Sala de despiece, a tapas “eatertainment” in Madrid
An amazing visit to one of the most trendy tapas-bar in Madrid, situated in Chamberí borough.
A sort of spectacle where everything is a surprise: the food, the presentation, the flavours and the atmosphere
Sala de despiece is one of the moste trendy tapas-bar in Madrid. I was keen on knowing the place and tasting the food as I have heard really good reviews about this place. So this summer, I made the most of a visit to Madrid and went to have tapas to Sala de despiece with a friend of mine, Leonor Carnicer, who is a foodie as well.
We arrived at lunchtime and the first thing we saw was a small hangout where people were squeezed. I was a bit disappointed, to be honest, as I expected a spacious and fancy place. The place was crowded and we perceived an intense atmosphere where the customers’ chats jumbled with the souths of the waiters calling for a guest to serve the food.
We found some space in a corner of the bar and sat down in two bar stools. Then we had another perspective of the place. And it was amazing. Different. The decoration was made with polystyrene boxes used to carry fresh meat of fish (some of then had still the labels), the bar seemed a traditional butchery or fish market, with the refrigerators full of goods, canvas with knives and professional utensils and fisherman clothes.
We observed thoroughly and a surprising view opened in front of our eyes: amazing dishes, chefs cooking them in front of the customers, colours and smells, fascinated guests listening to the waiters’ explanations… It looked like a sort of theatre performance, with actors, a stage director and audience, all of them spinning around the leading role: the food.
We quickly decided that we wanted to be part of that “eatertainment”. We grabbed the menu and found a list of dishes with information about the goods’ origin, the recipe, the weight and the price, written by hand in a sort of dispatch note. To make a decision was difficult as the offer was tempting. In the end, we ordered tirabeques (snow peas) with soya sauce, tuna with wasabi and puffed rice, and fried “majorero” cheese. And then, the show started.
