Text and Photos : José Manuel Serrano Esparza
44 years ago, in early 1977, Gabriel Medina Gómez and Carmen Hidalgo, a Cordoban marriage who would be known within time as the grandfather Gabriel and the grandmother Carmen, decided to found in Cerro Muriano (Córdoba) a small family business made up by a bar in symbiosis with an endearing coterminous cinema.
After the made investment, Gabriel and Carmen´s economical resources were limited, so they opted for an easy but highly efficient entrepreneurial approach :
Superb Cordoban salmorejo with limited production virgin olive oil from oil mill and ham from los Pedroches, one of the flagship dishes most admired by the customers of this family bar restaurant of Cerro Muriano since its creation in 1977.
the raison d´être of Bar Cinema would be a homemade cuisine and a top-notch personalized attention to customers imbued with painstaking care.
And encouraged by their iron will, illusion and impressive working ability, they made a strenuous effort to provide the people of the area visiting them with an exceedingly competitive quality / price ratio in their homemade meals, beverages and desserts.
Therefore, grandfather Gabriel and grandmother Carmen toiled on throughout late seventies, striving upon forging ahead and strengthening their little family business, something they managed to attain soon,
thanks to their professionalism and humbleness both regarding the bar and the cinema, the latter one turning into a real treat for many visitors, who particularly in summer watched on the screen a raft of mythical Hollywood feature films wisely chosen by Juan Antonio Parrilla Pérez (a remarkable expert on cinema and the person making the projections, in addition to obtaining the 35 mm movie reels that he fervorously looked after) while they were sitting and relished the soft breeze wrapping Cerro Muriano at night, which is a true blessing.
THE PRESERVATION OF A PHILOSOPHY
Some decades later, Francisco Medina Hidalgo and his wife Ana, owners of Bar Cinema, took the reins of a family business that had originally been devised by Gabriel and Carmen (who knew how to win the affection of everybody meeting them) and kept on with their straightforward and proficient working ontology in the scope of catering.
Flamenquines, another of the delicacies that both in its loin or roquefort versions, can be tasted at Bar Restaurant Cinema. A full-fledged delight for the palate.
different and delicious homemade meals in which top priority is the first-class quality of raw materials in synergy with exceptional reciped of the lush Cordoban and Spanish cooking.
This way, little by little, the Bar Cinema, already with Paco and Ana at the helm, was increasingly consolidating, by means of their huge endeavour and commitment, until the concept of family business was outstandingly boosted from the first years of XXI Century, thanks to three key factors :
a) The gradual bar / restaurant duality, with the enhancement and steady improvement of a wide gastronomic and desserts offer, which has been the main diachronic hallmark of Bar Restaurant Cinema.
b) The ongoing incorporation of Gabriel, Ana and Jose (Paco and Ana´s children) as workers of Bar Restaurant Cinema in Cerro Muriano, who have also provided their enthusiasm and perseverance, along with some more trustworthy people who have risen to the challenge.
c) An unswerving desire to satisfy the customers´ needs, since they are deemed to all intents and purposes as members of the family.
That´s to say, it´s first and foremost a question of mutual confidence in which the fundamental thing is that people visiting the Bar Cinema (which is likewise a very good restaurant) feel really at ease and satisfied, both from the viewpoint of having lunch or dinner really well and the experienced quietness.
A place where connoisseurs go to enjoy an unforgettable cuisine experience and to have a good time, as well as relaxing talking to friends.
AN EVOLUTION BASED ON TRADITION
Whatever it may be, the vital epicenter of Bar Restaurant Cinema in Cerro Muriano is its comprehensive assortment of foods, mainly made up by mouth watering dishes of the traditional Cordoban and Spanish cuisine, ancient recipes having been optimized once and again, with patience to spare and tons of passion, until perfectly prepare them, in addition to being adorned with beautiful presentations, another of the most prominent aspects of Bar Restaurant Cinema :
- Aubergines with Cane Syrup
- Homemade tripes
- Pelotón Potatoes with Ham from Los Pedroches
- Fried Fish with Squids
- Cheddar Potatoes and Bacon
- Meat with Tomato
- Bandeja Campera (chips with fried egg, tenderloin, sausage and pepper)
- Iberian Suckling Pig
All of it being complemented by occasional delicatessen like the tapas of migas with beer, the fantastic paellas on San Rafael Day and so forth, as well as an exclusive variety of local wines.
SELECT CHOICE OF GRILLED MEALS
Another of the highlights of Bar Cinema is its extensive supply of grilled meats, among which stand out :
- Barbecue of Meat
- Barbecued Steak with Strogonoff Sauce
- Grilled Chicken Breast
- Mount Meat
- Iberian Secret
- Appetizers with Potatoes
And of course, its fabulous grilled gilt-head bream with potatoes on weekends.
It´s a hard work needing experience and devotion to be able to satisfy the customers´ wishes on the spot, because each one has its own tastes and preferences.
DELICIOUS HOMEMADE DESSERTS
The manufacture of exquisite homemade desserts is also one of the Bar Cinema specialties, and among them stand out :
its sensational cheese cake,
the raspberry and cherry cake,
the handcrafted egg custard, the calzone nutella, the panacotta, the homemade dessert from Black Forest with chantillí cream, and the dessert of the day,
without forgetting its tiramisú with fragments of black chocolate, which has become a classic of Bar Cinema.
SPECIAL SERVICE OF FOOD DELIVERY
Together with all the previously explained sides, Bar Restaurant Cinema offers a special service of food delivery, ideal for those persons who either because of comfort or lack of time availability prefer that option
holding a wide range of handcrafted hamburgers and pizzas (of which the most famous and sold is the Pizza Gaucha Cinema), along with wok style fried rice with Provenzal pork and wok style noodles with veal.
Pizza Gaucha, a gastronomic benchmark of Bar Restaurant Cinema fairly appreciated by most of its customers.
The flavourful hamburgers of Bar Cinema feature first-class ingredients and a large size. Besides, they constantly experience with different kinds of breads and recipes to upgrade the product : Brioche Cordoban Bread, 80 g Veggie Burger, 54 g Poppy Seed Burger, 54 g White Sesame Burger, 80 g Multicereal Burger, 100g Poppy Seed Burger, 80 g Basic Burger, 80 g Toasted Malt Burger, 80 g Potato Roll, 100 g Juanit Burer, etc. And they were even pioneers of the original recipe of the popular giant hamburger with potatoes in 2016.
The vocation to customers service fulfilled by the Bar Restaurant Cinema staff reaches such a level that by dint of strenuous toil they managed to create in mid 2020 special kebab and pineapple pizzas for celiac people, who instead of featuring wheat mass, include mass with rice flour, but simultaneously preserving an almost identical taste.
BEAUTIFUL NIGHT SHOWS
People going to Bar Restaurant Cinema to have dinner can revel in the further chance of watching live music concerts in its big outdoors terrace, with differents artistic events that will certainly make the night more pleasant for them (flamenco groups, guitar concerts, singers, etc), in symbiosis with the wonderful luminosity generated with the different colours projected through the pretty central fountain surrounded by flowers and reflected all over the place :
With the added choice of drinking any of the exotic beverages making up its wide range of 100% original ten different handcrafted cocktails.
