Visiting a David Muñoz restaurant is an event. The renowned Spanish chef is known as much for his innovative and daring culinary style, as he is for his mohawk.
Having woo-ed the world’s finest food critics at his impressive DiverXO restaurant in Madrid, his global reputation was only reinforced with the opening of a Dubai-based spin-off StreetXO in early 2024.
A true culinary maverick, his dishes often incorporate unexpected flavours and presentations, which is why his restaurants are considered some of the most exciting dining destinations in the world.
Here, Chef David Muñoz walks Esquire Middle East down memory lane with the 5 dishes that have helped shape both him as a chef person, and as a person.
Bocata de Calamares
This dish is one that perfectly captures the essence of StreetXO Dubai’s concept. Inspired by the popular deep fried calamari street food from Madrid, these fritters are served with a fantastic accompaniment of textures and flavours including bread sponge cake, crispy bread, tamarind ketchup, black garlic and aioli.
La Pedroche Croquetas
Named after my wife [Spanish TV presenter Cristina Pedroche] this is a unique take on traditional Spanish croquettes. I experimented with more than 100 different types of ingredients before settling on this combination! While you’ll find croquetas on any Spanish menu, these Kimchi croquettes with tuna sashimi are inspired by nigiri with a very powerful and almost liquid-like texture. They look traditional, but are certainly not in flavour!
Club Sandwich
I’m inspired by creativity. Making age-old classics doesn’t interest me, but when I get a chance to reinvent them with my own twist—that’s when I thrive. This is a perfect example of that – a personal twist on the globally loved classic sandwich. My version of it involves a steamed Black Angus beef bao, filled with ricotta, signature XO burger sauce, shichimi, black truffle and topped with a quail’s egg.
Pekinese Dumplings
For me, it’s important to have fun with food. I want my restaurants to be an experience, and one that you won’t forget. The Pekinese Dumplings is a great demonstration of this. Served on a canvas with various sauces—including strawberry hoisin, green onion, gherkins and lemon mayonnaise—the crispy duck skin offers a blend of different textures and flavours.
Arroz a la Cubana
A spin on popular Cuban rice-based street food, this dish is rich in popular culture and delivers a sensory explosion of texture and flavour. I use crispy rice cake with tomato chutney sauce, and then build up the flavour profile with yuzu pesto, fried egg and koji beef ham.