[Spain: Madrid] 2* Deesa by Quique Dacosta

December 31, 2023

[Spain: Madrid] 2* Deesa by Quique Dacosta

Rating: 5/5

The best meal I had in Madrid this time was at 2* Deesa Restaurante by Quique Dacosta! Located in the luxurious Alfonso XIII room at MO Ritz Madrid, the restaurant aims to showcase the ingredient and its seasonality. Two degustation menus are available - “Historic” featuring iconic dishes from Quique’s 3* restaurant in Denia and “Contemporary” with exclusive dishes created just for Deessa. We had the latter and were simply blown away by the superb execution and delightful flavors. Combined with a lavish setting and top notch service, I wouldn’t be surprised if it gets awarded the prestigious third star soon.

Our meal started with an invitation to a counter with a gorgeous presentation of a citrus forest. It was here that we also had our first bite - a refreshing 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐞𝐭 𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐨𝐥𝐢/𝐐𝐃.

Back at our table, we then had one of Quique’s iconic dish - 𝐃𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞; on the side was the 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡 𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐝𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐢𝐥-𝐩𝐢𝐥.

One of my favorites of the meal was the savory 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐮-𝐥é𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐬, 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐚𝐧 - a delightful surprise!

The 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐩, 𝐤𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐫 𝐢𝐜𝐞-𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐧 was another refreshing dish - perfect for the summer heat.

The staff then rolled a cart to our table for the grand reveal of 𝐂𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐫𝐨𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 with an in-depth explanation of the two types of caviar and roe we would be trying.

𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐫-𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐣𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐟𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐚 - tear drop pears are one of my favorite ingredients to have during this season.

Then came a surprise dish from the chef - another one of Quique’s signature dish 𝐃𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐰𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐰𝐧 𝐞𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧!

𝐄𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚 𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐢𝐥 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝

𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐲 𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐦𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐚 𝐝𝐞 𝐥𝐚 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐚 - easily another favorite with its rich flavors!

𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞-𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡 𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐞𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧

We ended the savory courses on a high note with the 𝐈𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐢𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐞𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐢 - how cute is that piggy face on the crispy cracker!