Diego Cabrera opens Guru Lab, a research workshop for his new creations
Argentine bartender Diego Cabrera is opening a semi-clandestine and semi-private space where, in addition to developing new proposals for the businesses he manages, he will organize closed-door events for companies and individuals, workshops and master classes for professionals, themed dinners, showcookings, cocktail pop-ups and other experiences related to gastronomy and cocktails.
Diego Cabrera opens Guru Lab, a research and development workshop "where we explore new paths and where anything can happen," explains the bartender. It will be open to the public and "any of the 365 days of the year can be reserved for private events," they explain.
Guru Lab is located in Madrid, on Echegaray Street, just a few meters from Salmon Guru (number 19 on The World's 50 Best Bars list) and near Viva Madrid. The bar is accessed through a 19th-century oak door to which a coded lock has been added.
Diego Cabrera and his team, led by chef Víctor Camargo—co-leader of the space and executive chef of Twist de Naranja—research and develop new cocktails, techniques, and products to incorporate into Salmon Guru and Viva Madrid, as well as their consulting firm Twist de Naranja and their catering company Liquid Events. “We are developing our own line of botanicals and sprouts, crafting our own fermented beverages, and redistilling spirits to give them new nuances,” they state. They add, “For some time now, in high-end cocktails, we have been applying avant-garde culinary techniques (carbonation, freeze-drying, fermentation, deconstruction, etc.), but now, thanks to this new space, we are going to go further, developing pairings, liquid dishes, solid cocktails, and any recipe we can imagine, no matter how impossible it may seem.”
Guru Lab has been designed as a large American-style kitchen and is divided into two areas: on one side, the work area, equipped with induction hobs for show cooking, a rotary steamer, several ovens, a gasifier, a centrifuge, a freeze dryer, an ice maker, and more; and on the other, the lounge area, which features a large table seating 16 to 20 people and a cocktail station where the bartender acts as host, interacting with guests. The space is decorated with two vertical gardens (one for botanicals and another hydroponic one for growing sprouts), a large library, stills, siphons, and mixing glasses.
Open Fridays and Saturdays from 9pm.