Andrés, a photographer by profession, chatts animatedly with the waiter in Italian while sipping an aperol - a transalpine alcoholic drink that is usually enjoyed as an aperitif -
on the terrace of a restaurant at the beginning of Ríos Rosas.
“Here they have a very good 14 euro menu, really authentic.
They have a
guanciale
(cold meat) to make the spectacular carbonara, which you can't find anywhere else in Madrid ”, says Nonsolocaffé about the establishment.
Andrés knows what he's talking about.
He has been traveling to Italy for many years, specifically to Venice, for work.
At her feet she has a bag of fresh pasta to prepare at home for her children.
"They love it," he says.
He bought it a while ago, at the
Il Pastaio gourmet
shop
, opened 27 years ago, the first pica of this Little Italy that makes its way with increasing success in Chamberí,
and to which
more and more
are added little by little. restaurants and shops with typical products from the neighboring country.
"It is true that it is not like the New Yorker, it does not have that spirit, but there are many Italian premises in this area", Andres reasons.
Its location has its reason.
At the beginning of Ríos Rosas, almost at the junction with Paseo de la Castellana, are the Scuola Italiana, with a lot of prestige in the neighborhood and where the children of the Italian colony in the capital study, and the Italian Consulate.
"It's easier to hear Italian than Spanish on this street," says Federico, the young Italian in charge of Il Mercato (Ríos Rosas, 50),
a cozy gourmet shop-restaurant serving Italian products and gastronomy.
The kitchen team prepares all the dishes daily, as well as homemade sourdough bread, taglio pizza and authentic Genoese focaccia.
You can find all kinds of sauces, cold cuts or cheeses, including a Tuscan formaggio pecorino that "has won
the award for the best cheese in the world."
Among what is sold the most, undoubtedly, the traditional truffle mortadella.
You can buy fresh, fresh pasta at the Il Pastaio shop.
BARBANCHO
The store belongs to the same group that manages the Nonsolocaffé restaurant, opened ten years ago.
Customers asked so much about the products they used in the kitchen that they decided to sell them in another store.
"It's that people wanted to know, for example, what Parmegiano we put on the dishes and they asked us for a little to take home."
Four years ago they decided to open the store and try their luck.
The success surprised them.
“The first summer we thought it would be an achievement to sell a box of Aperol.
That first year we
sold a thousand bottles », he recalls still surprised in perfect Spanish.
"My girlfriend is Spanish, from the neighborhood, she studied at the Scuola," he says.
It is noon and the bustle of customers taking food is constant.
Many opt for a hearty Lasagna with pumpkin, black truffle and prosciutto cotto.
"There is a balanced percentage of Spaniards and Italians among the clients," says Federico.
The workers are all Italians, in fact.
Last October, in the midst of the crisis, the same group opened, right next door, the Italian Gelateria,
with its own workshop, to make its artisan ice cream.
They also sell panettones and artisan crepes.
Further up the street, at Il Pastaio, the process was the reverse.
27 years ago he opened the gourmet shop, and seeing the success they set up the restaurant a year later, a regular of Don Felipe and Doña Letizia before they became Reyes.
"They came here a lot," says Fabio, the manager of the premises, who has a menu for 10 euros that today offers Caserecci integrali or Ravioli di Carne al pomodoro, among other dishes.
Among the clients there are Spaniards and Italians too.
«We have the best product.
My boss is also a supplier;
We bring all the product from Italy without intermediaries ”, Fabio specifies as he shows the workshop, located
in a huge room on a side street.
Inside, all kinds of machines to make different types of pasta: gnocchi, ravioli, spaghetti ...
"We have a lot of regular customers, people who have been here for 25 years," says this Milan fan who confirms that this part of Chamberí has long been known as Little Italy.
«The area is very good and there is a lot of Italian local.
Three years ago they opened another restaurant down there, ”he says about Francesco's Tavern, a little further down, specializing in pizzas.
Fabio, in charge of Il Pastaio, shows two truffles, a fundamental ingredient in Italian cuisine.J .BARBANCHO
There is a line at the Il Pastaio store.
"I have started to come for three weeks and both the flours, the sauces and the breads are very good," says a client, Gustavo.
All kinds of fresh pasta are displayed on the counter: spinach gnocchi, pumpkin ravioli ...
Little Italy expands beyond Ríos Rosas.
In the parallel street, Cristobal Bordiú, is the Accademia del Gusto, which in addition to offering Italian cooking courses functions as a restaurant and specialized store.
And two other Italian-run pizzerias are very close: Trattoria Manzoni (Bretón de los Herreros, 13), which uses a wood-fired oven for pizzas, and Fratelli Figurato (Alonso Cano, 37), which prepares them 100% Neapolitan -fine dough. and tender-, and that in its day was chosen the best artisan pizzeria in Spain.
In the area there is also Vánvera Trattoria (Zurbano, 85), specializing in northern Italian cuisine.
In short, a small Azurri neighborhood in the capital.
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