Is it a restaurant? Or a cocktail bar? Are those vinyl records over there? It’s not enough to walk past Marciano (71 Jorge Juan Street, Salamanca neighborhood) just once to understand what your eyes are seeing. Not even a single visit is enough. Depending on the time of day, you might find yourself in one atmosphere or another, savoring a signature dish or nodding your head to the beat of the music. It’s strange, exceptional, unclassifiable. It’s out of this world.
A chef, a bartender, and free will
Víctor Camargo, owner and chef, wanted to do whatever he pleased, and he did it in a discreet spot in the Salamanca neighborhood. A peculiar location for an even more peculiar project. And he brought with him everything he’d learned in his family kitchen, at Guru Lab ( a top-tier culinary innovation lab), and on his travels around the world (judging by the number of nods to other countries on the menu, we gather his carry-on must be in tatters).
Also part of the Marciano conquest is Mel Da Conceição, drink designer—in other words, the captain of the liquid realm. She runs the bar with the determination and genius of someone who has been experimenting with cocktails for a long time (before landing here, she was at Salmón Guru). Like Camargo, she does whatever she wants. And the result, on the plate and in the glass, is spectacular.
Signature dishes for 10 euros and cocktails in half-liter bottles
If you start counting the nationalities on the menu, you’ll get lost before you even reach the main courses. Marciano’s “dishes” have long names and affordable prices. It’s true that several options cost just 10 euros, and the rest don’t stray too far from that figure.
Delicious and original are the Saam Jacobo of sea bass stuffed with melted Galician Arzúa Ulloa cheese, served with anticuchera sauce and red onion (€10), the Japanese robata-style beefkofta with fresh mint and piquillo pepper harissa (€13), and the Duroc pork ribs slow-roasted and finished on the grill, glazed in Cuban mojo sauce with mashed potatoes (€21). They speak for themselves, though you don’t need to understand them (or even learn their names) to drool over them.
And to drink? A bottled cocktail for €40. In an ice bucket, please. Or €12 a glass. Earl Grey, peach, and honey. Or lychee, cardamom, and guava. Or kiwi, rosemary, and elderflower. Take your time choosing, or ask for advice on pairing your drink with your meal.
DJ sets and vinyl records of all kinds
And what’s playing at Marciano? Sometimes, an eclectic mix of alternative background music that makes its presence felt without stealing the spotlight from either the food or the conversation. Other times, vinyl sets by DJs Rafa Rosa and Madame Excuse. The mixing board, almost blending into the cocktail bar, is open to resident and guest DJs. And the screens surrounding the venue are strategically placed so that no one misses a thing, and to bring the rhythm of other corners of the world into the venue, live.
Of all the new openings in Madrid, it’s often said that “every detail has been chosen with care.” Well, here it’s true, and you can see it in the menu that looks like a magazine, in the uneven walls, and even in the little dish where the cutlery rests (designed by a relative of Camargo’s—it’s all in the family here).
Marciano is something you don’t find anywhere else: high-quality food, drinks, and music at low prices. It’s like stepping onto another planet—a different one every time you walk through the door.