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El Colmado Do not only satisfy your own hunger with tapas

Monday, September 12 2022
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Opening Times

Monday to Thursday 11-23 h
Friday + Saturday 11-23.30 h
Sunday 11-23 h

Address

El Colmado
Rathausstrasse 13
10178 Berlin-Mitte
.How to get there

Locations

Joachimsthaler Straße 10
10719

Contact

...
+49 30 284 451 31
.www.elcolmado.de

The way to charity is through the stomach: in Berlin's two tapas bars, El Colmado on Alexanderplatz and Ku'Damm, you can satisfy more than just your hunger with fine Spanish tapas. But more about that later. First, we begin our evening by longingly reminiscing about our last holiday in Spain: a glass of vermouth with a slice of orange helps to quell the longing a little.

In any case, both El Colmados are a safe port of call for this endeavour, as they offer an excellent culinary overview of Spanish cuisine: classic tapas such as pimientos de patrón or (delicious!) croquetas with different fillings are a must, paella is of course also available (as it should be to share) and even Spain's favourite breakfast, churros con chocolate, is available as a sweet greeting.

We are particularly pleased that the somewhat lesser-known pintxos and tostas have also made it onto the menu: small canapés, so to speak, typically served straight from the bar. Whether small with anchovies or Spanish sausage, or more substantial with fried egg and chorizo or tortilla de patata.
They are perfect for a small aperitivo with friends, accompanied by a deep red Tinto or a fine glass of cava. Of course, an Iberian cold cuts platter also tastes great with this, and the delicious pata negra, cut directly from the knuckle, is particularly recommended here.

In addition to fine Spanish delicacies that send us back to carefree holidays, owner Ubaldo has thought of another unique feature that makes it possible at El Colmado to provide food for school children in three schools in Zambia and Malawi with every dish or product that is eaten or purchased here. With El Colmado, Ubaldo Valverde and Mar Reines have fulfilled a natural wish of their hearts.

The restaurant concept came about as a reaction to the country's staggering hunger statistics. In 2009, the Spaniard worked in Ethiopia as a development aid worker and had life-changing experiences. "For me, world hunger is the biggest failure of humanity," he explains. To get involved in this area, Ubaldo created a business model that is profitable, social and sustainable at the same time.

But it is also intended to serve as a model and explicitly call for imitators. In cooperation with the NGO Mary's Meals, for every meal eaten at El Colmado, one meal goes to four schoolchildren from the schools supported. The founders of the small, still relatively unknown NGO can exactly understand the effect of their "meal for a meal" concept factually and numerically.

"We chose Mary's Meals because the meals are served at school," says Gonzáles. "This way, we achieve that parents send their children to school because they can be sure that they will get a hot meal at least once a day. Also, women prepare the school meals and are supported by that as well."
El Colmado is therefore much more than just a culinary enrichment for the area around Alexanderplatz. It is a convincing concept all along the line, and we hope its energy, passion and social mission will have a contagious effect.

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El Colmado – Do not only satisfy your own hunger with tapas
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