Raffles Istanbul Offers a Tempting Tasting Experience

Lovers of  exotic food experiences during their travels will want to check out Raffles Istanbul and its dramatic theatrical dining immersions offered at the luxury hotel’s Rocca Restaurant. The property is running “The Magical World of Paco Roncero,” a pop-up dining experience where guests are taken on an enchanting culinary journey of Spanish avant-garde cuisine in an event that lasts through November 3.

Influenced by his travels and his work with Ferran Adria, a pioneer of molecular gastronomy, Paco Roncero is known for his creative sensibilities and advanced culinary techniques to present gastronomy as a singular sensorial experience.

With ten restaurants across the globe, including Madrid’s Terraza del Casino, which holds two Michelin stars and two Duia Repsol suns, Chef Roncero’s most known restaurant is Sublimotion in Ibiza – an establishment that combines food with art, music and technology, and the entire culinary art show concept is choreographed to awaken the senses one taste at a time.  

Guests at Raffles Istanbul can indulge in this limited-edition dining experience through a trio of experiences at Rocca Restaurant, Raffles Istanbul’s all-day dining restaurant.

•         Legendary tapas and delicacies at the Paco’s Bar & Lounge

•         A six-course tasting menu in the Main Dining Room

•         A 360-degree, multi-sensory dining experience for up to 14 guests in the Private Dining Room  

The menus are accompanied by Moet’s Dom Perignon Champagnes. The Private Dining experience brings a futuristic menu and digital show that includes 3D video mappings designed for every single dish. A Dom Pérignon Vintage series produces Champagne from single year grapes and includes a chance to sip the 17-year-old Dom Perignon Plénitude 2, served along other vintage Champagnes that include Dom Perignon Vintage 2005, Dom Perignon Rose 2006 and Dom Perignon Vintage 2008.

The Beginning of a Tasting Adventure:

1 – Bar & Lounge

Chef Roncero’s four-course a la carte tapas menu has been reinvented as Paco’s Bar & Lounge for the pop-up. Each presentation reflects an imagination beyond the usual rules, with a menu that turns into a gastronomic feast from slices of foie gras served with gingerbread cakes, sea bass ‘ceviche,’ goat cheese donuts, to tuna and nori moss tartar and guacamole. The lounge area can also serve as a cocktail space and accommodate up to 100 people.

In Search of the Unique:

2 – Main Dining Room

The Main Dining Room, the heart of the pop-up restaurant, offers a six-course degustation menu with optional wine pairings that reflects the gastronomic presentation of art. The degustation menu in the Main Dining, is specially prepared for those who want to explore the Michelin starred chef’s imaginative menu. The Millennial Olive Tree looks like a small olive tree and delights visually and with taste. Salmon and miso cream cones, goose liver donuts, re-interpreted Margarita pizza, an example of molecular cuisine, vegetable garden, seafood and creamy ‘ceviche,’ sea bass pil pil, veal ribs with ‘mole’ sauce are among the delicacies of the Main Dining Room. The area allows 50 guests to experience the six-course degustation menu per seating every night during the pop-up.  

A Digital Experience for All Five Senses:

3 – Private Dining Area

The most unique experience in the Paco Roncero pop-up restaurant is undoubtedly a mysterious and surreal experience, giving 14 diners a multi-sensory journey from beginning to end. Rocca’s Private Dining Room, which appeals to sensibilities of all guests, offers a 360-degree experience with live productions. Tastings include  a red bean sandwich, salmon and miso cream cones, and lamb cheek tacos, as well as grilled Solinya – a coconut and dried pepper shrimps, crab sea bass and veal ribs with mole sauce.

Raffles Istanbul provides a modern perspective on a timeless city, at the heart of the new Zorlu Center that is a bustling next-gen bazaar of fashion, performance, fine food and arts in Istanbul.  The property is on the European side of Istanbul with 185 rooms & suites and 66 Residences – some of the largest in the city – all with floor to ceiling windows and private balconies.