This luxe new experience opens Madrid's Michelin kitchens
This luxe new experience is Elysian Tales, a private four-hour progressive dinner across four Madrid venues that starts inside a Michelin-starred kitchen—not a typical food tour. Founder Marwa Preston grants behind-the-scenes access to chefs, hard-to-book tables, and historic tabernas for about 400 euros per person. For affluent travelers eyeing Spain's capital, it signals how luxury hospitality is evolving beyond hotel suites and into curated neighborhood immersion.
Key Takeaways
- Elysian Tales runs private four-hour journeys through four restaurants in central Madrid's Justicia and Chueca neighborhoods.
- Every itinerary opens in a Michelin kitchen—Saddle in Madrid—where guests help plate dishes and meet chefs before service.
- Pricing starts around 400 euros (roughly 460 dollars) per person, with Paris launching in fall 2026.
- Preston deliberately avoids the food-tour label, emphasizing storytelling, zero-waste dining, and white-glove logistics.
- The format also operates in Lisbon and Barcelona, with bespoke cars available for guests with mobility needs.
What Is This Luxe New Experience in Madrid?
According to Robb Report, Elysian Tales is a Europe-based hospitality company Preston launched in May after leaving Microsoft. Each session is private—hosts never combine groups—and unfolds like a rapid-pace culinary immersion led by a local expert.
In Madrid, the route stays within one or two walkable neighborhoods so guests spend no more than 15 minutes between stops. Night tours are most popular, though daytime versions visit many of the same restaurants.
Why Doesn't Preston Call It a Food Tour?
A four-hour, four-restaurant crawl sounds like a tour on paper. Preston argues the category misses the point. Experiences begin in the kitchen of a Michelin-starred restaurant with an aperitivo—not bar snacks on a sidewalk.
At Saddle, guests receive Corpinnat sparkling wine, unlimited sourdough from Panic bakery, and hands-on time assembling menestra, a northern Spanish vegetable stew plated like fine art. Preston says Saddle had never hosted diners in its kitchen until she insisted on that access.
Which Madrid Restaurants Do Guests Visit?
After the Michelin kitchen, the journey contrasts tradition with buzzy contemporary dining. Stops include 19th-century taberna Carmencita—hand-painted tiles, vermouth in glasses chosen for Elysian Tales guests, Cantabrian anchovies, and rare housemade beef pâté.
The third course lands at hard-to-book hotspots Preston would take her own friends, such as Uruguayan steakhouse Charrúa. The evening closes at maximalist cocktail bar Bar Manero, where hosts read guests' moods through perfume, music, or art to build a custom drink.
Who Is This Experience For?
Preston targets travelers who want Madrid's full food story in one evening—not a single slice of it. Hosts handle dietary concerns in real time, and restaurants pre-select dishes so guests make zero ordering decisions for four hours.
For buyers exploring luxury real estate and dream homes in global capitals, experiences like this reveal the lifestyle fabric of a neighborhood before a purchase. Elysian Tales also arranges cars for humid summer nights or mobility limitations.
How Much Does Elysian Tales Cost?
Robb Report lists pricing from around 460 dollars—400 euros—per person. The company also offers access Preston says ordinary diners cannot secure, including 45-minute kitchen visits at venues like Quique Dacosta's Deessa at the Mandarin Oriental Ritz Madrid.
Paris joins Lisbon, Barcelona, and Madrid in fall 2026. Bookings run through Elysian Tales, where hosts pick guests up from their hotel lobby or any city location.