“This city has everything, it just lacks… the sea, otherwise it would be perfect,” confessed a guest at the inauguration of Sau in Madrid just two weeks ago. Those of us who live in the capital have heard it a thousand times or perhaps have said it on occasion, and the truth is, Madrid is great as it is, even if it doesn’t have a harbor or a beach. Because here, without a sea to cool off in during the hottest months, what there is are places where fish arrives and arrives well, such as the newly opened Sau, a tavern that blends the flavors of our coasts with those of Brazil.
Located in the Antón Martín area, opposite the Madrid film archive, this place is steered by Wagner Rusca, who has been part of several highly successful restoration projects in the city center. In this new venture, he partly pays homage to his origins. Wagner hails from São Paulo and the name of this house, Sau, is a shortening of “saudade,” that concept of nostalgia in Portuguese that only those who truly speak the language can feel.
Formed in his hometown, Madrid and Paris, and after passing through the renowned Le Cordon Bleu, Rusca has taken all this savoir faire and put it here into a shaker with the marine flavors of his homeland and the best of his new homeland. The premise, to create a port tavern with fish in all its forms and colors: “fresh or canned, popular or refined, traditional or reinterpretated.” To name a few: fried pescaíto, the squid sandwich, or bacalao a Brás.
When we asked him why he decided to open a space like this, he confesses that “after studying cooking and receiving the feedback from his mentors, I have noticed that the dishes in which I have stood out the most are related to fish and seafood. That was a green flag. Personally, Sau embodies this personal quest for an affection centered around the table. And as for the concept, […] it stems from the nostalgia of having feet in the sea, salt on the body, a dip in a river with friends.” With this in mind, he began building the essence of his dishes because “these so‑called fluid moments near the water are very happy.” And to top it off, “Sau” is not just saudade; it is how they pronounce the word salt in Brazil.
