Spanish cuisine, global cuisine, gourmets, art. the gastronomic world on a whole has reason to celebrate, happily contemplating the harvest and smacking their lips at the effort put in over many years. Not only do we have Ferran Adrià, but also now, like Christmas two days in a row, we have the added phenomenon that is Quique Dacosta. His creative capacity already situates him at the summit of international cuisine. After the universally recognized genius of Roses, we now have the consolidated genius of Denia, responding heartily to his call to glory.

Rafael García Santos

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Beyond Ferran Adrià and his team of collaborators there is a handful of chefs-Joan Roca, Andoni Aduriz, Dani García, Josean Martínez Alija-, second and third generations of the Spanish vanguard, whose work methods start trends and unleash movements. Their revolutionary techniques transform the way in which cuisine is understood, copied by other countries, powerfully influencing the West as a whole. Within this group there is a preeminent character by the name of Quique Dacosta, owner of Quique Dacosta Restaurante (Denia, Alicante), a marvel in his field who has been opening up new, unprecedented paths for years now.

It should come as no surprise that his tasting menu, entitled Local Universe (13 mini-dishes and 2 desserts), constitutes an evocation of nature and a chromatic temptation for all the senses. Loaded with fine raw product, supported by a stunning technique, Dacosta makes huge things out of small materials, bringing out sparkling moments in even the most minute detail.

J. Carlos Capel

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Natural purity, lightness, flavor. Three keys to understanding Dacosta, a chef who at no time renounces the importance of having the highest quality product, which isn’t necessarily more expensive: his work with rice dishes and vegetable sprouts have created a new school of thought. He uses the finest raw product from his environment as well as what is available on the global market. If with his red Denia prawns he creates true marvels, his preparation of foie gras, poached and lacquered, is spectacular. His cuisine is born of the Mediterranean but projected on a global scale through balance, distinctness of flavor and the apparent simplicity of perfect technical executions through which he produces subtle, harmonious contrasts. And that is what makes him an essential reference to the Spanish culinary vanguard. Because Dacosta is a chef that beats to the sound of his own drum, a trend starter, something that is only within reach of the greatest chefs.

Carlos Maribona

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Dacosta’s cuisine is of an apparent and disarming simplicity. He employs raw materials from the land and sea that surround him. The tuna thus becomes the “Denia chop”, tuna belly cooked at low temperature for three hours. In each of his proposals the purity of form is highlighted, there are no special effects here, at least none that are garish or gratuitous, but rather each small trick is thought through to give a determined result in the dish and not to simply set off fireworks. Dacosta is considered a kind of magician, one of those illusionists with tricks up his sleeve and the more genius they are, the more difficult it is to say where the device is when he pulls a rabbit out of the hat.

Paolo Marchi

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Costa bravo!

The young prodigy explores all the facets of the vegetal universe, from roots to desert cacti.

A (first) dinner at Quique Dacosta’s is never forgotten (…) Once past the gardens, you enter into the restaurant–reassuring, spacious, with defined lines, a little bit cold… Just like Quique Dacosta’s cuisine

Luc Dubanchet