Kabuki Wellington

This starkly handsome gray-stone–and–dark-wood shrine to raw fish is locted in the plush Hotel Wellington. Kabuki Wellington’s chef-owner Ricardo Sanz has come a long way since the days when his wife berated him for closing his thriving beer bar and slaving for minimal wages at a local Japanese restaurant to learn the tricks of the trade. But Sanz just couldn’t beat his sushi addiction. Working mainly with a Spanish catch—tender calamari from the Strait of Gibraltar; sweet Galician scallops—Sanz puts a modern-Iberian spin on his sashimi and sushi, pairing raw pez limón (yellowtail) with a tiny Canarian potato and truffles; or devising ingenious maki rolls and nigiri around huitlacoche (corn fungus) and Galician Arzúa cheese. Desserts from El Bulli–trained star confectioner Oriol Balaguer complete what would be a perfect experience were it not for the sticker shock: one raw cigala (a small spiny lobster) may set you back $130. Order carefully.