XO (pronounced zho) is a nod to the famous Cantonese XO dumpling sauce (Muñoz’s favourite), while Diver is a play on the Spanish word for fun (divertido). Ever the culinary disruptor, when Muñoz decided to open a casual, sister restaurant to his firstborn, it made sense to keep it in the XO family – or the XO universe, as it ultimately became known. StreetXO was launched in Madrid in 2012 – pulling apart the concept of global street food and reimagining it through the lens of haute cuisine. Since then, the XO universe has exploded to include RavioXO (in the iconic El Corte Ingles shopping centre in Madrid), The Hungry Club in Spain’s major airports and the popular GOXO delivery service.

It’s little wonder Netflix created the documentary UniverXODabiz. Did we mention that the famously mohawked- Madrilenian xef had been busy? Now, Ibiza finally has its chance to shine within Muñoz’s ever-evolving empire – a match made in gastronomic heaven. There couldn’t be a more appropriate location: the glitz and glam of IBIZA Gallery – just steps away from The Unexpected Ibiza Hotel, BLESS Ibiza The Site, Ushuaïa Ibiza and Hï Ibiza, not to mention the clutch of sleek designer boutiques – is a match made in heaven for StreetXO Ibiza.  

A tribute to its founder’s unrelenting culinary rebellion and futuristic vision, StreetXO Ibiza is a riotous cacophony of colour and industrial architecture. The main dining room walls are abuzz with graffiti-esque artwork, with neon pops at every corner (even dangling from the roof), and a glossy red counter-top at its heart. Evoking the dazzle of a strip mall, the adrenaline of Asian backstreets peppered with hawkers, and the sizzle of a Mexican food market all at the same time, arriving at StreetXO Ibiza feels like stepping into a revolutionary street festival in a country that doesn’t exist outside the restaurant’s walls.

From the central open kitchen, the percussion of pans sing of the tasty morsels to come, as a mouthwatering stream of aromas drift tantalisingly across the space. The StreetXO Ibiza menu reads like a hearty, unhinged world tour of street food with a few Balearic twists thrown in for good measure – a rollercoaster of unprecedented flavours, outrageous colours and wacky textures. This is cuisine without borders; food you need to eat with your hands, served on plates that would be a crime not to lick clean. Think of it is eating as an act of hedonism – pure, unadulterated pleasure at its very core.

The best way to get a real feel for the food at StreetXO Ibiza is, of course, to take a seat and chomp your way through dish after dish. But for those who need a little tastebud-teaser while waiting for their next trip to Ibiza, just imagine wrapping your lips around the silky zing of Sashimi de Pez Limón Maracuyá y Ají Mirasol (lemon fish crudo with passionfruit and sunflower seeds, plus perfectly calibrated spicy seasoning); or popping a Nigiri Croquetade La Pedroche, a fluffy, flavour-filled nod to one of Spain’s best loved tapas topped with bluefin tuna akami, kimchi, that famous XO sauce and lapsang souchong tea.

For those with a hearty appetite, the now-famous Ramen XO is a fragrant, steaming bowl of 24-hour acorn-fed ham and foie gras broth, layered with lacquered chicken, smoky spicy barbecue, black trumpet mushrooms and a steamed free-range egg yolk, while Lasaña Koreana takes the Italian nonna’s fave and tips in on its head, enveloping aged beef and wonton in a fragrant cardamon bechamel with pickled tomato and gochugaru sauce. And there’s just so much more – be sure to save room for the genre-bending StreetXO Ibiza desserts.

The final piece of the StreetXO Ibiza puzzle – and the latest dimension within Muñoz’s XO universe – is AISH, the cocktail bar where creative cocktails and magical mocktails follow the same boundary-pushing philosophy as the chef’s signature cuisine. This ‘liquid cuisine laboratory’ treats each concoction with the reverence of a gastronomic experience, with drinks served up like street art in a glass, brimming with outlandish flavours and crafted using high-level techniques.

After more than two decades at the forefront of the culinary vanguard, Dabiz Muñoz – now an official ambassador of Spanish gastronomy – continues to break barriers, shatter rulebooks and defy convention. The launch of StreetXO Ibiza gives him an entirely new playground – or perhaps, a more apt description would be, a brand-new amusement park – in which to experiment, play and follow his wildest culinary dreams. And he wouldn’t have it any other way.