Dspeakeasy is the new Project of Chef Diego Guerrero. Most of the people know Diego Guerrero from Club Allard. Since 2014 he owns his restaurant, Dstage, that won its first Michelin star in 2015 and the 2nd one in 2017. He is known for his vanguard and creative style and he has a by-born advantage in the culinary world as he is from Basque Country.
I have been wishing to try the tasting menu of Dstage for a long time. But the restaurant allows the clients to make reservations for minimum for 2 pax and I haven’t been able to find a friend who is willing to spend 170 Euros on this, so I could not make it.
I would like to summarize my experience at Dspeakeasy today:
Dspeakeasy is located at Calle Fernando VI, 6 Madrid. The industrial-style architecture and Scandinavian style furnitures are used for the sleek style of the restaurant. As it has been inaugurated only 3 days ago, the smell of paint is still there. (Honestly speaking it is a bit disturbing for the time being, I hope the smell of paint will disappear in near future) Dspeakeasy is a 2 storey restaurant. When I was there there were clients only at the second floor and most of the tables were booked.
Before writing about the food, first I would like to comment on the service. The positive points about service are: There are plenty of waiters (1 for each 2 tables), they are friendly, they are well informed about the ingredients and techniques of cooking of the dishes at the menu. However, the service is too fast. I had to save my first course as the waitress grabbed it to collect before I finished. Also they served my main course while I was eating my first course. This was something almost unacceptable and I hope this kind of errors will be corrected in time.
First thing to say about the menu is that it will be quite satisfactory for those who have gluten intolerance. Only 1 first course and 1 main course have gluten and the rest of the dishes are suitable for gluten free diet. In terms of desserts, there 2 glutenfree options as well.
Avocado butter, pickled red pepper and very delicious small breads are offered as appetizers. Afterwards I ordered Grilled Razor Clams with Crumbled Beef and Seaweed. The taste, savor, the degree of doneness, the size of the portion were all fine and I was happy with my choice. (If only I would not have to defend my plate as it was attempted to be taken away from me while I was still enjoying it.)
Razor Clams 
Appetizers
My main course was Roasted Quail with Corn Sauce and Spraouts. The corn sauce was quite delicious but I guess the other sauce on the plate was again the semi-glazed beef broth which was a bit repetitive. The quail was so well cooked that it was tender and the beautifying (manchonner) of the pieces of quail was quite professional. However , there was something (maybe some spice) was missing about the taste of that dish. Furthermore, despite the fact that it is specifically stated that the sprouts are specially picked from “ Farm of Cuervos” for Dspeakeasy, they were not tender at all; this situation needs some attention.
There were 2 glutenfree desserts options and as I am not a big fan of figs, I opted for Egg Yolk Custard with Fermented Lemon and Honey. I enjoyed the balance between the sweetness of honey and sour/salty taste of Lemon Sauce. It is highly recommendable for those who like contrasting tastes. I believe that this fermented lemon sauce would be a perfect garnish for butterfish or flounder together with caramelized onions. If one day I will be lucky enough to have the recipe of the lemon sauce from Chef Diego Guerrero; I will definitely try to serve it with fish.
The check for 1 first course+ 1 main course+1 dessert+1 mineral water was 50 Euros. It is higher than a standard lunch menu in Madrid; however I believe that at Dspeakeasy we are not only paying fort he food but also fort he experience of a 2 Michelin starred Chef. As it was also recommended by the concept of Dspeakeasy, the best thing to do is ordering 3-4 dishes and 2 desserts sharing it among 4 friends for having a cheaper but high quality lunch.
In a nutshell,
– Dspeakeasy is a good alternative for those who would like to try the style of Chef Diego Guerrero however could not make reservations at Dstage or could not afford the tasting menu of Dstage. But it should be kept in mind that Dstage and Dspeakeasy do not have the same concepts; they are sisters but not twins.
-Chef Diego Guerrero was at the restaurant in person. He is not like some other chefs that own a hundred restaurants and but never show up at those restaurants or go there only once in a year…
– Unfortunately, none of those I tasted today left an unforgettable taste on the palate.
– From now on I am a big fan of “Limon Lactico” (Fermented Lemon) and I have a couple of crazy ideas about how to incorporate it into new dishes.
La Chef Turca 