Emi, Madrid: fine dining with Impeccable Wine Pairings

A small dining room, a counter for just 12 guests, and only a symbolic boundary between the kitchen and the dining area – Emi in Madrid feels less like a traditional Chef's Table and more like an omakase restaurant.

Every guest follows the same gastronomic journey, watching each dish being prepared just a few steps away. As a result, dinner feels more like an intimate performance than a conventional tasting menu.

It is also a wonderful illustration of just how powerful a partnership between two people can be.

Chef Rubén Hernández Mosquero previously worked at Atomix, Noma, Azurmendi, and Tokyo's Il Ristorante. The influence of those restaurants is evident throughout the menu, yet rather than following any single tradition, he combines Japanese precision, New Nordic techniques, and Asian flavour influences into a style that is entirely his own.

The pairing programme is overseen by Miguel Ángel Millán, named the World's Best Sommelier by The World's 50 Best Restaurants in 2023, and a true master of unusual bottles and gastronomic pairings. 

The result is an almost perfect synthesis of gastronomy and wine: bold, highly technical, and just the right amount of crazy, yet remarkably intimate. Despite the extraordinary level of technique, the cooking never feels academic. References to Asia and New Nordic cuisine appear throughout the menu. Japanese and Korean influences are woven naturally into the ingredients and techniques without ever overshadowing the restaurant's own culinary identity.

For example, a dashi broth with jalapeño is paired with the magnificent González Byass Amontillado 1975.

A pseudo-nigiri is served alongside Jacques Lassaigne Clos Sainte-Sophie Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature 2016.

And the beef tartare with black caviar and mussel gel is paired with López de Heredia Viña Tondonia Gran Reserva Tinto 1980.

In the end, the restaurant earned its first Michelin star just four months after opening – an almost unbelievable and, in its own way, beautiful story. 

Given the precision of the cooking, the originality of the wine pairings, and the flawless synergy between the kitchen and the pairings, the star feels less like a surprise and more like the natural outcome of the restaurant's entire philosophy.