The Ayawaskha Gastro restaurant is the proposal of the chef Miguel Ángel Méndez to publicize Ecuadorian gastronomy and culture in Madrid. Its intention is that the diner makes a gastronomic trip through Ecuador, and have just been recognized as Solete by the Repsol Guide.
This young chef has grown up in Madrid since his parents emigrated to Spain as a baby, so he has tried to delve into his origins. His father, with whom he shares his name, has run a restaurant stall in the Mercado de los Mostenses for years, a benchmark for his compatriots in which he tries to recover the flavors of his native Ecuador.
AYAWASKHA, ECUADORIAN RESTAURANT IN MADRID
Ayawaskha Gastro is more than an Ecuadorian restaurant, it aims to be a multicultural project in Madrid. Its name comes from the Quichua, Ecuadorian native language: governess means soul, and waskha means bond, millenary concoction that is medicine of the soul.
With gastronomy as the central axis, its objective is to be the platform through which Ecuadorian producers and brands access Europe and make themselves known. For example, the case of wine, since entering a market as competitive as Spain entails certain difficulties. However, there are very good Ecuadorian wines, as is the case of Travesía, whose strains give double harvest because they are between two hemispheres.
Music, fashion, culture, art, among others, are welcome at Ayawaskha Gastro, a living project that grows and in which collaborations abound. As with the graphic designer Juay to customize AirForce1 sneakers for the members of the living room team with Ecuadorian motifs, or the handmade tableware, made by Kitsubi on a potter’s wheel and the Kurinuki pouring technique.
LOCAL AND ENVIRONMENT
Ayawaskha Gastro stands in calle del Duque de Sesto, 40, Madrid. In the capital there are about 150 Ecuadorian restaurants, almost all in the same areas, such as Malasaña or Lavapiés. That has not been an impediment for father and son, who, in pursuit of their objective of positioning the cuisine of Ecuador, locate their new restaurant in the heart of the Salamanca district.
In the premises, with two floors, you can breathe Ecuador. Walls dressed with paintings of traditional iconography and photographs that show indigenous culture. There is no lack of music to set the scene, with traditional sounds and other more current mixes.
AYAWASKHA KITCHEN STYLE IN MADRID
Its cuisine is traditional Ecuadorian, mainly from the province of Manabí, where the purest ancestral gastronomic culture is found, and from Ambato, where they come from. The Ayawaskha chef adapts it to the Madrid public and modernizes it, introducing current techniques.
Various starters are offered on the menu that can be easily shared. The bolones de verde, very dish streetfoodThey are male banana balls with caramelized pork and Ecuadorian ratatouille. The morocho empanadas, They prepare as it is made in Ecuador, with fermented corn dough stuffed with veal and vegetables, accompanied by chicha de jora mayonnaise. Or the llapingachos, potato tortillas stuffed with parmesan, with guava, coconut and tamarind sauces, influenced by the central market of Ambato.
Spectacular Jipijapa ceviche, with a very careful and colorful presentation, made with sea bass marinated in passion fruit. The tiger’s milk is wonderful, based on peanuts, with yellow chili, naturally fermented banana vinegar, which provides a very particular acid-sweet touch, and guayusa, an ancient herb from the Amazon.
His reinterpretation of dry chicken, a traditional Ecuadorian stew, has spicy chicken at a low temperature, finished with Josper with rosemary and thyme. Or the Hornado 21, bacon and Iberian ribs with naranjilla sauce, a citrus between orange and lemon, and llapingacho.
To close with a sweet touch, choco-banana, a light cake of fried ripe banana, and 70% cocoa ice cream, from Ecuador of course, one of the best in the world. Proof of this is Pacari, the Ecuadorian cocoa that has been recognized as the best chocolate bar in the world.
Ecuadorian gastronomy and its cuisine are not yet as popular as it should be with the general public in Madrid, and Ayawaskha Gastro has arrived with the determination to give it the place that such a rich culture deserves.
Information of interest of the Ayawaskha Gastro restaurant, Madrid:
- Half price: € 25
- Direction: C / Duque de Sesto 40, Madrid.
- Telephone: 635 624 618
- Type of kitchen: Ecuadorian.
- The best: how the Ecuadorian tradition is valued, updating the dishes without losing their purity.
- Improvement area: adjust service times.
- Social networks: Instagram
- Note: 8/10
