Hi
What is the current wisdom on the 3 starred restaurants near San Sebastian? In particular Mugaritz, Arkelare or Martin Berasategui?
Anyone been recently?
Sorry typo - Mugaritz is 2 and not 3 stars.
I havenât visited all of them since Covid â I chose Akelarre most recently and itâs still my favourite â particularly as you get a choice of different tasting menus (each person can have a different one, so potentially double the number of tastes if you share).
Mugaritz is the most âintellectualâ â thereâs a clear philosophy at work â but I find it sometimes skips âdeliciousnessâ in favour of innovation.
Martin Berasategui has delivered (to me, in the past) a mixture of superb dishes and âwhat was he thinking ofâ items. Heâs also expanded his empire, so Iâd seek guidance from others on which is currently his âbest effortâ.
And of course, thereâs also Arzak â IMO the most traditional â I didnât use to like the room (or service) although the food was excellent. Again â no recent experience.
Iâve visited all 3 but not recently.
I agree with Estufarian that Mugaritz is by far the most intellectual. Andoni is the chef who most âpushes the envelopeâ, who feels the need to challenge his diners to accept new (and often just provocative) experiences rather than just to please them, or as Estufarian says, âskips the deliciousness in favor of innovationâ. And sometimes it can border on the mystifying, particularly if one isnât up for being challenged. He tries to break the mold.
I find Mugaritz the Michelin dining experience I most hesitate to recommend to friends, as itâs just not for everyone.
As one very well known Spanish blogger/critic said of the experience: âO te encanta o te espantaâ.
In short, you either love it or you hate it.
Andoni Aduriz said of Mugaritz: âWe donât want to be a restaurant; itâs a restaurant that doesnât want to be what others want it to beâ.
For the sheer beauty of the setting with gorgeous sea views, Akelarre, and there my husband and I each chose a different tasting menu.
That saidâŠ
MartĂn Berasategui, by far, is the one I would most like to return to, the one I remember most fondly.
The one I found lacking, in the sense that the service was far too rushed for us, was Arzak, but Iâd certainly be happy to give it another try. I have friends who have been very pleased with it lately.
Itâs the one that is easiest for the diner with a very short stay in the city, as it doesnât require a long taxi ride to the countryside.
But if I had to choose between Arzak and MB, Iâd personally choose the latter, as for me it offers up all the ingredients to make it the most memorableâlovely setting, beautifully presented food, superb service.
Yes, MB has expanded his empire, but his support staff/chefs at each of his restaurants are extremely well trained.
He recently took over the supervision of Madridâs Club Allard, installing his disciple, JosĂ© MarĂa Goñi there, and also opened a Basque-style tavern nearby, Madri Madre.
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I can offer you the following:1. Azark, Berassategui and Extebari:
Let me start with Berasategui: i think in the beginning till mid-way, that was one hell of a meal. I thought it was like one of the best meals, and truly deserves 110% 3 star. But from mid-way till the ending, it was just good. Like 2-3 star level. Then I found out whyyyyyy⊠The first few courses were all their classic dishes, that the chef had the recipe from 1993 to 2018. Then from midway till the ending, the recipe were mostly the recent one from 2021-2022.
Azark: it was more consistent throughout, but none of the dishes was truly standout. Still a meal that I enjoyed.
Extebari: this is not fine dining. It is a long meal that lasted 4 hours, I think. And you will need to rent a car or hired a chauffeur-driven car from San Sebastian to the restaurant. It focus more on BBQ type of meat. Though I enjoyed the meal, I was slightly disappointed due to the VERY HIGH EXPECTATION: foodie friends from Hong Kong told me that meal was one of their top 3 meals ever. Certainly not one of my top 10 or 20 meals ever. But that was the expectation.
I certainly donât think you will go wrong with either. If I had the chance to return and just try one, maybe I will try Brerasategui again. But i wonât be disappointed if I just tried either of the other two.
Thank you for that feedback. Youâve convinced me that Martin Berasategui is worth a return visit (rather than Arzak). But of course, that would be #2 (after Akelarre which has never disappointed in multiple visits over 15+ years).
And adding a comment on Etxebarri - well worth a visit - as good a âgrillâ as anywhere. But I found it somewhat 1-dimensional (albeit a great dimension) compared with the other great restaurants in the area. Go once, if youâve never been.
@Estufarian,
I agree with you about Etxebarri in the Bizkaia province. And the setting beneath Pico Amboto memorable.
Itâs also worth it to spend the night in tiny Axpe, either at the renovated Mendi Goikoa in the village itself (but fills up quickly with Extebarri diners) or in Garai at the Oar Cottage.
So the toss up is between Akelarre and Martin Berasategui. Mugaritz is probably too avant garde for me although looking at some earlier reviews from 2015, the food then seemed idea ridden but still accessible and sounded good.
The consensus here for return visits seem to be for MB.
We enjoyed Mugaritz in its earlier days when the menu was mostly plant, broth and vegetable based and not at all so provocative, challenging, daring, breaking boundaries. This was before Andoni âwent over the edgeâ, as my husband and I joke. The experience is now more like performance art, if you read some of the reviews from this year.
Of all the San SebastiĂĄn 3 stars (plus Exteberri which we did not like), only MB has really delivered (worth the price relative to all of the great options throughout Spain), particularly at current price levels. Akelarre has amazing views (you can also stay at their hotel and enjoy those views) but we preferred the food at MB by far.
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Hi
What are the current views on Kokotxa and Bodegon Alejandro? They are pretty different - that much I know.
Was thinking of doing either amidst a heavy pintxos itinerary.
Hi @mikey8811, Itâs been too long for me to comment on KokotxaâŠate there once and quite liked it, but it was a long meal, as I recall. Iâve always enjoyed Bodegon Alejandro. But donât forget about Casa Urola. The bar downstairs is really tops (donât miss the scallop pinxto and the pain perdu dessert. The upstairs restaurant, if you are looking for a real meal is also wonderfulâŠfish/seafood focused.
Thanks. I have Casa Urola upstairs already booked. I was wondering about downstairs vs upstairs. Can I order food from downstairs upstairs and vice versa?
Usually, the answer is no. I had one amazing evening there, during Covid, when they lost my reservation upstairs, and found me and my guest a table downstairs where they said we could order from either menu. And boy, did we ever! If you can somehow get a table downstairs, and just order from the downstairs menu, I think itâs the more fun spot, and also, if I had to choose just one menu, it would be the one downstairs. I find the upstairs room sort of staid and hush. I would call them (or have your hotel call them) and see if you can have a table to eat downstairs, or just go at opening (not sure where they are with tables, now completely beyond Covid.
Last I was there, they were serving this wine that I grew attached to downstairs (probably upstairs too) at Casa Urola. Iâve been able to get it in New York:
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Itâs been too long for me at Kokotxa as well, but my very favorite in the Old Quarter is Urola. Here you simply canât go wrong.
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Do you prefer the bar or restaurant at Urola? What are their specialties?
I did ask my hotel to switch my booking to a table downstairs based on @ninkat 's recommendation but they replied to say they didnât recommend it as it will be very noisy.
I thought the rowdiness was part of the appeal and convivialityâŠ
I prefer the bar only because thatâs where we. always meet up with our friend, Gabriella Ranelli, of Tenedor Tours. Because sheâs a regular and Pabloâs friend she can order new dishes from upstairs for us to try, but others canât I donât believe. Yes, there are only a few tables downstairs and it is very noisy and gets very crowded. Itâs usually the last stop on our rotation.
Specialties:
the âUrolaâ, blue lobster, sprouts, garlic mayonnaise, vinaigrette and. trout eggs
the scallop (Vieira con ajoblanco)
You do have to be careful in the Old Quarter, unfortunately of the growing number of âpintxos millsâ, with huge long tables and wait staff, owned by corporate groups that actually prepare pintxos in a factory outside of town and bring them in. I think it will be obvious which ones they are.
On our pintxos crawl with Gabriella, in addition to Urola, we go to her other favoritesâ
- Ganbara, which is capacity controlled now, so you must be there at the door when they open. When itâs full, they donât allow any more diners to enter unless you have a reservation in the dining room. Speciality, any of their mushroom dishes, like Hongo a la plancha con yema de huevo
- La Cuchara de San Telmo, either get there at the door when it opens or go late.
- Tamboril, (âTamboâ) now owned by Ganbara, on the Plaza de la ConstituciĂłn for the champiñón
- Antonio Bar, the new location on Bulevar for the tortilla with caramelized onions or the ravioli de langostio en salsa de Martini.
- Zazpi in the Museo de San Telmo
Others: Txepeta in the Old Quarter is the anchovie temple and our favorite there is the anoxia con crema de centollo, Borda Berri makes a veal cheek braised in red wine
In the Gros quarter,
- Bergara, one of the two bars that invented the miniature haute cuisine.
Specialty: la txalupa - Bodega Donostiarra, open for breakfast, lunch, dinner, pintxos all day, a local favorite
Specialties, âel completoâ, the âIndurainâ and the individually made tortillas for one
If you download the app at pintxos.es, youâll have a list of all the specialties. Itâs a curated list, the âStarred Chefs Listâ, the 99 Best in Donostia.
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Thanks so much.
What is the difference between the old Antonio on Bergara and the Antonio Boulevard on Calle Mayor? Both serve the same food including the tortilla and ravioli correct?
Both Zazpi and Bergara in Gros are new to me. Zazpi looks like a restaurant rather than a pintxos bar. It says Bergara is open from 6.30 am which makes it a rare candidate for breakfast, as is Bodega Donostiarra.
The ones that open in the moring, do they serve all the pintxos throughout or only a breakfast selection in the morning?
Yes, both serve the same food. The difference is that the old Antonio has a downstairs dining room where weâve had full meals, and the new Antonio has a very large outdoor terrace.
Zazpi is both a restaurant and a pintxos bar, but when we went in the other day just to have pintxos sitting at a table, we had to vacate the table before the lunch hour, as the tables were reserved for full meals. Zazpi used to be located in the center, but moved to the San Telmo Museum in the Old Quarter.
We often have breakfast at Bodega Donostiarra, their individual tortillas made to order are quite good.
The ones open in the morning will usually have breakfast sandwiches and tortillas available that early, then between 11 and 12, the usual pintxos come out of the kitchen, in my experience.
Narru in the Hotel Arbaso also serves breakfast, starting at 7:30. ItÂŽs in front of the Catedral del Buen Pastor. Weâve gone there a couple of times. ItÂŽs a fabulous place to dine, btw. and the chef, Iñigo Peña is one of the best upcoming chefs around, clearly a successor to the greats (Arzak, Subijana, M.B. Arbelaiz). Narru has one Repsol sun. The super modern kitchen has large windows open to the bar area and an impressive grill. What to order here is any whole fish or the txuleta. This is very much a seasonal, product-driven place, without flourishes, as Peña says.
Iâve had luck going late for lunch to La Cuchara de San Telmo; I have found bar men open to chat some and make thoughtful wine recommendations. It was there I was introduced to the white tempranillo grape. I had no idea you could get this, nor how delicious it is and goes with the food thereâŠI am not such a fan of Txakoli (never had a glass I really liked).
Thanks for answering the question about Zazpi; I was wondering.
Finally, I also found that arriving right at Urolaâs opening time, could snag a table downstairs (there were no bar seats the last time I was there during Covid, but I think this would be my preferred spot, if the stools were back). My advice: order as many of those scallops as you have people, you will not want to share! I agree with @Maribel, itâs my favorite pintxos spot. I fished this out from the depths:
