Xiquet

1. Innovative Valencian Cuisine Ignited by a Wood-Fire Kitchen
Xiquet offers a unique tasting menu featuring 22 compositions that creatively reinterpret traditional Valencian dishes, all prepared using a wood-fire kitchen. This method imparts distinctive smoky flavors that highlight the warm coastal and agricultural influences of Valencia, Spain, making the dining experience both authentic and innovative.

2. Michelin Star and AAA Five Diamond Recognition with a Sommelier of the Year Award
Xiquet stands out as the only restaurant in Washington, DC, to hold both a Michelin Star since 2021 and the AAA Five Diamond rating. Additionally, it earned Michelin’s Sommelier of the Year Award in 2022, underscoring its exceptional wine program that thoughtfully pairs Mediterranean flavors with fine wines.

3. Intimate Fine-Dining Experience Focused on Spanish Seafood and Rice Dishes
The restaurant emphasizes an intimate setting where guests can enjoy a seafood-forward tasting menu, including signature rice dishes like paella, which is a hallmark of Valencian cuisine. The experience combines warm Mediterranean hospitality with elegant, innovative bites such as black olive tart with grilled squid, culminating in a romantic atmosphere enhanced by a vintage port cocktail lounge.

The most honored or signature ingredients at Michelin-starred Xiquet in Washington, DC, reflect the restaurant's focus on authentic Valencian cuisine, especially its seafood and rice dishes. Key ingredients include:

• Rice (Alicante-style rice): Central to Xiquet's signature paella and other rice dishes, this ingredient is cooked over a wood-fire hearth, embodying traditional Valencian techniques and flavors.

• Seafood (such as bonito, turbot, smoked trout roe): Premium, fresh seafood is a hallmark of the menu, used in refined preparations like dill-cured bonito with ajo blanco and crisped-skin turbot with smoked trout roe, showcasing the Mediterranean coastal influence.

• Rabbit and mushrooms: Featured in the Alicante-style rice dish, these ingredients highlight the hearty, rustic elements of Valencian cuisine and complement the wood-fire cooking style.

• Wood-fire cooking: While not an ingredient per se, the use of wood-fire (including wood from Californian orange trees) imparts a distinctive smoky flavor essential to the restaurant’s dishes, especially the rice and seafood preparations.

• Broth: Considered by Chef Danny Lledó as the most essential component in elevating the paella, the broth is crafted to deepen the dish’s flavor profile and authenticity.

These ingredients and techniques together create Xiquet’s signature dishes that honor the culinary traditions of Valencia with a modern, refined approach.