DiverXO (*) – Madrid, Spain

I was very lucky to be able to snag a reservation at DiverXO during my recent trip to Madrid, especially as a solo diner (more on how I went about it at the end of the review, in case anyoen wants to know). DiverXO – Madrid's only three-star restaurant and currently sitting pretty at No 4 on the World's 50 Best list – is a restaurant born from equal parts talent and spite, the former via the rampant imagination of chef Dabiz Muñoz, the latter of the 'I'll show you' variety; when Dabiz was young, he said to his father that he would one day have a restaurant which people would queue around the block to attend. His father replied 'sure, and pigs might fly'.

So it is that DiverXO's current menu is named 'The Flying Pig', and pigs (as well as ants) are a recurrent motif throughout the restaurant. Using the best in Spanish produce, and fuelled by Muñoz's holidays to Mexico, India, and pretty much every country with a great cuisine that you can think of, DiverXO's menu is an around-the-world trip of fusion cooking. There is a great deal to like here, from the transformation of classic Spanish staples (such as salmorejo) into forms they've not taken before (pani puri, anyone?), to exceptional seafood and meat cookery (the rooster will be a dish I long yearn for). DiverXO is that most memorable of fine dining experiences. Yet despite that, I do have some qualms with the menu:

The cadence is very traditional, starting off slowly, easing you into the meal with fairly recognizable flavours, and gearing up to more robust profiles well into the meal. This seems a little at odds with the amount of imagination that has gone into course creation, and I kind of wish that Dabiz would either go all-in (and hit us right from the off with a tonne of flavour; too often was I left thinking 'okay, but that could have been even sweeter, or even more sour' – especially in the case of the "sweet and sour" liquid garnish to the oxtail dish – or thinking thay dishes were clampuring for a touch of spice to really bring those flavours out), or temper the creativity on the plate a little by getting rid of the superfluous (for example, I don't think the rooster skin is particularly needed as an extra bite, and the tomatillo ketchup on the lobster dish is far superior to the masala sauce). That being said, all of these dishes mentioned do have elements of greatness that will be my most keenly remembered parts of the meal – the succulent rooster, the explosive pani puri, and the delightful bite of oxtail.

Another thing I really liked is the use of mochi for petit-fours, as I am so done with the traditional petit-fours that are really rarely worth a mention. These were wonderful though, and a great way to end a meal.

Overall, DiverXO is well worth a visit, as the fusion of spanish produce, global cuisines and – well – art, is done with a deft hand. I just wish that the flavour was pushed that bit more.

Courses:

1. Blackcurrant Bubblegum (given as the second dessert course)
2. Drunken Crabs (strawberries, macerated crab meat, crab coral foam and dry coral powder, juliana de myoga, kimchi ice cream) (Given as the fourth course)
3. Pyrinean Matured Nigiri (crayfish, pine nuts, trout) (Given as the first course. All others follow in order.)
4. As above – crayfish head in a pyrinean chupe
5. Gastón Memories…"Oriental Ceviche" Frozen (cockles, dried tomatoes, kalamata olives) (not shown)
6. As above (Thai young cocnonut meat, satay saice of corn nuts and flowers)
7. Laksa and Hake jowls with ajoverde
8. Asturias and Yucatán Skate Wing and Melipona
9. Peas, Caviar, Ajoverde, Ajoblanco
10. 8 Seconds Wok-Caressed (esparendya, red mullet, red tuna tartare)
11. Agus' Minutejo (cured goose, sriracha, black trumpet pesto, suckling pig cold cuts, pecorino cream cheese, confit and roasted pig skin)
12. Fried Barnacles Curry Thai
13. Same course as above – Fried eggs with "Puntilla" Taco
14. Rooster and Grilled Eels
15. Spanish Bull and its Liquid Garnish
16. As above
17. Tortiyaki from Betanzos with Crab (not shown)
18. Lobster Awakens on the Goa Coast
19. As above – the Pani Puri
20. As above – the Lobster Shell Vindaloo Curry (not shown)
21. What is the Best Part of a Rescoldo Stew? The Bottom-of-the-pot Leftovers. (Stew of marinated wild boar ribs with its overcooked vegetables. And the crust of a pizza).
22. Vanilla Cauliflower
23. Japanese Bonbons (Cookies dunked in Milk and Croissant with Toasted Butter)
24. Japanese Bonbons (Baklava Mochi) (not shown)
25. Japanese Bonbons (Calamandi Curd) (not shown)
26. Japanese Bonbons (Spicy Chocolate) (not shown)

• There is a photo limit of 20 on Reddit posts, so was unable to picture all. Those that are not shown are noted as such.

Notes on securing a reservation: DiverXO is a restaurant that do not take reservations for solo diners. Aware of this, I emailed them a month before my visit to say that I would be in Madrid for these dates, and that if they have any cancellations then I would be glad to secure a reservation. They emailed back and said that they would let me know. I then emailed again ten days prior to my departure to Madrid, reiterating that I was still interested and woild be glad to make a reservation. As luck would have it, they emailed me a few days later for a date that was during my vacation. As with standard reservations, they take full payment for the menu upfront. The moral of the story: if a restaurant do not allow for automated booking for solo diners, email them, and continue to email the closer the time comes to your trip/visit.