Aitatxu, Gastronomic Haute Cuisine

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The gastronomic memories of Chef Álvaro González de Audicana are based in his childhood, where he accompanied his mother to the markets of Bilbao, the city where he was born and where he took his first culinary steps. With a passion for gastronomy, despite the fact that no one in his family was a chef, it was soon clear to Álvaro that his dreams were in the kitchen – but to get there, Aitatxu has had to take many strides.

Perhaps it is these events that have led him to convert the menu of Aitatxu, his first restaurant, into a real journey through the kitchens -and products- of the world. Through this journey, he has put a gastronomic seal in the Salamanca district. Forged in the Hospitality School of Santurce, Álvaro first broke copper in restaurants and pintxo bars in Bilbao, which provided him with enough foundation to escalate in the world of cooking. With a base in Basque cuisine, Álvaro prepared to conquer Madrid, where he arrived with his wife.

The Forum came with the illusion of a novice, but Álvaro knew from the start that he wanted to serve from his stove. Thus, at the end of June 2018, the doors of Aitatxu were opened, ‘baptized’ by what their children call them [ aitatxo means “dad” or “daddy” in Basque].

Proud of his roots, but with the intention of nourishing them with a more international cookbook, Álvaro offers two gastronomic experiences of haute cuisine . One offer includes the great flag of the place, hoisted by a traveler tasting menu with very competitive prices, in which Asian, American and Spanish influences coexist. All of them prepared with the best raw material of the season, such as truffles, authentic Kobe meat and Iberian pork. In turn, the vegetable section also is very important. His own father-in-law, together with several workers, is in charge of pampering the pair of orchards (one in Mirasierra and another near the Jarama River) with which the restaurant’s menu is provided with seasonal vegetables.

The result is translated into a menu of seven servings (more desserts) in which technique and product are combined with an element of surprise, turning each dish into a different way of focusing on gastronomy and seeking satisfaction from the diner. A kind of prestidigitation, hanging around the magic, happens with some of the bites that transmute the offer into an unusual culinary experience that also does not cost a fortune [the price of this gastronomic menu is € 50]. Pure coexistence in which innovation and traditional flavors are assembled to form a truly delicious gastronomic creation.

The test is found from the first step, with the BoZata aperitif from PanZ, which reinvents the classic bacon sandwich, serving as a prelude to the first part of a menu in which international references become protagonists. Thus we find gnocchetti -in which flavor and presentation will surprise the diner-, the foie tartare -with a foie micuit of duck that is made in the restaurant- or the oriental trip that the crab & lotto chips propose, with the soft shell crab as the main star.

This return trip come next, loaded with aromas, which focuses on reinterpreting classic flavors to which the technique gives a twist. Thus arises the essence of txalotas -preparing this noble chive of various forms-, the marine mussel (with all the power of a classic stew) or the sweet churrasco 8.0 to put the carnivorous brooch.

All this is part of the ‘winter’ menu of Aitatxu, which will vary with the arrival of spring, but also offers a menu to the customer – short, with less than 20 dishes – in which you can also enjoy half rations and the Most dishes that make up the tasting menu. The latter also proposes two different pairings, the traditional (nine wines served in half glasses) or the challenge (which includes teas and sakes) that complements the food offerings beautifully, for only 18 euros.