La Finca, that armored corner of millionaires and footballers that is in Pozuelo and seems to be designed by a contemporary Spanish Scott Fitzgerald, was going to become the new gastronomic epicenter of Madrid.
Or so we all thought when Dabiz Muñoz, the chef of the three Michelin-starred DiverXO, announced years ago that he would move his restaurant, one of the most awarded in the world , there. But what looked like a culinary revolution has remained, for the moment, a dead letter. Or in obsolete articles.
This 2024, Muñoz announced via Instagram that he would not go ahead with the project. “A difficult but necessary decision,” he explained about a plan that aimed to turn La Finca into something more than a refuge for millionaires: a world gastronomic reference. The announcement was a setback for LaFinca Grand Café, the luxury complex that brings together restaurants, stores and even a golf course, where everything pointed to DiverXO landing.
Why has Dani García Lobito de Mar closed down?
Muñoz’s withdrawal was not the only one. Dani García, another big name in Spanish cuisine, with two Michelin stars to his credit, did go on to open a business, but he recently closed Lobito de Mar, which he had inside the shopping center complex.
The restaurant had been in operation for only a year and seven months, but according to journalist Mar León, the clientele was not keeping up. “It had been a year and not enough people were coming. It’s a shame because they had made a spectacular investment,” explains one of the employees.
While the other Lobito de Mar de García, on Jorge Juan street in the Salamanca district, continues to operate at full capacity, the question that remains is whether La Finca really has the necessary pull to sustain a gastronomic proposal of this caliber.
What is left, what is going and what is not coming
The website of La Finca Grand Café, the gastronomic space of the mall, has not yet removed the Lobito de Mar tab. And the reservation link leads to a blank page. Also on the website you can see another site that is “permanently closed” as the Italian restaurant Leonardo. Restaurants such as Mena, Gran Asador Lecanda, Finca Bandida, Indochina Brasa, Shushi Bar Tottori or Shiraz are still open.
DiverXO, on the other hand, does not seem to be actively looking for a new location. A Gastroeconomy article published in February 2025 revealed that the chef’s intention is to remain until the end of 2027 in its current location: on the first floor of NH Collection Madrid Eurobuilding. DiverXO, on the other hand, is the restaurant with the most expensive menu in Spain. Its price is 450€. That is why the Madrid chef’s pupils are so successful when they bet on affordable options such as WingWing.
Other closures in Madrid in 2025
It is not entirely clear -it is still too early- if it could be said that 2025 is being a bad year for the hotel and catering business in Madrid. What can be said is that five months on there are some closures that are, to say the least, significant. One of them is that of Robuchon and another is that of the emblematic Embassy cafeterias. One of the most talked about was Comparte Bistró, which was reported by Time Out Madrid’s colleagues, but there have also been some closures such as Totó or La Mamona.