the essential
A new restaurant opens this Saturday on Avenue de Grande-Bretagne, in Toulouse. Abuelo offers Mediterranean specialties in a friendly atmosphere.
He named him Abuelo in reference to his grandfather, who gave him a taste for cooking. Clément Gallais opens his restaurant this Saturday, avenue de Grande-Bretagne, a stone’s throw from the Halles de la Cartoucherie, in place of a former coffee shop. A beautiful space, with lots of high ceilings, to which he gave warmth with yellow and terracotta tones, wood and metal furniture, a green zellige tiled bar and subdued lighting.
On the plate, his credo is Mediterranean cuisine, with dishes that are “warm and friendly, with taste”. At lunchtime, the menu is renewed every week and offers a starter-main course-dessert formula for €21. In the evening, the plates are more for sharing: ceviche, cockle risotto or snacked pouple for fish, albondigas, bites of tartare or pork pluma on the meat side, platters of carefully selected charcuterie and cheeses. If you’re really hungry, matured prime rib and confit veal shank also have a place on the menu, all washed down with hand-picked regional wines. The chef favors slow cooking under vacuum and local, seasonal products. “I wanted to cook the cuisine that I like. The most important thing, for me, is conviviality, making people feel good,” explains the chef.
-Les Grandes Tablées, once a month
Clément Gallais is not his first attempt at catering. This native of Lozère worked with Michelin stars, at the Table de Yoann Conte, in Annecy, and at Michel Sarran. He lived in Chile and Australia, before setting up his home chef business in Toulouse. After Covid, he opened the beach club “La vague de trop”, in Torreilles, on the Mediterranean coast, then the tavern “La Petite Touch”, in Plaisance-du-Touch, a success which will continue this summer for the fourth season.
At Abuelo, it is also possible to drink a coffee or lemonade in the afternoon, and to order takeaway for students or workers in the neighborhood. Once a month, he will initiate the “Grandes Tablées d’Abuelo”, with a single table, for all the guests, who will share a set of dishes. A winemaker will come on this occasion to taste his wines. “The idea is that strangers meet,” adds Clément Gallais. Conviviality, always.
