Madrid's EMi restaurant, opened by chef Rubén Hernández Mosquero in July 2025 in the Argüelles neighborhood, has earned its first Michelin star just four months after launch. This achievement adds to recent awards, including the METRÓPOLI Prizes and recognition from La Liste as one of the world's top openings. The 40-year-old chef, with a career in elite restaurants, celebrates the milestone as a key goal for his team.
Rubén Hernández Mosquero, born in Reina (Badajoz, Extremadura) and raised in Getafe, opened EMi on July 29, 2025, at 64 Gaztambide Street in Madrid's Argüelles neighborhood, an area not particularly known for gastronomy. At 40 years old, the Extremaduran chef has 16 years of experience in some of the world's top restaurants, including Azurmendi in the Basque Country, Noma and Geranium in Denmark, Il Ristorante Luca Fantin in Tokyo, minibar by José Andrés in Washington, and Atomix in New York. He trained at the Escuela de La Taberna del Alabardero and moved to Ibiza in 2024 to plan this project from there.
EMi is a high-end kitchen bar with 12-14 seats and a private table, offering a 14-dish menu for 175 euros, inspired by seasonal products from his Extremaduran roots, influenced by his mother, Noma, and Atomix. "I cook seasonal products from my roots in Extremadura, but above all, my mother, who taught me to cook. Then, there's influence from Denmark due to my time at Noma and from Korea via Atomix, where I learned to manage a kitchen at this level. But it's neither New Nordic Cuisine nor Korean; just touches," details Mosquero.
The restaurant has accumulated awards in record time: on November 17, it won the METRÓPOLI Prizes for Chef and Revelation Restaurant; on the 24th, La Liste selected it as one of the five best world openings, an award collected in Paris with sommelier Miguel Ángel Millán; and on the 25th, it earned its first Michelin star. "We're very happy, almost in a cloud; Michelin was clearly a goal," admits the chef. It is the fastest restaurant to achieve a star in Spain in recent years, excluding moves that revalidate distinctions.
Supported by four partners—one from his village and three Atomix clients—, Mosquero, a fan of Excel and Google Drive, meticulously planned EMi. The name honors his brother who died in an accident. The opening was delayed from June to late July due to construction. With a team of 10, including Millán (World's Best Sommelier 2023 by 50 Best, ex-DiverXO), EMi is booked until year-end, with 50% international clients and prepayment required. For 2026, it aims for a second star and international lists, funded by savings and profitable from the first month. "I'm hyperactive, very organized, and very picky; I have 18,000 OCDs, and if I don't set goals, I get stressed," he confesses.