EIGHT years ago, after i moved to Madrid, I was so astonished by the diversity of traditional Spanish delicacies – to say nothing of the nueva cocina phenomenon spawned by chefs like Ferran Adrià – that it took some time to notice that most “ethnic meals” in town, be it Indian, Italian or Chinese language, was often a tame and tepid model of what is accessible in other fashionable capitals. And those aren’t reservations for the approaching weekend; bookings for the restaurant’s 30 seats are taken exactly one month prematurely. For us, the sate kambing, a brochette of succulent, virtually caramelized lamb was the star of the entrees. Victor de la Serna, an editor and food author for the newspaper El Mundo. Standouts among the many cool and fruity desserts include a mango lassi topped with litchis and lemon-basil granita in addition to a sweet coconut cream balanced by tart passion fruit sorbet. But in a rustic where a squeeze of lemon can be considered excessive if the fish is contemporary, spicy or heavily sauced dishes were robotically suspected of being made with inferior substances. Not anymore. During the last decade, waves of immigrants, many from Asia, have crossed paths with legions of Spaniards who have toured the globe and developed new tastes. I secretly hope to be underwhelmed at places with a lot buzz, but Diverxo fortunately dissatisfied. Specialty cocktails like the citrusy caipirinhas set a breezy temper, and the waiters do an important job of taking diners via the varied menu. Issues have only heated up since November, when the restaurant, led by the chef David Muñoz and his spouse, Ángela Montero, acquired a Michelin star. It was a riff on Spanish cochinillo and Peking duck and was indeed superb. Deborah said between bites of a delicate golden pancake cradling the crispy pores and skin of suckling pig. Next came the meat: a delicately steamed pork hamburger nestled in an artfully minimize leaf of iceberg lettuce. With no à la carte menu, Diverxo’s seven-, eight- or 9-course meals final nearly three hours, that means just one seating at each lunch and dinner. My favourite dish was the strangest – a buttery “bun” that looked like a snowball but was filled with black trumpet mushrooms and served with a paper-thin slice of smoky, air-cured beef draped over a metal spike protruding out of the plate. Costs, for two, don’t include drinks or tips. In an elegant room with alabaster panels one ground above Calle Hermosilla, which links the excessive-finish purchasing district of Barrio Salamanca with the corporate expense account crowd on Paseo de la Castellana, the latest branch of ninety nine Sushi Bar is not a cheap date. The outcomes can now be sampled at restaurants throughout city. There was first rate sushi (Spaniards are Europe’s high customers of fish), Argentine steaks and some Mexican cantinas for birthday parties and boozy celebrations. Dinner for 2, from a hundred and fifty euros, $186 at $1.24 to the euro. For first-timers like me and my two pals they prompt a trio of classic starters including nem cua – light and crispy spring rolls – samosas and Singapore dumplings bathed in a savory pork broth. In a rustic where chefs have traditionally turned down the heat on spices to suit local tastes, Spanish meals critics rave in regards to the authentically scorching and spicy crimson curry with beef cheeks. Each morning at 9 sharp, hopeful diners begin velocity-dialing Diverxo in hopes of nabbing reservations, which are typically gone by 9:10 a.m. Since transferring into sleek new digs in late 2009, Sudestada appears to be like and feels like a swank world supper club hovering someplace between Hanoi and Havana. Maybe that’s because the proprietor is Argentine and the chef is from Vietnam and is aware of his approach round such Southeast Asian cuisines as Thai, Malay and particularly Vietnamese. However it is well worth the splurge to sample the Peruvian chef Luís Arévalo’s inventive Japanese cuisine. Here are 5 such places. Coming to the desk, it seemed like a maquette for one in every of Santiago Calatrava’s next architectural tasks. Mr. Muñoz’s recent-confronted look belies an impressive résumé, together with 5 years in London at elite Asian restaurants like Hakkasan and Nobu. Mr. Arévalo gives a worthwhile 65-euro tasting menu that gives an ocean-hopping range by means of seafood preparations (sushi, sashimi and tartares are the house specialties), however my pal and i opted to skip that menu’s standard starters like miso soup and seaweed salad and dive right in with the raw fish, selecting six dishes of our own to share for roughly the same value. Back in Madrid since 2008, Mr. Muñoz, 30, has been piling up accolades for impressed Asian preparations during which he handles classics of the Spanish larder like morcilla (blood sausage) and white asparagus with the identical deft touch as mizuna and coconut milk.