StreetXO — Restaurant in Madrid

Let me try an talk the experience of Street XO especially for people visiting the city(Like me). We went to there on a Thursday evening. Since there are no reservations we wanted to try and make it there early to get a spot. We got there at 8.30pm and were the asked to be seated on the couch outside. We noticed 2 couples ahead of us and the Host took down our names. She said she had no idea about the wait. ( I’ll explain why later) After about 20-25 mins we were called in to a waiting / holding area. We could order drinks there.

Ambience - Now the holding area has a few high tables with high chairs and bar stools . Everyone having drinks. Each cocktail looks more fascinating than the other. The music is really loud and disorienting. I assume the theme is meant to be disorienting since the staff is in straight jacket inspired uniforms. It took me awhile (and a few drinks) to get used to the music as it doesn’t play whole songs and starts and stops suddenly (in some occasions) It also affects you cos you are unable to hear the staff speak. I’d say look past it if you can as it’s worth it. But I hope the management does look into this.

Next Up, Drinks - We started with the Ceviche Sour and the Tom Kha Kai. The Tom Kha Kai was absolutely delicious but the Ceviche Sour was average. My buddies then got a Ramen, a spicy margarita and I got the Dinosaur egg drink which was the best and I’d highly recommend it. The marg was definitely spicy and tasty. But Pedroches Eggs takes the prize. Mid way through the second round of drinks we were asked to come through for dinner as we had spots become available.

Restaurant Section - The entire restaurant section was an open kitchen . There are signs and stickers and graffiti all over the place which added to the experience. It really is an experience for all your senses.

The place is an open kitchen at the centre and seats all around it. Since most of the people come around 8 you wouldn’t expect them to leave till 9.30-10. This makes sense to have a bar for drinks. After we were seated (and super excited) one of the chefs came over to chat and was really sweet. She took us through the menu and said all the dishes were to share and recommended we order 7-8 dishes between the 3 of us. The loud music was still there and at some moments it hard to hear the staff.

Food - Now for the food, we started with CROQUETTES. It was like a tiny taste explosion. Honestly, I could’ve eaten a dozen of those. It was the perfect start to our food journey.

After this was the ROASTED SCALLOP. This elevated us to a complete new level. So tasty and lovely. Frankly, all of our senses were being tested and we were strapped in.

Then SHANK: MEMORIES OF OAXAKA - Glazed in its own juice, seasoned with green lemons and morita chile.It comes along with Buffalo stracciatella quesadilla for dipping. The shank was cooked perfectly and the meat fell off the bone easily. The sauce was great but thick and had a strong flavour. The quesadilla it was accompanied with was nice but nothing extraordinary.

We got BRIOCHE SINGAPORE to dip in. which was fantastic.

After this we got the highly recommended CHILI BOGAVANTE which is their Grilled lobster, in a Spicy Tomato Sauce. This was absolutely delicious! That sauce was absolutely divine and messy but super enjoyable . I got into that lobster and didn’t care who was around. The churros and the brioche were perfect with the sauce.

DUMPLING BEIJING-You eat it in one bite and that crunch was super. The Pigs ear and Strawberry Hoisin sauce really end up making you feel things you never have before.

Lastly PANCETTA "SSAM" - This was a do it yourself lettuce taco which was frankly perfect. And the lovely way to end this meal. We ended up being too full to get dessert.

Street XO is definitely not for everyone. Don’t rush in and out. Take your time and go in groups of 2-3 people and you will enjoy it. You might have to queue up early but know there isn’t a similar flavour experience available easily.Be open and see how everything will...

StreetXO was intended to be a culinary highlight of our three-week visit to Italy and Spain. Unfortunately, it did not live up.

Where to begin.

It was clearly style over substance and intended for the non-discriminating Instagram crowd. The predominant flavor profiles were sour and ironic.

I assumed the dishes were a Spanish interpretation of different Asian cuisines and not a replication (or worse yet, an appropriation). If it was the latter, then it missed the mark.

The first taste of irony began with the location of the restaurant; “street food” dining on the top floor of a ritzy department store.

With its deafening music, the ambiance reminded me of a gay sex club: dark corners, padded walls, swings, plastic refrigerator curtains to separate the hallway from the main room where all the real “action” happened. Other areas attempted to replicate a hyper-exaggerated alley in Tokyo, replete with illuminated street signs, or private hookah lounges. The kitchen was reminiscent of teppanyaki dining but in the quietude of a wind tunnel. It was laughable to the have the servers try to explain the intricacies of the dishes and drinks when they themselves could hardly hear over the tumult. Such tasty irony.

And now on to the food.

The dinosaur egg and giant goblet drinks were at first promising but became embarrassingly kitschy with the arrival of the underwhelming dishes.

Sashimi De Pez Limon Peruano-Madrid. Much too heavy-handed with the passion fruit dressing and the dusting of the of the chips were inconsistent as we observed it (not) happening right before our eyes. This dish leaned more toward Peruvian ceviche than sashimi; the moniker is misleading unless you knew the difference.

Ssam De Panceta. It would have been wise to either reduce the amount of accompanying herbs or halve the pork belly pieces as the proportions were off. The use of iceberg lettuce seemed an amateur oversight. Iceberg is the most flavorless (not to mention nutritionless) of vegetable wrappers. Pricy herbs and cheap lettuce. Irony again? The mussels and tartar sauce were also superfluous.

Bun Cha Dubai. The diner should have had the option of pouring the amount of sauce they wanted, rather than having the server drown everything. Bun Cha is traditionally meant to be a dipping dish (the menu description even says so). The sourness of the nuoc cham could have been tempered with a bit of sweetness.

Chili Crab De Concha Blanda. The crab was under-seasoned. Perhaps the line cook was too busy playing their part and forgot to salt the crustacean after taking it out of the fryer. The spiced tomato and curry leaf beurre blanc sauces strangely did not gel. And again the superfluity of a few random pieces of gnocchi.

Small sharing plates would have sufficed but it appeared that they really wanted to push the dia-de-los-muertos bowls, eschewing practicality.

Is this the sign of the times? Where social media appearance outweighs actual taste. To be rebellious for the sake of being rebellious. Perhaps it is high time for someone to tell the emperor that he is naked.

The greatest irony of the evening was having one of the head cooks ask our serious opinions, knowing it would not make a difference beyond a futile review on...

There's no better way to kick off a new city than by eating at one of the trendiest spots in town! StreetXO is the more casual and affordable sister restaurant of the acclaimed three Michelin star, DiverXO, both run by three star Michelin Chef David Muñoz. Unfortunately dining at DiverXO requires planning MONTHS in advance but luckily for procrastinators, StreetXO has a no reservation policy and all it requires is that you get there early enough and be willing to wait.

Getting there 40 minutes before opening for a weeknight dinner ensured a first seating but there were still lots of people who made it there even earlier. The vibe is funky, hip and almost a little frenetic. With loud punk rock music playing in the background, a majority of the guests - perched on stools at the bar - watched while straight jacket wearing chefs prepared the food in front of them.

One of my favourite dishes of the night was the "la pedroche" croquettes (19€). The croquettes are filled with a mixture of sheep's milk and kimchi and are crunchy on the outside but amazingly creamy inside. It is then topped with slices of fatty toro and a dollop of butter which is then singed in front of you with a piece of hot coal. Finally it is topped with some XO sauce and a sprinkle of Lapsang Souchon tea powder. The chef's instructions are to eat it all in one bite resulting in an explosion of flavors - creamy, earthy, meaty, fishy and smokey. I loved how the cool firm texture of the tuna contrasted with the warm creaminess of the croquettes. Mind blowing!

The infamous "Steamed Club Sandwich" (13€) starts with a Chinese steamed bun that has been grilled and cut in half and then topped with some extremely juicy pork belly, a layer of spicy Shichimi-Togarashi mayonnaise, fresh ricotta cheese, cilantro, and finally a fried quail egg. I loved the different flavours and textures complemented one another. The earthy juicy pork topped with the heat from the sauce was then soothed down with the mild creamy ricotta, popped with a herby zing from cilantro and finished off with a touch of richness from the egg yolk.

The XO Style Korean Lasagna (16.5€) seemed like an earthy sticky mashup of flavours with a spicy kick at the end. Aged Galician beef is topped with shitake mushrooms mixed in with Gochujang hot & sour tomato sauce and some cardamom béchamel. This was then all topped with cooked wonton skins and some crispy wonton skins to give it some crunch. What I really liked about this dish was the chewiness of the cooked wonton wrappers - it was incredibly elastic and stretched over the meat and mushrooms to give it a nice chew. The fresh basil and tomato also gave the otherwise heavy lasagna a lighter touch.

Finally, one cannot go to David Muñoz's restaurants without trying out some of his cocktail creations. I ended up getting the "Brazilian" (13€) with coconut milk and white chocolate. Served in a simple clear plastic bag with a straw (which is apparently what they do in Brazil), it might look unimpressive but the taste was phenomenal! Fruity, bright and refreshing, it had a slight hint of creamy white chocolate and was the perfect pairing to the incredible array of flavours from the food menu.

This place is a must if you love...