Dabiz Muñoz is the Spanish chef behind DiverXO in Madrid, the only restaurant in the city with three Michelin stars. Born in Madrid in 1980, he was voted Best Chef in the World by The Best Chef Awards for three consecutive years (2021, 2022, 2023) and DiverXO is currently ranked No. 4 on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
His cooking is an avant-garde mix of Spanish technique and Asian influences picked up during his London years, delivered through a single tasting menu called Flying Pigs Cuisine. The restaurant’s motto is “Vanguard or Die”.
TL;DR
- Spanish chef born 15 January 1980 in Madrid
- Chef-owner of DiverXO (Madrid), StreetXO (Madrid, Dubai) and RavioXO (Madrid)
- Three Michelin stars at DiverXO since 2013 (only three-star in Madrid)
- Best Chef in the World 2021, 2022, 2023 (The Best Chef Awards)
- Second-youngest chef ever to reach three Michelin stars
Dabiz Muñoz key facts
| Born | 15 January 1980, Madrid, Spain |
| Full name | David Muñoz Rosillo |
| Main restaurants | DiverXO, StreetXO, RavioXO |
| Michelin stars | Three stars at DiverXO since 2013 |
| Style | Avant-garde fusion, Asian influence, travelling cuisine |
| Notable awards | Best Chef in the World 2021-23, World’s 50 Best No. 4 in 2025 |
| Training | Torrejón de Ardoz, Viridiana (Madrid), Hakkasan, Nobu (London) |
Early life and training of Dabiz Muñoz
Muñoz grew up in Madrid in a family with no professional cooking background. His parents took him regularly to Viridiana, a Madrid restaurant run by chef Abraham García whose work combined cooking, travel and literature. Muñoz has said that watching García turn his own interests into a restaurant was the moment he decided he wanted to be a chef. It was also at Viridiana that he told his father he intended to run the best restaurant in the world. His father’s response, that pigs would fly first, now forms the visual identity of DiverXO.
At 17 he enrolled at the Torrejón de Ardoz Culinary School near Madrid. He spent his first year and a half of training working at the restaurant Balzac, then moved to Viridiana to learn directly from Abraham García. He also worked at Catamarán and Chantarella in Madrid before leaving for London in his early twenties.
London was the formative period. Muñoz worked at Hakkasan and Yauatcha under Alan Yau, at Nobu on Park Lane, and at the one-Michelin-star Indian restaurant Benares and Italian restaurant Locanda Locatelli. The exposure to Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Indian and Italian professional kitchens gave him the ingredient palette that would later define DiverXO. He calls his own cooking a travelling cuisine rather than fusion, because he treats each technique as its own discipline rather than blending them into a third thing.
Dabiz Muñoz career timeline
- 1997: Enrolls at Torrejón de Ardoz Culinary School at age 17
- 1998-2000: Works at Balzac, then Viridiana under Abraham García
- 2000-2006: Moves to London; works at Hakkasan, Yauatcha, Nobu, Benares, Locanda Locatelli
- 2007: Returns to Madrid and opens DiverXO on Calle Pensamiento with almost no resources
- 2009: Relocates DiverXO to a slightly larger space
- 2010: DiverXO earns first Michelin star
- 2012: DiverXO earns second Michelin star; opens StreetXO at El Corte Inglés Serrano
- 2013: DiverXO awarded three Michelin stars, becomes the only three-star in Madrid; Muñoz is 33, second-youngest chef ever to hit three stars
- 2014: DiverXO relocates to NH Collection Eurobuilding hotel
- 2016: Opens StreetXO London in Mayfair
- 2020: StreetXO London closes due to COVID
- 2021: Named Best Chef in the World by The Best Chef Awards
- 2022: Opens RavioXO, focused on dumplings and Asian-influenced pasta; wins Best Chef again
- 2023: Wins Best Chef in the World for the third consecutive year
- 2024: Opens StreetXO Dubai; Netflix releases the five-part documentary UniverXO Dabiz
- 2025: DiverXO ranked No. 4 on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants; plans confirmed to relocate DiverXO within 1.5 years
Dabiz Muñoz signature style
DiverXO serves a single tasting menu called Flying Pigs Cuisine, running roughly 25 courses across several hours. The style foregrounds high-contrast flavour combinations, technical complexity and theatrical service: staff appear tableside mid-course to add elements live, and the dining room is filled with flying pig and giant ant imagery (the ants representing the teamwork needed to run the kitchen, the pigs representing his childhood ambition).
The flavour logic draws heavily on Asian pantry ingredients (Japanese rice wine, Indian spice, Chinese fermentation) applied to primarily Spanish produce. Dishes have names like “Galician lobster waking up on the beaches of Goa” and “drunken crabs partying in Jerez”, which make the compositional logic explicit. The wine pairing is built to continue the narrative of each plate, not just to match the flavour profile.
The motto “Vanguard or Die” functions as the operating principle. Muñoz rewrites the menu frequently and has said his aim is for returning guests to feel they are in a different restaurant each visit. The commitment to constant reinvention is also financially risky, and he has spoken openly about years where he worked 17-18 hours a day on 500 euros a week before the restaurant stabilised.
Notable dishes at DiverXO
Several dishes have defined the DiverXO menu across its different eras. Pyrenean-matured nigiri applies Japanese sushi technique to aged Spanish produce, with the rice at ambient temperature and the topping built from ingredients that would be foreign to a traditional sushi counter. Roasted caviar with vindaloo curry and Greek yoghurt is the clearest example of Muñoz’s flavour-collision logic: three ingredient systems (Iranian luxury, Goan spice, Mediterranean dairy) held together by one technique. The Minutejo del Agus mini pork sandwich is a personal reference, a homage to snacks Muñoz ate with his father as a child, and shows that the restaurant’s avant-garde framing does not exclude sentimental or comfort-food material.
Dabiz Muñoz awards and recognition
- 2010: First Michelin star at DiverXO
- 2012: Second Michelin star at DiverXO
- 2013: Three Michelin stars at DiverXO (second-youngest chef ever to achieve this)
- 2021: Best Chef in the World, The Best Chef Awards
- 2022: Best Chef in the World (second consecutive year)
- 2023: Best Chef in the World (third consecutive year)
- 2024: Netflix releases five-part documentary UniverXO Dabiz
- 2025: DiverXO ranked No. 4 on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants
Dabiz Muñoz impact on Spanish fine dining
When DiverXO opened in 2007, Madrid had not held a three-Michelin-star restaurant for over twenty years. The Spanish fine-dining conversation was centred on Catalonia (elBulli, Celler de Can Roca) and the Basque country (Arzak, Akelarre, Martín Berasategui). Muñoz’s third star in 2013 moved the map back to the capital and put an avant-garde chef running a tiny operation at the top of Spanish gastronomy.
He also changed what Spanish avant-garde cooking could look like. Where the elBulli generation had been rooted in molecular technique, Muñoz’s version is rooted in travel and cross-cultural fluency, with less emphasis on lab-based science and more on the cook’s own eclectic palate. That positioning puts him in active dialogue with chefs like Gaggan Anand in Bangkok, Grant Achatz in Chicago and Rasmus Munk in Copenhagen, all of whom treat the avant-garde as a cultural rather than purely technical project.
The Netflix documentary UniverXO Dabiz (2024) and his marriage to Spanish TV presenter Cristina Pedroche have also made him unusually visible outside the gastronomy industry. In Spain he is a mainstream public figure, with the mohawk, piercings and punk visual identity making him the public face of avant-garde Spanish cooking for a much wider audience than typically engages with fine dining.
Dabiz Muñoz FAQ
How many Michelin stars does Dabiz Muñoz have?
Three Michelin stars at DiverXO in Madrid, held since 2013. DiverXO is the only restaurant in Madrid with three stars. StreetXO and RavioXO are not Michelin-starred but operate under his direction.
Why flying pigs at DiverXO?
When Muñoz told his father as a child that he would one day run the best restaurant in the world, his father replied that pigs would fly first. The flying pig imagery that covers DiverXO’s dining room is a direct reference to that moment, and the tasting menu is called Flying Pigs Cuisine.
What is DiverXO’s style?
Avant-garde Spanish cooking with strong Asian influences, which Muñoz describes as travelling cuisine rather than fusion. The menu runs about 25 courses and staff deliver several elements tableside as part of the service.
What other restaurants does Dabiz Muñoz run?
StreetXO (casual concept opened in Madrid in 2012, now also in Dubai), RavioXO (dumpling and pasta concept opened in Madrid in 2022), and GoXO (delivery line and food trucks). StreetXO London operated from 2016 to 2020.
Is DiverXO moving?
Yes. Muñoz confirmed in late 2025 that DiverXO will relocate again within 1.5 years. The restaurant is currently based at NH Collection Eurobuilding in Madrid’s Chamartín district.
What is next for Dabiz Muñoz
The next DiverXO relocation is the biggest confirmed project, with Muñoz saying the new version will redefine 100% what DiverXO is rather than just moving the existing format. He has also signalled a more sustainable working rhythm following therapy and personal reflection documented in the Netflix series. His Instagram (@dabizdiverxo) is the most reliable source for day-to-day updates on the group.
