Javier Kirschner (Madrid, 1986) wanted to do something very different with his life when he returned to Spain from a sabbatical in South America. Something totally different from his previous employment in several multinationals and, nevertheless, that resembled the beach bars in which he had worked on his travels. After three years of planning, he fulfilled his dream of creating something original and nothing like what was already on the market and, in 2019, Döggo was born. With an easy name that could be pronounced in different languages with an international look (doggo is an affectionate and familiar way of referring to dogs in English), a little "postureo" (the umlaut in the o) and financing through a crowdfunding between 29 friends, he opened the first restaurant in Madrid specializing in hot dogs in which the sausage does not appear anywhere. Is there anything more original than that?

This is this business, which already has two small premises with few tables in Madrid, one in Chamberí and another in Pozuelo de Alarcón, and that triumphs with a small but varied menu, good music and close attention, to the point of having achieved the full practically in the two shifts, lunch and dinner, on weekends.

But where does this original concept come from? "It comes up unintentionally, actually. At first I remembered the fresh sausages, without additives and sausages in natural casing with slightly different ingredients that my father made at home and I thought that in Madrid there was a huge boom of hamburgers, but not so much of hot dogs. Then I threw around, but then I saw that using homemade and fresh sausages, and not precooked, took a long time to make, so I decided to use the same concept, with open breads type hot dog, and fill them with different meats and flavors, imitating dishes that we ate at home and mixing them with sauces that I had tried in my travels. " Javier says.

Shrimp or meatball dogs

Four starters, eight hot dogs, two desserts and eight cocktails make up Döggo's reduced menu. Inside the brioche bread (sourdough from a nearby bakery),sausages have been replaced by meatballs, duck, prawns, salmon or shredded beef or pork, seasoned with spices ground by them and totally homemade and natural sauces. "I wanted to offer different, varied flavors of the world, because in the end, burgers and puppies always have the same minced meat or the same sausage and what changes is a sauce or cheese."

The dishes are accompanied by chips and coleslaw and each puppy has its name (also very original) that indicates a little where the flavors are going to go. The bestseller, according to Javier, is the Khal Döggo, which resembles a hamburger and comes with Black Angus beef, cheddar cheese, caramelized onion, bacon, quail eggs, fried onion and pickle relish (it is also available with Heura vegetable meat). For those who prefer more exotic flavors, there are the other seven puppies on the menu: the Chun Lee Duck, Chinese-influenced duck confit, the San Salmon, marinated salmon tartare poké style, the Cosmic Shrimp, with grilled prawns, Miss Balls, meatball puppy with Berlin curry wurst, Mr Pig, barbecue pork, Don Pancho, with Mexican flavors, and Guanche, a Spanish sea and mountain. Depending on the demand, the puppies change and a "out of letter" is usually put in.

But that's not the end of it. Each hot dog has a cocktail to pair with, ranging from a pisco sour to a pinky blinder or a devil, for those who want to accompany their dishes (some are available without alcohol). "That is Latin American influence, there the meals are accompanied with margaritas, piscos ..., so we decided to do the same here and dedicate a drink to each dish," says the businessman. Of course, there is also beer and soft drinks.

Javier Kirschner, the owner of Döggo.

Slow food

Although the concept of hot dog denotes fast food, Döggo's proposal is totally opposite, according to its owner. "The look may be fast, but in reality, it's very slow. The cooking is traditional, very homemade, which takes much longer than people think, because in each dish there are very different flavors." That is also why the restaurant does not respond to a high demand for delivery. You can not order online on their website, only through some delivery platforms, and they do not do much take away or pick up at the restaurant. "The capacity of the kitchens is small and, when we have full premises, we take few orders, because we always prioritize customer service that has moved to our establishments."

However, the brand plans to open in a few months a dog stand in a market that will be inaugurated soon near the Plaza de Castilla, in Madrid, where the delivery will work.

More information

Address: Juana de Austria, 5 (Madrid) and Atenas, 2 (Pozuelo de Alarcón).

Hours: Monday and Tuesday, closed. Wednesday and Thursday, from 20.30 to 23 h. Friday to Sunday, from 13.30 to 16 h and from 20.30 to 23 h.

Reservations: www.maddoggo.com

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