RavioXO — Restaurant in Madrid

I went here last week for a tasting menu (150€ pp) and I have a few thoughts about this restaurant, although overall it was a acceptable experience.

For the price point of this tasting menu, I expected there to be some kind of suggested wine pairing but there wasn’t - and considering how large the wine list is, and how busy the sommelier was, unless you know what wines you like, it became overwhelming. It was also hard to get the attention of anyone unless they were coming out with a dish for us, which became a waiting game and a bit annoying at times.

Service: Everyone we spoke to was very kind and very knowledgeable - in terms of hospitality, this place gets full marks for the atmosphere and experience everyone was trying to maintain, which I appreciated. However, the service of the food was a bit disappointing, again considering the price point of the tasting menu. It felt a bit disorganized - we got the same dish twice by accident, and in one instance the dish toppled over en route to our table (it was a stacked pork belly and dumpling dish) and was quickly brought back to the kitchen to fix before it was given to us again. Again, it felt a bit sloppy even though I didn’t notice the restaurant being particularly busy that evening.

Food: The food was overall fine - there were some great moments where a fusion of western and eastern flavors came together wonderfully and in very clever ways. The first 3 plates that came out were definitely some of the most interesting and flavorful of the entire tasting menu. I think my favorite plates were the mortadella-stuffed tortellini soup that also gave the warmth of a hot and sour soup, but also the soft mochi filled with a Thai-like red curry. However, each subsequent dish in this 10-course meal was increasingly rich and indulgent without any opportunities for a refresher (something light and acidic ). This made me enjoy the later dishes less and less because it became a bit too decadent. In addition, a lot of the dishes were in some form of a dumpling which felt a bit too easy and boring, as many of the dishes shared a textural similarity and it became a bit uninteresting flavor-wise as well. As for the desserts, the shaved ice was the type of refreshing break I really needed after a series of really heavy bites, but the churros with ginger/chocolate sauce was my least favorite of the entire tasting menu. The ginger and chocolate flavor did not work as well as they hoped - neither was fragrant enough and as a result the overall flavor felt neither here nor there (however, this was also influenced by the fact that I was overwhelmed from having too much successive rich dishes in a row). Again, considering the price point of this tasting menu I would have expected to enjoy more of the dishes offered and the sequence of how they were presented to us, but unfortunately it didn’t quite reach that level of satisfaction for me.

Overall, I’m glad I came to try it, but next time I may just order a la carte and pick the dishes I liked.

The wine and cocktails were...

After recently visiting an somewhat underwhelming 3 Michelin star restaurant in Japan recently we thought RavioXO would provide a great introduction to understanding David Muñoz’s cuisine and allow us to judge if DiverXO would be worth visiting for us in the future. On previous trips we’ve visited numerous 3 star restaurants in Spain and have never been disappointed. However, I’m genuinely glad we came here instead of just booking DiverXO directly.

Our general consensus was the food was unbalanced and poorly executed cheap imitations of dishes we’ve already had in the past. The crab was a pale attempt at mimicry and does not hold a candle to the similar carb dishes in Asia. It was like all the flavour and charm was removed to cater to making it completely gimmicky. Having just visited Hokkaido and craving tuna we ordered the otoro and were given metallic and grainy chutoro - if that. The other dishes were completely forgettable, over-sauced and again, gimmicky. I can see why some people would be wowed by the flavours if you’re unfamiliar with staple Asian foods and ingredients but if you are, they just feel like cheap and misunderstood knock offs of better dishes.

On the other hand the cocktails were more interesting, however, the service was awful. The cocktails we ordered were finished at the table with specific fat infused oils, which ended up getting mixed up by the server. Instead of correcting the mistake and replacing the cocktails it was merely brushed off. This would have been corrected at less prestigious restaurants, yet here it was like the flavours themselves were inconsequential. Or maybe they were to them and the gimmick of pulling out a pipette was more important, which in retrospect seems completely on brand.

Lastly, if you’re not familiar with the area have fun finding the restaurant. Be prepared to traverse urine-scented dark tunnels, homeless encampments, and rowdy hoodlums. When we arrived we were greeted by 4 police cruisers outside the entrance to the restaurant/mall. The officers were interrogating 3 guys for physically assaulting a man in crutches. I’m willing to bet the food they’re going to receive in prison is going to be more interesting and creative than the food here.

Needless to say we won’t be...

Amazing experience. Amazing tastes. Five star service

Korean bao was probably the best thing i ever tasted

More detailed review

Pan de gambas -9/10

Started out with this simple looking bread but what an amazing taste. The two sauces were fantastic, one fruity spicy and the other one a green aguachile.

Huevos fritos con morcilla-10/10

Following was what it thought would be the highest point of the night. The morcilla was amazing, morcilla can be sometimes be overbearing but this was not. Specially mellowed out with a perfect cooked egg. The pig ear was amazing

Bao boloñesa-10/10

Following my favorite of the night. What an amazing delicacy. The filling was fantastic, little bit spicy and the sauce was a little tad more spicy. Perhaps too spicy for some, but i like that they are not pulling their punches. Parmesan with gojuchang and sriracha may sound a little strange, but this is too good. I would eat this everyday

Lagostino a quinta potencia-7/10

Following up my least favorite. It was good, dont get me wrong, but forgetful. There are so many things in this dish and some are better than others. I thought the cracker was a little bit flavorless, while the cooked langoustine was amazing. Overall

Cived de conejo and caserio vasco -8/10

Following up two gyozas that i cant actually remember which is which. Both of the were good but not remarkable

Gyoza italiana-9/10

Then another one that i thought would be as forgetful as the last two ones. But i was mistaken. The yerbabuena of the filling is awesome, and surprisingly refreshing

Cocido madrid hong kong -10/10

Another one of the highlights of the night. This is amazing.

Cerdo agridulce-9/10

This was amazing. One of the best porcs i ever had. The dumpling was awesome as well. I just didnt understand why they were...