The Mandarin Oriental Ritz Madrid is one of Europe's great palace hotels — a 1910 building on the Plaza de la Lealtad whose renovation by Rafael Moneo is considered among the finest architectural restorations of the modern era. Quique Dacosta arrived in 2020 as its chef and immediately raised an already extraordinary address to a new register. Deessa — the name means "goddess" in Valencian — became the city's definitive grand dining destination within two years of opening.
The setting is overwhelming in the best possible sense. The Alfonso XIII dining room, where Deessa's main service takes place, occupies a soaring space of gilded mouldings and period detail that belongs to a world of pre-war European glamour. Tables are well-spaced, candles are properly deployed, and the Ritz Garden — a terrace framed by manicured hedges and offering views of the Retiro — is available for summer service and remains one of the most spectacular dining terraces in the world.
Dacosta offers two menus — Historical and Contemporary — both served at lunch and dinner. The Historical traces the evolution of his cooking from his formative years at Denia's Quique Dacosta Restaurante (three Michelin stars, regularly listed among Europe's greatest tables); the Contemporary presents his current direction in Madrid. Both are lengthy affairs — 12 to 14 courses with amuse-bouche sequences of considerable wit and refinement — and both reward the full allocation of time and attention they request.
The cooking itself reflects Dacosta's Mediterranean origins: a profound respect for the sea, an instinct for acidity and salinity, and a visual sensibility that makes each plate look as though it were designed by someone who studied painting before they picked up a knife. The rice preparations, informed by decades in Valencia, are among the finest expressions of that tradition available in the capital.
Best for: Proposal
There is no more beautiful room for a proposal in Madrid — and possibly few in Europe. The Ritz Garden at golden hour, as the sun drops behind the Retiro's treeline and the candles take over, is a setting designed for moments that require permanence. The hotel's team, when informed of your intention in advance, will orchestrate the evening with a discretion and elegance that requires no rehearsal — this is, after all, a hotel that has been hosting significant moments since 1910. Request the garden table in warm months, the Alfonso XIII window table in winter. Either works. Neither will be forgotten. The cooking — Dacosta's precise, emotionally generous Mediterranean cuisine — is worthy of the occasion.
Quique Dacosta is one of the most considered culinary thinkers in Spain — a chef who has written and spoken extensively about the relationship between food, memory, landscape, and identity. At Deessa, he cooks Madrid through a Valencian lens: using the capital's magnificent product (the Castilian plateau's lamb, the inland rivers' freshwater fish, the proximity to the coasts of Murcia and Valencia) and applying a Mediterranean sensibility that arrives as a complement rather than an imposition.
The wine programme at Deessa is exceptional and specifically tailored to the menu's Mediterranean character. Spanish producers dominate, with a particular focus on the wines of Valencia and Alicante — Dacosta's home region — alongside Catalan, Riojan, and Ribera del Duero selections. The sommelier's explanations are as considered as the pairings themselves, and the by-the-glass programme allows for meaningful exploration without requiring a full pairing commitment.
Community Reviews
Proposal
I called three weeks ahead and explained what I was planning. The team at Deessa handled everything: the garden table, the flowers, a specific bottle I'd requested. My fiancée didn't suspect a thing until the moment I moved. The sommelier had the champagne chilled and opened before I'd finished speaking. That level of choreography is something you can only find at a great hotel restaurant. We'll return for every anniversary.
Impress Clients
Dacosta's rice dish — a preparation of arroz meloso with langoustine and saffron — was the best rice I have eaten outside Valencia. Which is extraordinary given that we are 350km from the coast. The setting alone would justify the table. The cooking makes it essential.
