This new Franco-Argentinian restaurant in Les Carmes delights the taste buds with tango tunes

This new Franco-Argentinian restaurant in Les Carmes delights the taste buds with tango tunes

This is the new address in the Carmes district! Chez Gardel, a French-Argentinian restaurant, in homage to the tango singer, run by two enthusiasts who are committed to welcoming guests. On the menu, regressive dishes, South American wines, good humor and Argentinian hospitality.

A warm Franco-Argentinian restaurant

This is the new brand to discover at the beginning of 2024. At the corner of rue du Pharaon and place des Carmes, there is a new small restaurant. Red brick wall dotted with wine bottles, vinyl records and paintings hung everywhere in an explosion of color... The decor is extremely cozy.

The brand opened its doors on December 1, 2023. It was a moment of culmination for a couple with a common pleasure: entertaining. The duo, who met in 2020, had been thinking about the project for a long time. Both are career movers, Thomas became a cook 10 years ago and Carla completed her sommelier diploma after the Covid crisis. “This restaurant is a dream come true” they summarize.

The news sign in homage to Gardel in the city center of Toulouse
The new sign in homage to Gardel in the city center of Toulouse (c) Cyril Zekser

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Madeleine dishes from Proust

The chef presents “comforting and regressive cuisine” and a menu that changes according to the seasons. With, currently, ropa vieja, a recipe that all Argentine grandmothers knowbased one shredded beef accompanied by rice or sausage puréed with lemon with chori, even duck parmentier cooked in Argentinian wine.

< strong>A vegetarian menubased on roasted vegetables, fusilli and pumpkin seeds is also included. For those in a hurry, there is the Porteno menu (the name given to the busy residents of downtown Buenos Aires). For €16, it contains three empanadas, a homemade soup and a coffee. Enough to plan a nostalgic break in old Toulouse full of stories.

< img class="std-img__img responsive-img" src="https://images.toulouscope.fr/api/v1/images/view/65a6acbe4a0abe692b040a27/full/image.jpg?v=1" alt="The map is in balance between Argentinian flavors and Toulouse culture!">
The menu is in balance between Argentinian flavors and Toulouse culture! (c) Cyril Zekser

"You see this scene in Ratatouille when the villain critic tastes the cuisine and experiences an intense flashback that reminds him of his grandmother's reassuring cooking? Is that what I want to succeed in doing?"

Carefully selected South American wines

If Thomas is the only master in the kitchen, oenological expertise is Carla's territory, a passionate since 2010. Originally from Argentina, she presents good wines with a strong South American identity (Uruguay, Chile, Mexico, Bolivia, etc.) so as to surprise French taste buds with what is being done better across the Atlantic.

Moreover, endemic wines from Argentina, notably Malbec wine, are even found in meat sauces. Especially since Carla doesn't just bring with her her wine culture, she shares her vision of Argentine hospitality. "Be humble but want to share and welcome with a smile."

50 shades of Malbec Chez Gardel
50 shades of Malbec Chez Gardel (c) Cyril Zekser

The Temple of Gardel

The founders chose Carlos Gardel to illustrate the mix between Toulouse, Argentina and the tango specific to the place and their couple. "In Argentina, Carlos Gardel is to tango what Diego Maradona is to football! He is an Argentinian personality, an important Toulouse, he deserves to be paid tribute to him" explains Thomas.

The decor is teeming with details. A portrait of the artist is painted on a large mirror. Posters and front pages featuring him are placed all along the walls. "These are originals that Carla went directly to Argentina, having traveled 10 hours by bus, from one of the greatest librarians on the subject."

A mirror painted by an artist, a small replica of the statue in the Japanese Garden by Sébastien Langloys... The restaurant that looks like a museum dedicated to Carlos Gardel
A mirror painted by an artist, a small replica of the statue in the Japanese Garden by Sébastien Langloys... The restaurant that looks like a museum dedicated to Carlos Gardel (c) Cyril Zekser
< p>"Not a day goes by when I enter a restaurant without touching the head of the Gardel statue! It's a way of thanking him"

A tribute evening at the end of January

"We studied the words, life and history of Carlos Gardel. Impossible to create a restaurant in his honor without knowing his life. A tribute is not just about putting up three paintings!" underlines Carla, critic, who was particularly involved in the study of the musicianin order to be able to perpetuate his legend and in speak to customers, as if driven by a duty to remember.

She was helped in this task by Georges Galopa, an expert from Toulouse, who even noticed that the restaurant was very close to where the Gardel family's hat store was located... The specialist will be present January 26 for a special retrospective eveningwith conference, readings of poetry, music and, perhaps, dance.

The ideal setting for conferences and great discussions around Carlos Gardel
The ideal setting for conferences and great discussions around Carlos Gardel (c) Cyril Zekser

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Practical Information
Hours: Wednesday to Saturday. 12 p.m.-3 p.m. and 8 p.m.-11 p.m.
Location: Chez Gardel
Address: 54 Rue Pharaon, 31000 Toulouse
Contact: +33 6 51 66 37 40
Email / Website: https://chezgardel.com/
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