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At 17, Roberto Ruiz knew he was going to be a cook. And it was also clear to him that if he ever had a place he would call it Barracuda. The first one has been fulfilled a long time ago; the latter became a reality at the beginning of this year: "

It was the first post-pandemic restaurant that opened in Madrid,

" he says proudly seated at one of the restaurant's tables. Leading suits him well. "I was also the first to serve insects," he sneers. And also in achieving the Michelin star for a Mexican restaurant in Europe, Punto MX.

In principle, that place was planned to open in Malasaña or Chueca, but fate saved them a space in the Salamanca district, where they did not know if it would fit. "The location determined the history of the restaurant" which became the best showcase to discover the gastronomic wealth of that country. "Ten years ago very little was known about our cuisine." He won over the diners and took it "so seriously" that the star arrived. "

I never looked for it but I really enjoyed it

." Do you miss that league? "Not at all, now I do what I want and I have begun to have life."

Its presence is in Barracuda MX, a large venue next to Retiro where the waiting list is only growing - at Punto MX it was seven and a half months old, only behind Celler de Can Roca.

"It is an

enjoyable

restaurant

, bigger than Punto MX, and it costs three times less,

" he says.

"I don't do traditional Mexican cuisine, I do authentic Mexican cuisine."

This is how it has been since he arrived in Madrid more than a decade ago.

"At the time, finding cilantro and avocado here was not so easy."

Among the small achievements attributed is that of having made tortilla chips stop calling them nachos.

Guacamole with pork rinds and chips.

In this new stage, he acknowledges, he is more relaxed. "Before I lived angry and tense." He has parked the stress and has rethought many things in his life. "The pandemic forced me to stop. For the first time in my life I had three months to think and analyze what I wanted to do." This is how their delivery was born, which at this point has three stores and is a business on its own. "

The misunderstood ego disappeared from my life

." And he doesn't think I'll come back.

Through Barracuda MX, where this chef transfers a piece of the Mexican Pacific to Madrid,

many colleagues have passed -some several times already- many professional colleagues

. From Ferran Adrià to Diego Guerrero passing through Angel León, Mario Sandoval and David Muñoz, among many others. Precisely, with the latter he keeps a curious anecdote. "A week before the Michelin star gala, a person called me to tell me they were giving it to me," he recalls. He spent a few days between joy and disbelief, without commenting on that conversation with anyone. "On the day of the gala, David put, hours before it started, a tweet congratulating me because they had told him about it. After a while he had to delete it because it was not yet official." The news had already spread like wildfire through the networks and through Madrid.

Now go around with the news that you want to introduce in the menu, "where there will be a plate with oysters, new ceviches and more starters," he announces enthusiastically.

In principle, it was organized to make two menu changes a year, but having a remarkably loyal clientele it has been forced to go up to four.

"

I want to give prominence to seafood and seafood,

" he says.

"I'm also working on a vegetarian taco."

The creative moment he enjoys to the fullest with his wife, the other pillar of this project.

The Barracuda MX studs.

Among the

bites that already have a place on the menu

, the guacamole served with chicharrones, the charcoal mussels in morita chile sauce, the sea bass made to order with a red guajillo chile adobo and poblano chile green adobo and its tacos, with Special mention of the black Iberian pork taco al pastor with avocado sauce, garden with pineapple. Essential in the list is the version of its emblematic grilled marrow with toasted red tuna and serrano chili emulsion. The torrija tres leches reigns supreme among desserts.

In this new stage, he feels especially comfortable with his

team, mostly female

- both the living room and the kitchen are run by women. "I like to see that people are motivated and well." The pandemic accelerated his idea of ​​shutting down Punto MX and "starting over." With a lot of respect and too much uncertainty behind my back. Today it has 220 people on the payroll and has just opened a store in Marbella, Mantarraya MX. "The third day we were already full."

When in 2012 he raised his restaurant concept, he had to put up with comments that predicted a resounding failure.

They were wrong.

"So Coca-Cola and Corona didn't want to serve me at the restaurant. I had to go to the store across the street to buy it."

He laughs at the memory, no more.

The important thing, after all, is that he has fulfilled the two dreams he had as a kid.

Address

: Valenzuela, 7. Telephone: 911 08 89 99. Hours: kitchen from 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. and reduced menu between hours.

Average price: 45-60 euros.

A corner of Barracuda MX.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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