Beyond the pancakes or crepes, the toast with a thousand and one rich ingredients or the classic Benedictine eggs– beware, which we applaud as exemplary brunch dishes–, there are other alternatives that will elevate your late breakfast to heaven… Mexican, vegetables, Japanese-Peruvian, cheese or Venezuelan. These are the five proposals that deviate from the norm in search of more intrepid palates or eager for repertoires different from the usual ones.
Not one but four very different brunches are the ones that Pablo Donoso has designed to brighten up our mornings from Tuesday to Sunday, between 10am and 1pm. Of course, all of them have something in common: they are 100% vegetables. Because the philosophy of Distrito Vegano Invernadero (at c/ Conde de Romanones, 10 and the result of the union of Distrito Vegano, La Modernista and La Tía Carlota) is to veganize traditional cuisine, Spanish and foreign. All the proposals are accompanied by coffee, infusion or chocolate, and yogurt with fruit and muesli. Then things change. Del Distrito offers toast with tomato, jam and mango hummus, on organic sourdough bread. The final note is a sweet of the day made by hand.
An English scrambled egg made from soy, vegetable bacon and roasted cherry tomatoes is the main course at De La tía, accompanied by an artisan sweet. With De La Moder comes the crepe or waffle to choose from the menu, also with its corresponding sweet. The last (and most powerful) of the brunches is called Del Invernadero: vegetable meat burger waffle with mega melted cheddar, double baón, pico de gallo, green leaves and vegan with fries, a cocktail (Mimosa, Arisca or ‘Oh Mary ‘) or smoothie and cake of the week. Price: 16.90 euros (From the District), 18.90 euros (De La Tía), 20.90 euros (De La Moder) and 29.90 euros (From the Greenhouse).
Sweet, salty, a main course to choose from and a cocktail (optional). It is the journey of Japanese-Peruvian flavors that Osadía Nikkei 14 has devised for Saturdays and Sundays from 12 noon to 3:30 p.m., in the SmartRental Collection building (c/ Gran Vía, 14). The experience begins with a variety of cheeses and sausages, sweet pastries and dishes as surprising as molcajetes with guacamole and tortilla chips; wok-sautéed edamame with ají limo, yondu and mirim sauce; Prawn gyozas with mango and yellow chili sauce, and crunchy rice with salmon marinated in kimuchi, Japanese mayo, chives and tobiko roe. Then the main course arrives and it will be no easy task to choose one.
Go ahead and try the pulled rib brioche with crispy onion and smoky and spicy sauce; the avocado toast with tofu, pickled onion and chia seeds; or the classic eggs benedictine with bacon. The aged beef burger with bacon and smoked sauce will be your choice if you are a meat lover. But if you are looking for a Japanese touch with Peruvian reminiscences, stay with one of these two options: Inca Roll with Balfegó tuna, cucumber, avocado, tobiko roe and emulsified yellow chili sauce or free-range chicken yakitori marinated with chicha morada teriyaki and finished with furikake.
The finishing touch, how could it be otherwise, is provided by the sweet touch (to choose) of the kaffir lime and galangal flan with purple corn caramel, the chocolate praline and cardamom cake with ginger ice cream or seasonal fruit. Flavored waters and orange juice are included in the brunch, but you can complete it with a delicious cocktail. For example, Pisco Morada Sour, Spicy Margarita or signature mixes such as Mango Jambo (gin, lime juice, mango puree, Angostura and chili powder). Price: 25 euros. With cocktail: 32 euros.
Wow! The first Mexican brunch has arrived in the capital. From the hand of chef Enrique Olvera and his restaurant Jerónimo (Plaza de las Descalzas), at the foot of the brand new The Madrid Edition hotel. On Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., you can enjoy a late breakfast that begins with green chilaquiles with poached eggs with cream and fresh cheese; chia pudding with almond milk, banana and granola; toasted bread with tomato, Iberian ham and extra virgin olive oil; and sourdough toast with avocado, smoked salmon, cucumber and macha sauce. And it is that, in Jerónimo’s proposal, there is no shortage of winks to the most traditional dishes of Spain or to others of an international nature.
This explosion of flavors will be followed by a main course, to choose between chicken enmoladas with black mole and sesame seeds; black mole with roasted eggplant, chicken pork rinds, sesame seeds and rice; cochinita pibil; high loin heart with mashed potatoes and costeño chile, or scrambled eggs with ham or cured meat from León, baked potato and green pepper, among other recipes. For dessert, it’s time to choose coffee flan with piloncillo caramel or the chef’s already iconic eggnog meringue. Price: 39 euros.
In a constant search for product quality and prioritizing flavor, the cheeses and butter from Formaje, Clara Díez’s shop specializing in artisanal cheeses in Madrid, could not be missing. Chef María Gálvez –better known on social media as @goutdhestia– has incorporated them into the brunch proposal she has created for Canopy by Hilton Madrid Castellana (Pl. de Carlos Trías Bertrán, 4), which you can enjoy from 12 noon to 2 p.m. in Escándalo, the hotel’s main restaurant. Although, during the spring-summer season, the Planta Z terrace will become a second stage where you can indulge in the open-air experience.
As a starting point, María Gálvez proposes a basket of homemade pastries and breads with butter from Formaje, homemade seasonal jam, extra virgin olive oil and bunch Majorcan tomato; creamy yogurt with seasonal fruit, goji berries, and granola; and a Formaje cheese board. As a drink, orange juice or homemade seasonal smoothie, along with coffee or infusion.
As a main course, you will have to choose between grilled croissant stuffed with crispy guanciale with a slice of melted havarti cheese, sautéed mushrooms, caramelized onion and scrambled eggs; fluffy pancake with slices of smoked salmon, poached free-range egg, and avocado slices, accompanied by hollandaise sauce; toasted butter brioche with sun-dried tomato cream, scrambled eggs, cherry tomato confit, stracciatella and basil oil; or – here is the vegetarian option – two pancakes accompanied by smoked aubergine, sour cream, sesame, cherry tomato confit and low-temperature egg. The tartlet with lemon cream, white chocolate and toasted meringue, accompanied by lime coulis, puts the final point. Price: 35 euros.
In this restaurant they speak, drink and eat Venezuelan! That is why its brunch –served in a single plate– combines shredded meat, caraotas (black beans), perico (scrambled egg), arepas, plantain slices, avocado, cheese and sour cream. All this by the work and grace of its chef Leo Araujo, also owner of the already veteran La Cuchara, where, by the way, you can taste the same proposal every Saturday and Sunday, at the same time: from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. In this second case, you will have to move to the Salamanca neighborhood.
And it is that, from a little piece of Venezuela in Madrid, you could only expect authentic traditional food from the Latin country. The late breakfast proposal is accompanied by coffee and a juice to choose between passion fruit, tamarind, papelón and soursop. Delicious tropical fruits! Price: 25 euros.
