San Sebastian

Epicurean Exploits - Food and Recipes
41

Cristian -

Just got back from our fifth trip to San Sebastian and surrounding areas. Mugaritz is one of our favorite restaurants in the world and I hope you like it.

You must not miss Ganbara, but it can be enjoyed as a stop along the way as much as, or more than, a full meal. As with other pintxos places, order off the menu and do not fill up on the already prepared items.

We had a disappointing meal at Elkano this time, and I was told by a local who goes there often that they have slipped, probably due to the overwhelming interest from tourists. My friend thought it was something they will adjust to, though, and they do still get the best available seafood.

Ibai is very nice and serves one of the best Dover soles I have ever had - classic prep and highest quality. The percebes we had there were also outstanding, but Iā€™m not sure if they will still be in season when you are there. It is quite expensive for what it is, though. Not saying itā€™s not worth it, just warning that the prices are higher than I would expect.

I enjoyed Azurmendi more than my husband did. We both thought the food was very good, but he really hated the space and thought the entire rainforest intro set up was plain old silly. The kitchen was oddly cold and sterile and I thought a visit there, which is how they structure your experience (first the ā€œpicnicā€ then the kitchen tour, then the meal), was a detractor from the rest of the meal. The staff was very amateurish when we dined there - amateur and overly formal, which is bad combination. That said, the room might appeal more to some than others and the food is indeed very good - I just donā€™t remember anything about it unless I look at my pictures, which to me is a bad sign.

Rekondo and Akelare are both good as well, though not in our rotation. We really prefer hitting small gourmet stores for provisions and enjoying pintxos at the good places in both the old quarter and Gros. Ganbara, Zeruko, Gandarias, Bar Nestor, Urtxori-Bi and Hidalgo 56 are some favorites. You can sit and eat a good meal in many cities around the world, but the pintxos crawl is unique to the region and is a special experience.

42

Thank you very much Sarah!

I am inclined to follow your advice and instead of booking a dinner, just go for a pintxo crawl one evening. And maybe try Ibai and/or Elkano for lunch.

Thank you again.

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43

Thanks to everyone for all the information here and in other threads about San Sebastian. My wife and I are taking out first trip there next Saturday and spending 5 days in SS before moving on. Reservations at Elkano and then Rekondo on my bday. Excited!! Will report back.

44

stayed at the hotel maria cristina two summers ago after running with the bulls in pamplona. wonderful hotel that i enjoyed very much. the cocktails were fantastic. only downside was no pool, but a great beach just a short walk away. ate at rekondo, elkano, arzak and mugaritz. arzak was just an incredible dining experience that blew me away- top 10 restaurant experience in my life. rekondo was less spectacular, but eating in the courtyard , drinking unico and then touring the cellar made up for it. elkano has spectacular traditional spanish seafoodā€¦ it was about a 45 minute bus ride from san sebastian, and i spent a couple hours at the balenciago museum down the road, which is not to be missed. a true genius, visionary and master of his craft.

45

Any experiences with Akelarre?

A highly qualified Spanish friend in the area feels Mugaritz is too focused on novelty.

46

Stunning view, beautiful mid afternoon late lunch! I loved everything about the restaurant, but it was a while back and only had 2 Michelin stars back then. I think it picked up the 3rd at some point, so Iā€™m sure itā€™s better nowā€¦ [foilhat.gif]

Itā€™s a little out of San Sebastian up on a steep hill overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

47

Wow, you are making my decision difficult: driving from Bilbao to San Sebastian ā€” Elkano or Akelarre for lunch ? any ideas?

Side bar-- how many of you can do runs of two blow out meals in one day.Several years ago, I was consulting in Beaujolais and had big business lunches and dinner daily, after a few days I was physically sick with a some sort of disequilibrium syndrome

48

Ironically, due to a scheduling mix up, thatā€™s exactly what happened with Akelarre. Lunch there, then dinner at Arzak. It was not our first choice and it definitely added some ā€œeffortā€ to the Arzak dinner which was a shame because that was a meal that should have been appreciated. We should have done an earlier Akelarre lunch, but like I said, there was a scheduling miscommunication and we had to take what was available.

I havenā€™t tried Elkano, so I canā€™t comment there.

49

I cannot do two tasting menu meals in a day happily, and will almost always avoid it if I can.

I have not been to Akelarre, and canā€™t comment. Our recent meal at Elkano was a letdown, due to overcooked turbot. A local told me he had the same experience recently, after many years of perfect fish there, and thinks they are a little overwhelmed.

50

Just came back last week from San Sebastian. Dined at Rekondo (and just had wine there too), Extebarri, Elkano, Akelarre and Azurmendi among many Pintxoā€™s bars too.

Extebarri was the highlight for the simplicity and quality of ingredients. Only one dish fell flat, the egg and mushroom. Elkano was good, not great as the fish seemed a little more cooked than it should have been. Very muched enjoyed Azurmendi, though the repetitiveness of the filled spheres wore after a while. Akalerre was delicious. Not as molecular or cutting edge as Azurmendi, but over the two different menus we shared, all the dishes shined.

51

Jason - We had very VERY similar impressions and experiences, down to the disappointing egg and mushroom dish (needed both salt and acid) and the overcooked turbot.

52

Has anyone tried the Azurmendi Pret-a-porter menu?

53

Christian - We looked at the menu while waiting to head up to the restaurant. Looked good, but didnā€™t try it.

Sarah - One and the same for us.

We drank only Spanish wine while in SS, but was surprised by the amount to cheap Roulot on wine lists there. Also, it has been said before, but if you love old Rioja, Rekondo is a must. On our stops there we had 1975 and 1976 LA Rioja Alta Gran Reserva 904 for both under 90E, 1966 Ramon Bilbao Reserva for 45E, 1970 Olarra Gran Reserva for 20E. So much we didnā€™t even have a chance to buy/try.

54

We drank mostly Spanish as well, particularly in Galicia where we were for a week before SS, and where we found some extremely good local wine. But we caved on a few bargains like Roulot, Egly-Ouriet, DP, and a startlingly cheap bottle of '93 Nikolaihof Gruner Vinothek!

55

One more question on my side - our dear friends with whom we are going to Mugaritz, Elkano, and pintxos, are spending a few days in Barcelona. Any recommendations for places there? Thanks in advance!

56

Don,
Dined at Akelare 5 years ago as a guest of Bodegas Muga. It was a singular experience as it was the only Michelin starred restaurant we dined at in the area, but I donā€™t hesitate to say it was amazing.

Wild mushrooms with ā€œpastaā€ made from the separated white and yolk of eggs.

57

Thanks Mark and thanks to all.

58

We are spending 5 nights/6 days in San Sebastian and I am wondering whether the following list for that time period (plus some of the pintxos places for dinner) is either over doing it or too duplicative of styles/experiences:

1st day: Elkano for dinner
2nd day: Akelarre for lunch (dinner of pintxos)
3rd day: Mugaritz for lunch; Rekondo for dinner
4th day: Lunch either at Extanobe (Bilbao) or Azurmendi Pret-a-Porter for lunch (Etxebarri is not available) and Alameda (Hondarribia) for dinner
5th day: Briketenia for lunch (on day trip into France); pintxos for dinner

I think that I want to only do two of the three of Elkano, Mugaritz and Akelarreā€¦ Is it a mistake to do both Akelarre and Mugaritz on the same trip? If we are doing both of those lunches should we still go to Elkano or change Alameda or Rekondo from those nights to the first night? Side note is that I hate the cancellation policy at Mugaritz which requires 3 day advance notice not to charge us on cancellation (I understand why they do it but donā€™t like not having some flexibility on vacation in case something needs to changeā€¦).

Any thoughts and feedback would be most appreciated!!

59

My understanding, from what people have said, is that maybe itā€™s good to have a day off in between the big guns. We have Wednesday dinner at Mugaritz, and Friday lunch at Arzak. We were planning to go on Thursday for lunch to Elkano or Azurmendi, but we dropped these plans based on the idea of not overwhelming the experience with so many nice meals in a row.

60

I would agree itā€™s a lot of serious meals packed in. I personally wouldnā€™t do two in one day, and would take a breather day just to relax and bum around town, go for a hike or a drive, rest your senses a bit.

I have no issue with a cancellation policy of three days. The kind of prep they do almost certainly begins before that for many dishes. Things can happen - people get sick, flights get delayed - which make cancellations necessary and flexibility a nice thing to have, but a lot of people just book a ton of reservations and then cancel what they donā€™t feel like doing. That is unfair and disrespectful to the restaurants, in my opinion.

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