MICHELIN MAGIC IN MADRID

You have to book 6 months in advance to get into Madrid's only 3-star Michelin restaurant - Diverxo.

Fortunately, we timed it so that we could experience the city's culinary flagship just before we were due to leave and, accidentally, the last night at it's existing location (with only 10 tables it isn't hard to understand why they have moved up the road to larger premises). apart from the obvious, i.e. food, the essential ingredient for a great night at a restaurant is the company, and Dulcinea and I were very lucky to have Katherine and Joe, surely Ireland's finest exports, come along to share the experience.

I guess by the very nature of the beast, a visit to a high flying Michelin establishment is a guarantee of the richest food imaginable; Diverxo doesn't alter that template. Before getting to the main act, some general observations: the table staff were sensational, attentive, not too officious, and clearly enjoy being part of the show; I have never seen so many chefs (around 20) in one kitchen at the one time (keeping in mind there are only 10 tables), it was as though each was assigned a specific task; the decor was very dark but effective with interesting butterfly motifs and....pigs...;

The ceiling

raucous behaviour has the ability to distract other patrons, and sadly the owner's spouse took it upon herself to be overtly loud (so much so that even the staff admonished her), no doubt 'celebrating' the last night; the table setting of a pig with wings was quirky and hinted at the general theme - and caused a ruckus at evening's end!

Pigs that fly? Perhaps a little pretentious!

And so to the food. We settled on "The Neverland Cuisine - Peter Pan and Wendy" 7 canvas degustation menu (it goes up to 15!). I'm sure you noted the word "canvas"; this is how the staff refer to a course and it soon became apparent that each canvas was indeed meant to be a work of art (some reminded me of the old Pro Hart TV ads). Pretentious? Of course, and one read of chef Dabiz Munoz's fanciful description of his restaurant will attest to that.

A tad over the top??

So what works of art were we served? How's this......
Canvas 1. - "It's showtime. Corn, sour-spicy explosions, umami, sweet and acid". Now if you're thinking that sounds like glorified popcorn then you'd be dead right! Tasty? Sure, but I/we didn't come to the high altar to eat POPCORN!

Canvas 2. - "Iodized - sweet and acid, marine and seawtaer. Pickled sweet & sour chillis, Bufala's buttermilk, truffles and celery".

Canvas 3. - "Vegetal spicy, maximum creaminess".

Canvas 4. - "Asparagus and Riesling stew, the soul of the red shrimp squeezed, with its steamed sons and grandsons".

Canvas 5. - "Galician sea spider and spicy tomato; 'French Tradition' with goat butter, bienmesabe (typical marinated fish from south of Spain) and herbs".

Canvas 6. - "Black garlic and crispy seasoning mullet, creamy forest and roasted dairy, a cherished 10 seconds in the Sichuan wok".

The crispy touch

Mr Hart, Mr Hart!

Canvas 7. - Pigeon passion with homemade Nikkei Miso and Canary steamed potatoes, mojitos as a dressing".
 

Canvas 8. - "Petit suisse and white velvet, jazmin and spicy sweet and sour". Very cleverly done.

Now those who can count will note that there are, in fact, 8 courses, so I guess I'm prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt on the popcorn as a bit of fun. The food was really lovely, spectacularly presented, very very rich, and as usual there was too much of it. It is easy to appreciate how it would all impress the Michelin judges. Was it worth waiting 6 months for? Undoubtedly yes. The best in Madrid? Probably not, as far as Don and Dulcinea are concerned that honour rests with Terraza Del Casino (the only Michelin eatery we have paid repeat visits to), and perhaps also the trufflefest at Santceloni. Somewhat ironically, Don L's most enjoyable venue is Diverxo's takeaway gourmet food bar Streetxo; no fuss, brilliant food and great fun.

The flying pig? Given it was the restaurant's final night, Dulcinea entered into negotiations to procure one. It didn't end well, particularly the unnecessarily rude behaviour of Senor Munoz (matched only by the boorish behaviour of his wife during the evening).

Not For Sale!

It was, however, a great night at a great venue with fabulous company - the perfect way to bring the curtain down on our Madrid Michelin experience.