Chef Quique Dacosta is the chef -patron of his namesake restaurant in Denia ,which is currently ranked 14th in the world and holds 3 Michelin stars .
Unfortunately they are closed for winter break but thankfully he also serves the Quique Dacosta classic menu at his 2 star establishment in Madrid , Deessa .
With a focus on regional ingredients , especially seafood , the meal was enjoyable although on the whole and there were a few standouts but also a few dishes which didn’t deliver .
The opening gambit , a Mackerel mulled of which combined a tomato molded from ice cream and a mackerel foam was a terrific start .
A savory creme brûlée followed, this meant more towards chawanmushi with a deep roasted onion flavour , pork chops and seasonal mushroom as the garnish .
A cold beetroot and dill soup with kefir ice cream and cubes of confit salmon tasted exactly like borsch.
A caviar and fish roe selection followed, a great experience to try Kaluga, Beluga and Oscietra as a tasting , turns out I am team Oscietra .
A vivid green curry foam was paired with flamed shrimp and seafood mousse . The mousse had a little bitterness , which distracted from the vibrant shrimp and curry .
The highlight of the meal was a simple off menu unadorned Denia King prawn , lightly poached in salt water it was more raw than set but had terrific pure flavour .
Red Mullet , saffron gnocchi and a cheese foam didn’t quite work for me as the flavours were thin and tended to clash .
But things were back on track with a stunning albufera rice with roasted red peppers , this had incredible depth of flavour and umami notes .
The final savoury course were veal sweetbreads , with black truffle and milk pasta , for an ingredient I absolutely adore the sweetbreads sadly got a little lost here .
Desserts were highlighted by a nice chocolate and hazelnut Gianduja but were not particularly memorable .
Overall a well executed meal which somehow a few too many misses , thankfully service and ambiance were terrific .