On a recent visit to Madrid, we visited Tiradito and Pisco bar, a Peruvian restaurant located on Conde Duque. Headed by Chef Omar Uribe, the menu was inspired by Chef Uribe’s life experiences including his childhood trips throughout the mountains, jungles and along the coasts of Peru. Chef Uribe also draws from his experiences from having worked with some of the best chefs in the world including the famed Peruvian chef Jamie Pesaque who previously cooked at the Three Michelin Starred El Celler de Can Roca and now owns a string of successful restaurants throughout the world. The food at Tiradito and Pisco Bar is unique as it incorporates the use of lesser known – at least to the European world – ingredients such as Amazonian fruits and vegetables.

The decor at Tiradito is lovely and light and is divided into two sections. On entering the restaurant there is a casual bar area serving killer pisco sours and small bites. Passing through the bar you enter the main dining room, a comfortable well-lit area with with wooden floors and tables with white tablecloths.

We began the meal with an amuse bouche of beef patacones, “Patacones la Lucha” (€8.90). These were fried plantain shells with Spanish spicy chorizo and sirloin sautéed on the wok with soy, aji amarillo chilli and sacha tomato (tree tomato). This was truly delicious. The beef was tender and tasty, and well flavoured by the freshness of the chilli and sweet tomato. The plantain shell was crispy and well made.

Tiradito – Beef patacones

“Tiradito Ceja de Selva” (€18.50), a tiradito with sea bass took on both jungle and mountain flavours and consisted of a refined pairing of ‘sacha cilantro’ (jungle coriander), crunchy maize, and leche (the dressing) made from camu camu, a berry from the Amazon region. This was a lovely matching of ingredients, with the flavour of the fish being elevated by the fragrant sacha cilantro and the sweet, acidity of the camu camu. The crunchy maize also added a nice crunchiness to the dish.

Tiradito – Seabass tiradito

“Ceviche a la Brasa” (€20.60) was another well prepared dish and made with monkfish marinated in aji Amarillo, lime juice, orange honey, chicha de jora, (corn beer) and celery. The fish had been grilled on some dry corn leaf so the fish had a nice smoky flavor. It was fresh and meaty and had maintained its juiciness and flavour.

Tiradito – Ceviche a la Brasa

“Patarashca emigrante” (€19.00) is one of the most typical dishes in the Amazon, a seafood dish cooked using an ancestral method where the ingredients are wrapped in banana leaf and cooked on the grill. The seafood was beautifully cooked and made all the more wonderful by being finished with a lovely crab and mussel sauce, lime juice and Thai basil.

Tiradito – Patarashca

Tiradito – Patarashca

“Osobuco paisa” (€19.00), was a take on the classical Italian osso bucco dish. In this version, slow braised lamb shanks had been cooked with a green curry and served with yucca and coriander. It was a pleasant enough dish, but slightly underwhelming. The meat could have been tenderer.

Tiradito – Osso bucco

“Arrox Otonal” (€8.50), a ‘Peruvian’ rice pudding using sushi rice and tapioca proved to be unusual. It was topped with 85% chocolate and served with a violet ice cream. I found the pairings to be at odds, and the violet in the ice cream to be quite harsh.

Tiradito – Chocolate with violet ice cream

“Colka Cake” (€8.90) is the Tiradito version of a deconstructed cheese cake. In it was Serrano cheese, cream cheese and honey, toasted red quinoa, a rice pudding, milk wafers and a dash of Peruvian caramel. This was a lovely dessert and very refined.

Tiradito – Deconstructed cheesecake

We truly enjoyed the food at Tiradito. There was refreshing originality in to the menu which was really refreshing. The quality of the ingredients spoke for themselves and each dish showed off sound skill. Tiradito offered an opportunity to try some of the more unique aspects of Peruvian cooking, rounded off by some very pleasant and solid service.

SUMMARY INFORMATION:
Likes
1) The menu was wonderfully original. It offered some unique flavours and taste sensations.
2) There were many good dishes but the Patacones la Lucha was my favourite

Dislikes:
1) The Arrox Otonal was not to my taste.

Food rating: 4/5
Service rating: 3.5/5

Average Price: €40 to €60 for three courses.

Website: http://tiradito.es/