Dabiz Muñoz is once again making his move on Madrid’s gastronomic map, and he’s doing so with a bold real estate move: he has purchased a plot of land in Boadilla del Monte for about three million euros with the intention of building a completely new restaurant from the ground up, according to El Confidencial.
The move confirms something that had been suspected for some time: the chef wants to move part of his XO universe out of the city center to explore a larger, more scenic format with a different kind of relationship to its surroundings.
From La Finca to Boadilla: Round Two on the Outskirts
This isn’t the first time the Madrid-based chef has attempted to take his cuisine beyond the usual radius of his current restaurants. A few years ago, he explored the possibility of opening a restaurant in La Finca, the exclusive residential community in Pozuelo de Alarcón adjacent to Boadilla, but that venture never quite came to fruition: the project gradually lost momentum amid urban planning constraints, prolonged delays, and an unfavorable economic and business climate.
Boadilla del Monte now appears to be that second chance. The town is surrounded by a large forest, is the second-wealthiest municipality in Spain, is relatively well-connected via the M-50 and M-503 highways, and has a target audience that already feels at home in mid- to high-end restaurants, country clubs, and upscale leisure venues. The purchase of a plot of land, rather than renting, also indicates that Dabiz Muñoz wants total control over the project: architecture, spaces, kitchen, circulation, garden, access points… and the freedom not to be constrained by an existing shell.
A “ground-up” project: what it means to buy the plot
This substantial real estate investment, upon which the restaurant will be built, indicates that it is designed to last, likely accompanied by other complementary features (vegetable gardens, event spaces, terraces, perhaps a more informal area, or even a hybrid format between a restaurant and a club). Purchasing the land allows for the design of a building that precisely meets the demands of today’s XO cuisine: ample kitchen space, R&D areas, a wine cellar, convenient access for suppliers, and a dining room designed almost like a stage.
In a setting like Boadilla, where there’s more space available than in downtown Madrid, Dabiz can afford to do things that would be unfeasible or prohibitively expensive in the city: integrated gardens, outdoor areas designed for al fresco experiences, private parking, potential experimental vegetable gardens, and so on. All of this aligns with the concept of the restaurant as a journey: it’s not just about what you eat, but the journey itself, the place, the time you spend there, and the feeling of entering a world designed from start to finish.
