Disfrutar (*) – 10/22/2024

Almost a year ago but still a super memorable meal! I took these notes during the meal so they should be pretty accurate. We were super excited at the time to get reservations since Disfrutar had been ranked #1 restaurant in the world in 2024. Service was exception- each member of the staff seemed loos, happy, and excited yet still very professional, and no misteps during the actual meal itself. Ambiance is nice – we had a lunch reservation, the whole area was super lit up with natural lighting and did not feel stuffy at all. They also have a enclosed garden patio area outside for you to sit in after the meal if you just want to digest and relax.

I loved the theatrical aspects of the experience: in one course we had to use a magnifying glass, another course had an optical illusion with mirrors, another course had us pick out "engagement" rings. Some people might think these are unnecessary or silly but i'm a sucker for this kind of stuff.

I don't think any of these interactions detracted from the overall taste and quality of the dishes. I will say that most of the dishes did not have any super complex or complicated flavors. However, the intricate attention to detail in the textures and highlighted quality of the ingredients themselves paired mindblowingly well with the simple yet delicious flavors.

Food:

• Frozen Passion Fruit Ladyfinger (6/10) – Loved the textures and the thin rice paper bottom. thought the passion fruit and gin was a bit bitter though
• Beet from land (6/10) – Cool texture with the glitter but a bit forgettable
• Lychee and Roses (6/10) –  I liked the flavor of the rose drops, but wanted the lychee to be less icy and with more lychee flavor. Still good dish that looked really nice.
• Vodka/Truffle (NA) – I don't really enjoy straight alcohol like this, not sure if the truffle flavor really came through
• Panchino w/ Caviar (10/10) – Absolutely ridiculously good. I still remember this even after a year. The texture was so perfectly deep fried and doughy, reminded me of an asian fried doughnut dessert. the inside was this insane burst of flavor with caviar and cream. i thought the fried and flaky exterior contrasted so well with the flavor explosion of the interior. i could probably eat a million of these
• Bubbles of Smoked butter (9.5/10) –  Fun to use the magnifying glass on, and the butter texture and flavor was INSANE, i thought it would be foamy but it was just super soft. each bite was super rich and buttery and the caviar explosion at the end was the perfect last bite.
• Gazpacho Sandwich (6.5/10) –  I liked the tomato flavor and the texture of the sandwich overall. They had us smell a wine glass with vinegar inside to enhance the flavor. I don't really think it did that much but maybe it was a mental thing
• Gila with marinated mackerel (4/10) – The mackerel itself tasted super good with the olive oil. I thought the pepper was extremely bitter and unpleasant, and I also don't like olives so I wasn't a fan of the fake olive filled with olive juice.
• Crunchy Mushroom Leaf (5.5/10) – very light and thin, not much mushroom flavor. it looked cool but i wanted a more intense mushroom flavor
• Cocoa bread with porcini (9/10) – the flourless bread was super thin, crispy, and flaky but still somehow had a ton of substance to it. i loved the mushrooms on top and it was a delicious two bites.
• Crispy egg yolk w/ warm mushrooms (8.5/10) – i loved the interactive part where you bite the crispy egg yolk, then pour the egg yolk into the rest of the egg shell to mix with the gelatin. Gelatin had a super intense, delicious mushroom flavor.
• Marinated mushroom with oyster (9/10) – the mushroom vinegar was sooooooo good, super rich and deep taste, i wanted to lick up the rest of the sauce. the oyster was super clean and also paired extremely well with the sauce. Fun fact – everyone else I talked to hated this dish.
• Multispherical pesto (6/10) – the pesto itself was really bland and tasted very herbally. i didn’t like it, but the eel was DELICIOUS. it was super tender and juicy, you probably could have lied and told me it was wagyu.
• Carbonara (7.5/10) – the cream, parmesan, guancale, egg yolk were all top tier. the clear noodle was a bit underwhelming, but the other aspects made up for it. for me, this would be higher with regular pasta noodles
• Liquid Salad (0/10) – This was atrocious. Easily my least favorite dish. The foam didn’t taste good and the liquid underneath was kind of oily and gross. No redeeming qualities.
• Tomato polvoron (4/10) – It was ok, had some tomato flavor. Honestly the liquid salad probably is dragging this down since you eat both together.
• Suquet (9/10) – i really really the sauce with the fish, it was like a deep lobster/seafood bisque sauce. the yellow sauce was super buttery and was great with the fish. i wish the potatoes were more gnocchi like and had some chew, but it was just like a thin coverage over mashed potatoes. parsley foam didn’t add much but wasn’t bad. the cappuccino was delicious too, had a super rich seafood flavor and was nice and thick like a seafood broth. i loved alternating sips and bites
• Golden Egg (9/10) – this dish was one of the most aesthetically pleasing to look at. it was inspired from singaporean chili crab, which is why the flavors were so familiar. i loved the golden egg and the super orange fake egg yolk. had a nice sweetness and mild spiciness to it that i coated the whole dish with. the shrimp/langoustine was good but maybe a tiny bit overcooked, which otherwise would have been a perfect dish.
• Corn and Foie (7.5/10) – They used mirrors to create this cool optical illusion, where when you initially reached to grab it you would miss. The corn was sweet and paired well with the foie. i think it could have been improved with a thicker cracker to help absorb some of the creaminess of the foie. Unfortunately the corn had a bit of a bitter aftertaste too, but overall was a tasty and cool course.
• Squab (9/10) – Ive never had squab before and it was tender, juicy, and delicious. The dark sauce was slightly savory, and the white sauce actually added a nice balance to it with some sweetness. i thought the grape would be weird but it was a nice palate cleanser at the end. kombu did not add much
• Homemade cider (NA) – Really delicious high quality cider. You get the smoke smell but not too much smoky flavor in the cider.
• Musings on walnut (NA) – Cool that they resealed the walnut shell and put cheese inside it, but it was just walnuts and cheese lol
• Green walnut (7/10) – i really liked the cheese, super smooth and a light cheese taste as a base for the dish. the green walnut (left) was surprisingly sweet and soft and the praline at the top had a nice crunch and sweetness.
• Engagement Rings (NA) – Cool, fun concept where you choose out an engagement ring made out of chocolate and then eat it.
• Hoisin Cucumber (5.5/10) – overall the presentation was great and i loved the different textures. didn’t like the hoisin sauce itself and i thought if they had “normal” flavors with the same texture balance this would have been a home run
• Black Sesame Cornet (10/10) – Still in contention for my favorite dessert of all time.  the black sesame ice cream had a deep, nutty black sesame flavor. the cone itself was this beautiful thin layer of black sesame toffee that flaked beautifully and had the perfect amount of sweetness. the strawberries and cream at the bottom helped add some flavor contrast, and overall this dessert was amazing.
• Black Apple (4/10) – They have this whole presentation where they explain the aging process to get the apple to turn black, but it was a bit underwhelming. Kind of a slimy, weird texture and not much flavor.
• Petit Fours (NA)
  • Pineapple Rock – good
  • Basil Leaf – high high quality chocolate
  • Raspberry Marshamllow – really high quality marshmallow without the normal sugary aftertaste
  • Matcha tea rock – loved the texture
  • Liquid bonbon (chocolate/passion fruit) – bit too sour for my liking
  • Cotton Candy – good but cocoa was a little bitter

Overall there were a ton of really good courses, really amazing courses, and a few perfect ones for me. They did have a couple misses, but that's expected when you have so many courses. The overall experience was some of the most fun i've had in a fine dining setting, while still keeping up the quality throughout the meal. I'd definitely recommend visiting if you get a chance.