EIGHT years in the past, after i moved to Madrid, I used to be so astonished by the diversity of conventional Spanish cuisine – to say nothing of the nueva cocina phenomenon spawned by chefs like Ferran Adrià – that it took some time to notice that almost all “ethnic meals” in the city, be it Indian, Italian or Chinese, was often a tame and tepid model of what is out there in different fashionable capitals. It was a riff on Spanish cochinillo and Peking duck and was certainly amazing. The outcomes can now be sampled at restaurants throughout city. With no à la carte menu, Diverxo’s seven-, eight- or nine-course meals last nearly three hours, which means only one seating at each lunch and dinner. Mr. Arévalo provides a worthwhile 65-euro tasting menu that provides an ocean-hopping range by way of seafood preparations (sushi, sashimi and tartares are the home specialties), but my buddy and i opted to skip that menu’s normal starters like miso soup and seaweed salad and dive right in with the raw fish, selecting six dishes of our personal to share for kind of the identical price. Not anymore. During the last decade, waves of immigrants, many from Asia, have crossed paths with legions of Spaniards who’ve toured the globe and developed new tastes. But it’s definitely worth the splurge to pattern the Peruvian chef Luís Arévalo’s inventive Japanese cuisine. Mr. Muñoz’s contemporary-confronted appearance belies an impressive résumé, including 5 years in London at elite Asian restaurants like Hakkasan and Nobu. For us, the sate kambing, a brochette of succulent, virtually caramelized lamb was the star of the entrees. Specialty cocktails just like the citrusy caipirinhas set a breezy mood, and the waiters do a terrific job of taking diners by means of the varied menu. Deborah mentioned between bites of a delicate golden pancake cradling the crispy pores and skin of suckling pig. In an elegant room with alabaster panels one floor above Calle Hermosilla, which links the high-end procuring district of Barrio Salamanca with the company expense account crowd on Paseo de la Castellana, the most recent branch of ninety nine Sushi Bar shouldn’t be an inexpensive date. Things have solely heated up since November, when the restaurant, led by the chef David Muñoz and his wife, Ángela Montero, received a Michelin star. My favorite dish was the strangest – a buttery “bun” that looked like a snowball however was filled with black trumpet mushrooms and served with a paper-skinny slice of smoky, air-cured beef draped over a metal spike protruding out of the plate. Costs, for 2, do not embody drinks or ideas. There was first rate sushi (Spaniards are Europe’s top consumers of fish), Argentine steaks and some Mexican cantinas for birthday events and boozy celebrations. Again in Madrid since 2008, Mr. Muñoz, 30, has been piling up accolades for inspired Asian preparations in which he handles classics of the Spanish larder like morcilla (blood sausage) and white asparagus with the identical deft contact as mizuna and coconut milk. Listed here are 5 such locations. Victor de la Serna, an editor and meals author for the newspaper El Mundo. I secretly hope to be underwhelmed at places with so much buzz, however Diverxo fortunately disenchanted. Since transferring into sleek new digs in late 2009, Sudestada appears to be like and appears like a swank world supper membership hovering somewhere between Hanoi and Havana. Maybe that’s because the proprietor is Argentine and the chef is from Vietnam and is aware of his approach around such Southeast Asian cuisines as Thai, Malay and especially Vietnamese. Standouts among the many cool and fruity desserts embody a mango lassi topped with litchis and lemon-basil granita in addition to a candy coconut cream balanced by tart ardour fruit sorbet. And people aren’t reservations for the approaching weekend; bookings for the restaurant’s 30 seats are taken exactly one month upfront. Every morning at 9 sharp, hopeful diners start pace-dialing Diverxo in hopes of nabbing reservations, which are usually gone by 9:10 a.m. Subsequent got here the meat: a delicately steamed pork hamburger nestled in an artfully minimize leaf of iceberg lettuce. Coming to the desk, it seemed like a maquette for one in all Santiago Calatrava’s next architectural tasks. But in a rustic the place a squeeze of lemon may be considered excessive if the fish is contemporary, spicy or heavily sauced dishes have been mechanically suspected of being made with inferior substances. In a country the place chefs have traditionally turned down the heat on spices to swimsuit native tastes, Spanish food critics rave about the authentically hot and spicy purple curry with beef cheeks. For first-timers like me and my two mates they suggested a trio of classic starters together with nem cua – gentle and crispy spring rolls – samosas and Singapore dumplings bathed in a savory pork broth. Dinner for two, from a hundred and fifty euros, $186 at $1.24 to the euro.