Fire Games
EBRU ERKE
At Madrid’s exclusive Smoked Room, Dani García’s ‘Fire Omakase’ experience transforms fine dining into an immersive spectacle of smoke, truffle and Michelin-starred mastery.
When I walk into the restaurant, I bypass the crowded area (referred to as the Lena section) and go through another door into the Smoked Room. Upon entering, there’s a round table, with a long counter for eight people just beyond it. Following the “Fire Omakase” concept, only fourteen guests are served here. As is typical of authentic omakase restaurants, where diners place their trust in the chef and enjoy whatever dishes are prepared, they never serve too many customers.
As you settle in behind the counter, it’s a nice touch to be able to view everything unfolding on the kitchen counter through the angled mirror above. In front of the fire, there’s a flurry of activity as preparations for the upcoming service are underway. The golden-brown brioche on the counter catches my eye, and then, out of nowhere, an upside-down wine glass appears in front of me, containing slices of black truffle. Alongside it, a large bowl arrives, filled with whole black truffles nestled among fresh garden greens. They lift the wine glass and fill it with Riesling, then take the truffle slices from the bottom of the glass and place them in a stone mortar, adding salt before gently crushing them.
What’s this? They take a piece of unpasteurized butter, coated in black ash to resemble a truffle, and mix it with the large truffles in the mortar and pestle before serving. At that very moment, they softly advise, “Today’s menu is quite intense, so we recommend not finishing all of your brioche.”
The Smoked Room is a special place where you’ll come to understand that a gastronomic experience is more than just what’s on your plate. Here, fire and smoke take center stage in every dish. When Dani García’s skillful flavor combinations are infused with smoky undertones, the result is an experience where every bite is a delight. Established in Madrid in 2021, Smoked Room earned two Michelin stars within just six months of opening.
Dani García earned his first Michelin star at just 24 years old at Tragabuches, quickly gaining national attention as a promising young chef. His reputation grew even further with his two-star restaurant, Calima. However, one of his most groundbreaking moves came six years ago when I met him in Bangkok. At the time, Fatih Tutak was still heading House on Sathorn, and García had been invited as a guest chef to the restaurant Fatih oversaw. If I recall correctly, it was in February 2019, just before the Michelin awards in Spain were about to be announced. While we were in Bangkok, García’s restaurant in Marbella was awarded a third Michelin star. Amidst the excitement, he shocked everyone by announcing the closure of his restaurant. His goal was clear: to create innovative and more accessible food concepts. This vision led to the creation of Smoked Room, his new concept born after achieving three Michelin stars. They later opened another location in Dubai, where they soon earned a Michelin star as well.
Let’s dive into the dishes created with fire games. After the butter and brioche, I mentioned earlier, the chef presented Motril shrimp, a nod to his Andalusian heritage. Sourced from Motril, a small town on the Mediterranean coast of Granada, these deep-water shrimps are almost transparent, tiny, and have a delicate, thin shell. They offer a sweet, slightly nutty taste with a rich, buttery texture. The shrimp are lightly smoked, then topped with noisette butter and seasoned with yuzu kosho. This zesty condiment, made from yuzu citrus peel, a touch of juice, salt, and chili pepper, gave the dish a delightful kick.
One of the stars of the menu is tomato nitro, one of the chef’s signature dishes. This bright little tomato is sometimes red, sometimes white or black, prepared with the same technique but with different ingredients. The iconic dish of Dani García, in which there is no tomato, this time they prepare it with smoked eel mousse, accompanied by ajoblanco malagueño, cubes of smoked eel, roasted pepper caramel gel, and finish by adorning it with the tomato stem itself. Ajoblanco, a typical dish of Andalusia, Extremadura, and Castilla-La Mancha, believed to date back to Roman times, is made in this case with raw almonds, water, garlic, 25-year-old sherry vinegar, salt, and olive oil.
A classic Japanese savory egg custard is a corn version of chawanmushi with grilled leek vichyssoise topped with a piece of crab and sea urchins on top. The creamy custard beneath beautifully balanced the intense flavor of the sea urchin, mellowing it perfectly. The grilled sea cucumber was served alongside a vibrant green shisho paste. Shisho contains strong flavors of spearmint, basil, anise and and it has a unique flavor: Pungent and grassy, used like a spice to give an accent to dish as it is here.
The lobster, cooked with the “Itamemono” technique, a Japanese stir fry method, was served in its own shell with shio-koji, maitake mushrooms and finger lime. The quail served as the main dish had two different parts cooked in completely different ways. Dry aged quail, almond mole and sweet corn were served with risotto, while Quail leg was stuffed with its pate and served with black garlic and citrus emulsion.
Now, onto the desserts. The first one served as a smooth transition after the intense flavors, helping to prepare the palate for the upcoming sweets. Dried Hoshigaki, filled with Comté cheese, was sliced and garnished with black truffles. Following that was a chocolate dessert with miso and a smoked flavor, offering a unique and striking take on a chocolate treat that was both simple and impressive. The culinary brilliance of Massimo Vedove leading the kitchen, the exceptional service that provides thorough explanations of every detail, and the carefully curated wine selection should not be overlooked.
