You head to Atrio observing the wet and green pasture on both sides of the road, these days full of puddles, the envy of those of us who come from lands thirsty for rain. Until you reach the spectacular old town of Cáceres and cross the door of the building that the architects Tuñón and Mansilla so successfully integrated into the heart of the city. And suddenly, as you cross the door and contemplate the space, with its impeccable interior design and magnificent paintings (Atrium is full of art), the hallways, the patios or the stairs with geometric games of changing lights and shadows, you remember a night in Toledo.
It was there that at the end of 2022 a legion of cooks, cooks and other professionals in the sector made an assembly hall almost collapse from so much noise when Atrio's chef, Toño Pérez, went up to the stage where he had just announced himself. the third Michelin star for the restaurant that, far from the haute cuisine circuit, opened almost forty years ago (then in another location) with his partner, José Polo, who observed the scene with eyes full of tears in the middle of the pit.
Few moments are remembered at haute cuisine parties with so much empathy towards that story of friendship and love: between both characters, inseparable since their high school years in Cáceres (Pérez and Polo, always followed when taking roll call); love of gastronomy that they discovered traveling together; to the unique landscape of the pasture and its gastronomic richness (the acorn-fed Iberian suckling pig is the common thread of its entire menu, including the sweet part); love for the city to which they have dedicated everything; love of wine -few wineries in the world keep the jewels that José Polo's contains-; love of painting and music, a crucial part of its foundation, with a high-level international festival and a fantastic social project for children and the elderly; love for his guests and the family that makes up his restaurant team.
Because at Atrio you can appreciate the bonds of affection between those who carry out daily life in the dining room and in the kitchen, those who take care of the restaurant and the hotel, but also Torre de Sande, a neighboring restaurant of which they took the reins during the pandemic and where they offer simpler cuisine. And among those who attend that jewel of the Atrium universe that is the Paredes Saavedra Palace, another impressive architectural work, in this case a fully protected space in which guests coexist with spectacular artistic pieces.
We must point out this whole set of integration in the old part of Cáceres, of care and enrichment of the cultural heritage, to understand that Toño Pérez and José Polo, one passionate about cooking, the other about dining and wine, are something more than accomplices in one of the most recent three Spanish stars. In addition to this contribution to the cultural wealth of the area, they are great defenders of their culinary pantry and the sustainability of the environment and the team.
The pasture is present throughout their kitchen, where Alberto Montes and Pepi Giraldo are key players. Delicate starters such as potato with Ibores cheese and dill or Cáceres black olive with flax and amaranth take the diner into that universe of Iberian meat, full of successful sea and mountain dishes (very much from Pérez), such as garlic prawns with adobo chorizo or crunchy tapioca, salmon emulsion and cochifrito; a tour that includes “snack in the meadow”, with dishes such as ham, mayonnaise and tomato, pâté with pickles and plantain, torreznos with scallops or ink bun, with squid and ear stew; the combination of caviar and pork in the jowl and caviar flan, the lobster in a reduced Iberian glaze with green curry or the extraordinary Alcantara-style partridge that will give way to the sweet suckling pig, like the yuzu, yogurt, fennel and bark ganache pork or Iberian chocolate with coffee and rancid ham.
