.
Grupo Urrechu currently has a total of three restaurants in central Madrid. (Zalacaín, Urrechu Velázquez and La Guisandera de Piñera, a concept that pays homage to traditional Asturian cuisine); three in the area of Pozuelo de Alarcón: Urrechu Zoco and El Cielo de Urrechu and one more in La MoralejaA'Kangas by Urrechu, as well as UZ La Finca, the former event space of Zalacaín in the Finca de Pozuelo. In addition, the group manages the Erre by Urrechu restaurant at the Meliá Don Pepe hotel in Marbella.
