A spate of recent openings has made Madrid an even more rewarding destination for traveling gourmets. The Spanish capital’s new restaurants are striking in that they are more cosmopolitan than ever. Foreign culinary traditions, especially those of Asia, are inspiring extravagantly talented young chefs such as David Muñoz, who won three Michelin stars last year at his restaurant DiverXO — which recently moved to stylish new quarters in the city’s Chamartín neighborhood.
Trained by three-star Basque chef Martín Berasategui, David García won a Michelin star in the 2015 Guide to Spain for this elegant contemporary restaurant in the Salamanca district. A counter at the entrance offers a tempting display of tapas and charcuterie from Joselito, one of Spain’s best producers of ham. García creates intriguing contemporary Spanish dishes such as roasted tomatoes stuffed with baby squid and squid ink risotto, lamb shank with seasonal vegetables and a light garlic cream sauce, cod cheeks with mussels in Txakoli wine sauce, and rice pudding with apple jam and rosemary ice cream.
Calle Jorge Juan 33. Tel. (34) 91-781-6197.
With a trio of chefs in the kitchen — Gabriel Zapata, a specialist in Japanese cooking; Vicente de la Red, an avant-garde cook; and Carlos Langreo, an expert in traditional Spanish cuisine — this striking restaurant with colorful tiled walls has become a major hit since it opened last summer. The menu fuses the Japanese and Mediterranean kitchens with delicious results, including small-plate dishes such as meatballs of bull’s meat with potato purée; morcilla sausage ravioli with pine nuts, apples and a sauce of red peppers with Korean kimchi; and chocolate bread with orange ice cream dressed with olive oil, chile and salt.
Calle del Castillo 16. Tel. (34) 91-866-4030.
After stints in the kitchens of several of Spain’s best restaurants, including Mugaritz and Restaurante Kursaal in the Basque Country, young chef Iván Sáez opened his own place in Madrid last September. Sáez shops the city’s markets daily to find the best seasonal produce, and his cooking, which is served in a small-plates format, runs to dishes such as red mullet with mussels and shrimp sauce, chicken fricassee, and freshly baked individual apple tarts.
Paseo de la Habana 84. Tel. (34) 91-457-5668.
Madrid-born chef David Muñoz won a third Michelin star this year for his avant-garde restaurant. The unexpectedly casual dining room is run by serious young staff, who cordially and attentively guide you through one of the tasting menus. Muñoz’s delicious cuisine represents an unusual but successful meeting of Iberian and Asian produce and cooking techniques, as seen in dishes such as curried green coconut milk soup with clams, scallops, flying fish eggs and garnishes of whitebait; and beef with herring and tomato, peanut butter, yuzu, lime and cider.
Calle Padre Damian 23. Tel. (34) 91-570-0766.
After working as chef at formal El Club Allard, where he was awarded two Michelin stars, talented chef Diego Guerrero has opened his own restaurant in the hip Salesas neighborhood. Relaxed, friendly and stylish, DSTAgE recently won a Michelin star and offers an appealing new take on contemporary Spanish cooking, with tasting menus that feature dishes such as ravioli filled with Tolosa bean purée in cabbage broth, and Galician beef with roasted chili pepper relish.
Calle Regueros 8. Tel. (34) 91-702-1586.
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