New Deo Gracias menu is an invitation to linger, sobremesa-style | Lifestyle.INQ
Spread of the new Deo Gracias menu

We’re floored by the fun new takes on Spanish food from Deo Gracias chefs Alex del Hoyo Gómez and Heny Sison

Nearly four years since opening, Deo Gracias is once again seducing lovers of Spanish cuisine with a “primera vez” (first time) approach to its new menu. Executive chef Alex del Hoyo Gómez together with culinary icon and restaurateur Heny Sison both know that there’s always room to take their efforts to the next level.

Executive chef Alex del Hoyo Gómez with culinary icon and restaurateur Heny Sison
Executive chef Alex del Hoyo Gómez with culinary icon and restaurateur Heny Sison

“At the center of our vision is the enjoyment and gratitude for the good things in life—including the food and the experiences we share,” says Sison, who clarifies at the intimate media lunch that the restaurant is not really a fine dining restaurant, a common misconception that some people may have owing to its setting.

“Deo Gracias is ready to reintroduce itself, starting with a new lineup of dishes that have been a year in the making,” iconic chef, restaurateur, and educator Heny Sison says

“Deo Gracias is ready to reintroduce itself, starting with a new lineup of dishes that have been a year in the making,” she says.

There are more than a few reasons why everyone should race to the north for 2025 and beyond. For one, Deo Gracias is still steeped in old-world beauty and history, thanks to its well-appointed ancestral home-turned-restaurant atmosphere. But it’s on del Hoyo Gómez’s new menu where he dips his toes deeper into experimentation that bolster their vision to immerse diners into Spanish gastronomy, the Deo Gracias way.

Tiradito de Salmon, a refreshing seafood salad with succulent salmon topped with coriander foam
Tiradito de Salmon, a refreshing seafood salad with succulent salmon topped with coriander foam

The new dishes see del Hoyo Gómez still in fine form, completing a contemporary collection of tapas, arroz, and mains with a focus on technique and fusion of flavors.

The new dishes see executive chef Alex del Hoyo Gómez still in fine form, completing a contemporary collection of tapas, arroz, and mains with a focus on technique and fusion of flavors

The results of his kitchen creativity include the delicate Tiradito de Salmon—which del Hoyo Gómez slathered with different elements like galangal, coriander foam, coconut milk, celery, and lime juice “to make it very aromatic”—an intense yet creamy serving of croquetas filled with cecina (a Spanish cured air-dried beef) and membrillo (quince) emulsion, and a reinvigorated patatas bravas (now called Bravas 2.0) that’s impossible not to enjoy with each bite.

Croquetas de Cecina Y Membrillo, a creamy croquette garnished with thin slices of smoky Cecina, which is Spanish cured air-dried beef
Croquetas de Cecina Y Membrillo, a creamy croquette garnished with thin slices of smoky Cecina, which is Spanish cured air-dried beef

Compared with its predecessor, the crowd-pleasing bravas come in a layered potato pavé form then lavished with a slightly less sweet black garlic aioli and a reformulated brava sauce with a reduced tomato base and sriracha for a hint of spice.

The Taco de Lengua meanwhile has an explosive energy to it: a simple but robust taco that uses just the tips of the lengua to achieve a creamy foie gras-like texture topped with a simple pico de gallo with mango for a “sweet cleansing of the mouth,” explains del Hoyo Gómez.

Bravas 2.0 is a plate of crispy, layered potato pavé, drizzled with garlic aioli and Sriracha sauce for that extra kick
Bravas 2.0 is a plate of crispy, layered potato pavé, drizzled with garlic aioli and Sriracha sauce for that extra kick
The Taco de Lengua is assembled with quality corn tortillas and filled with delectably piquant lengua and toasted cancha
The Taco de Lengua is assembled with quality corn tortillas and filled with delectably piquant lengua and toasted cancha
Tarta de Queso Manchego, reminiscent of the iconic Basque cheesecake of San Sebastián
The Tarta de Queso Manchego is reminiscent of the iconic Basque cheesecake of San Sebastián

Of course, the chef from Burgos (a lovely city that I’ve had the pleasure of spending time in) also understands the importance of inculcating personal experiences and memories of home into his food. His Bacalao y Coco dish is a primary example in which he fuses pil pil sauce from his mother’s Basque Country recipe with coconut flavors from his Thailand travels to enhance and not overpower the flavors surrounding the pleasantly steamed and grilled salt cod fish.

“But in the end, it’s a Spanish dish with Spanish flavors with a twist,” he says.

Deo Gracias' El Comedor
Deo Gracias’ El Comedor

What’s more, the rest of the new items is full of Spanish flash (in the best way possible) but still elegant in approach—especially on the delicious Arroz de Butifarra y Trompetas (which is more of a Spanish Midlands arroz instead of the Mediterranean coastal version) and the Tarta de Queso Manchego that references the iconic Basque cheesecake of San Sebastián.

While Deo Gracias’ new menu is playful, there remains a profound respect for the ingredients and their homelands

While Deo Gracias’ new menu is playful, there remains a profound respect for the ingredients and their homelands. Both Sison and del Hoyo Gómez thoughtfully pay homage to Spanish cuisine that despite the restaurant’s relative “remoteness” (used loosely anyhow for southies like me), it makes me think that its splendid “isolation” makes Deo Gracias a destination worth trekking for—and lingering in—time and time again.

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