The gastronomic experiences that restaurants offer us are increasingly global. We are not going to deny that we love a good bar with tapas and traditional dishes of Spanish gastronomy, but it is increasingly booming the union of different types of cuisine in a single menu. It is what is known as fusion cuisine.
To fully understand what the term fusion cuisine means, what better way than to turn to culinary experts. “The key word to understand fusion cuisine is mix. Mixture of ingredients, techniques and cultures from different parts of the world“, they assure from the web from the MICHELIN Guide.
In other words, fusion cuisine means mixing both typical recipes from one country and ways of cooking them or ingredients from others. We see this trend of restaurants that bet on this type of cuisine more and more in cities like Madrid. The capital has become a gastronomic destination not only for its authentic food, but also for this fusion of identities.
We just have to name Dabiz Muñoz’s DiverXO, an award-winning and prestigious fusion cuisine restaurant that hosts flavors from all over Spain and Asia. So, if like us, you want to expand the borders of your palate, we leave you below seven restaurants in Madrid where you can taste the best fusion cuisine: Spanish, Japanese, Mexican, Italian And a long etcetera.
Restaurants in Madrid where to taste fusion cuisine: DiverXO
Courtesy of Dabiz Muñoz’s Instagram (@dabizdiverxo).
If we talk about fusion cuisine in Madrid, and in Spain in general, Dabiz Muñoz’s DiverXO could not be missingpossibly the best known and famous restaurant both nationally and internationally in this area.
DiverXO is a temple of fusion cuisine with three Michelin starsin which both the gastronomic proposal, which he called “cañí-oriental fusion”, and the experience itself (decoration, crockery, etc.) stand out.
It has a tasting menu in which there is a waiting list, and in which dishes such as the blue lobster in the tandoor (a type of oven from Pakistan) that can be found in the image above are tasted.
Restaurants in Madrid where you can taste fusion cuisine: Umiko
Courtesy of Umiko.@FATI_GGBIEBS
Umiko is a gastronomic sanctuary of Japanese fusion cuisine that this February 2023 has been awarded two Repsol Suns. Although they had been open for eight years, it was only one year ago that they moved to have a restaurant with an open kitchen, as well as other spaces.
Its letter represents the connection with the sea and with Japanese cuisine and culture, in a proposal that is based on Japanese gastronomy fused with flavors from other parts of the world, especially Peru, China, Thailand, Mexico or Madrid. For this reason, we find dishes like the Socarrat nigiri, a traditional Valencian dish reinvented using Japanese techniques and crowned with a white prawn from Huelva (above).
Restaurants in Madrid where you can taste fusion cuisine: Ikigai Velázquez
Courtesy of Ikigai.
Ikigai Velázquez is the most recent project by Yong Wu Nagahira, who already had another address in the capital. In this second venue in Madrid, fusion cuisine continues to be the axis, as we find icons of Japanese cuisine as well as other freer, more creative recipes with a traveling DNA.
You only have to read their menu to confirm it: gyozas with sobrassada and ponzu brava, the dry cheek ramen pictured above, the oxtail spring roll Japanese curry and yuzu or tempuras such as tiger prawns with kimuchi and Parmesan mayonnaise.
Restaurants in Madrid where you can taste fusion cuisine: BiBo Madrid by Dani García
Courtesy of BiBo Madrid by Dani García.
This restaurant by the prestigious chef Dani García is not only a mixture of two cultures or two gastronomies, but it supposes a fusion of flavors brought from different corners of the world. Of course, as the central axis of the dishes are those typical elaborations of Malaga, his homeland.
To create your recipes in this cosmopolitan enclave of Madrid draws inspiration from the chef’s Andalusian roots and also from his travels around the world, that is why it is the most traveling concept of Dani García. The awesome Brioche with crumbled Ronda chorizo, sweet onion, chipotle sauce and fried quail egg or the foie gras, port and Parmesan yogurt tapa are some of the dishes in this enclave.
Restaurants in Madrid where you can taste fusion cuisine: Pacífico
Courtesy of Pacific.ANA MARISTANI PINEYRO
This is a restaurant that was born in Mexico more than 10 years ago and that has begun its expansion throughout Spain this same 2023. It was in July when it opened the doors of Pacífico in Madrid, offering fusion cuisine that mixes elements of Mexican cuisine with others from Japan and the Mediterranean. In addition, it has the flavors of the Pacific sea as protagonists.
The green prawn aguachile (above) is one of the most recommended dishes that they offer, created with prawns marinated with cucumber water, citrus fruits and jalapeño chili on a base of totem avocado, red onion and coriander oil, accompanied with toast blue corn. In addition, they have music thanks to DJs who play live music in the center of the venue.
Restaurants in Madrid where you can taste fusion cuisine: Tora
Courtesy of Thora.
At Tora’s kitchen we find the chef José Osuna, who proposes a fusion cuisine of classic elements of Japanese cuisine with others typical of the Spanish. In the chef’s words, “they create minimalist, product-focused dishes that do not look for artifice or excessive decorations.”
They have the special Omakase menu, with 16 dishes made exclusively for the occasion, since they vary and do not appear on the menu. But also with creations such as the temaki with lamb gizzards in the image above, mackerel niguiris or tuna tartare with citrus miso soup.
Restaurants in Madrid where you can taste fusion cuisine: La Madonna Sushita
Courtesy of La Madonna Sushita.
And finally, two of the most international and popular cuisines in the world come together at La Madonna Sushita,where Italian tradition and Japanese avant-garde come together.
In this restaurant, the seventh of the Sushita Group, Japanese-style pizzas are main dishes: La Madonna, avocado pizza with pico de gallo, Salmon sahimi pizza, Vegetable pizza with king prawn or Pizza Morimoto, with slices of tuna, jalapeños and anchovy ali oli, in the image.
