DiverXO, Madrid (September 2023)
(note: I’m re-publishing this as a separate entry because I think it got buried in the Madrid post, so those interested about our experience at DiverXO couldn’t easily find it)
When we were planning our trip to Madrid, we had read about the many Michelin starred restaurants in Spain, and one of the restaurants that caught our eye was DiverXO. Not only did the food look amazing for its creativity, but the general vibe from the chef to the decor seemed so different from the other high-end restaurants that we had been to, that we definitely needed to go there. So once reservations opened up three months in advance, I immediately got us a table for our last night in Madrid, and it was worth it!
The first thing we noticed when we arrived was the lobby, and the crazy art surrounding us:
I’m not sure why their theme involves the flying pig, but it does lead to some fun artwork, and it was also a wonderful preview of what to expect at dinner. Further up the stairs, we were told that if we needed to find the bathrooms, that we should follow the path of butterflies. The bathrooms themselves were full of mirrors, butterflies, and books:
And then we were seated at our table, where the flying pig theme continued, as well as other quirky functional decor:
The servers here were all very friendly and fun. We were even told that if we needed a break in the food to use the bathroom or to digest, that they could accommodate those requests, which we did a couple of times.
Shortly afterwards, the show began with our first course, a raw crab dish that was a great starter:
I think there were 16 total courses served over a 4+ hour period, and we enjoyed each and every one, but a couple of highlights were the 3-second wok cooked peas and a beef consommé served in an ox horn:
Before each course was served, we were given a sheet of paper describing the upcoming dish, so at the end, we had 16 pieces of paper. We were also provided a small folder to keep those papers in to take home, which is a cute little souvenir to take home:
It was a dinner that none of us had experienced before, and we loved all of it, from the food to the design of the restaurant; definitely one of the highlights of our trip so far!