The restaurants reviewed in this report are the following.
Borda Berri Tapas Bar
Viento Sur Tapas Bar
Garbola Tapas Bar
Niza Hotel Bar Operated by Narru
Ganbara Tapas Bar
Dickens Bar
Narru in Niza Hotel
Elkano in Getaria
Epeleta in Lekunberri, Navarra
Zuberoa in Oiartzun
Ibai
Etxebarri in Axpe
BORDA BERRI Tapas Bar
This bar has the best pintxos in Donostia. The team is from Cucina San Telmo.
Don’t miss the following:
1. Risotto de “Puntaleto” Idiazabal.
2. Kallos de Bakalao al Pil-Pil.
3. Kanelon Casero de Morcilla.
4. Oreja de Cerdo con Romescu* (This is better than any amuse in the three star restaurants.)
5. Pulpo a la plantxa con membrillo.
Also very good are the following:
1. Ravioli de Mollejas, Puerro, Lemongrass
2. “Kebab” de Kostillo de Cerdo
3. Sopa de Ajo con Idiazabal
4. Pikillo Relleno de Kapri-Kabra (This is veal cheeks and goat cheese with a green garlic sauce.)
VIENTO SUR Tapas Bar
This bar has very good pintxos, including the following:
1. Ceviche de Atun. (The tuna is served with lime juice, ginger, garlic, coriander, and has sweet potato and red onion slices.)
2. Cazon al limon forte (This is marinated and deep fried shark.)
3. Yema de huevo Euskalabel cocida a baja temperature con morcilla asado y virutas de lomo (This is egg yolk cooked at a low temperature with morcilla, roasted apple, and cured pork loin.)
4. Foie a la plantxa con pimientos rojos confitados, almendra frita y reduccion do Oporto (This is duck foie gras with a red pepper marmalade and red wine sauce.)
5. Lomo de ciervo con puree de manzana asado y chalota al vino tinto (This is deer loin served with roasted apple puree and pearl onions cooked in red wine.)
6. Tortilla de Camaron. (This is from the restaurant menu. It is a thin and crunchy tortilla, which is like a crepe, with camarones. It is very good.)
7. Salmorejo with jamon and eggs. (This is a very good version.)
This place has better wine by glass (like Dr. Loosen Riesling) than any tapas bar I know.
GARBOLA Tapas Bar
This bar is very close to Viento Sur. It has very good cocktails at decent prices.
We tried “Caipirina Brasilena” and liked it.
The pintxos are good. We had the following:
1. Trufa de marisco
2. Erizo de mar (sea urchin) al txakoli.
3. Hilda (anchovy and pickled pepper).
4. Tiburon (This is shark with onions. It is interesting that this dish is their claim to fame, together with kangaroo.)
5. Crujiente de bacalao.
NIZA HOTEL BAR OPERATED BY NARRU
A limited number of tapas are prepared daily and they are very good. We had the following.
1. Hilda
2. Salt cured Anchovies from Cantabria-Artajo (They are very good.)
3. Little toasts with marinated sardines and onions.
GANBARA Tapas Bar
This bar has the best kokotxas rebesado, which are lightly pan fried hake cheeks with eggs and a little flour, cooked in olive oil. They use a low acid olive oil: Agdez 0’4.
For chuleton they get the meat from Txogitxu (Imanoz). Don Serapio in Donostia carries it. The race is Vaca Machorra. Bar Nestor and Arzak use the same source.
DICKENS BAR
This is an expensive bar (18 Euro), but it has a nice ambiance. You can sit upstairs. We tried the following.
1. Gin Tonic with Bombay Gin (They grate lemon peel.)
2. Capricho: licor de canela, zumo de limon, vodka y Licor de naranja.
NARRU IN NIZA HOTEL
There are three great dishes there. They are the following.
1. Jamon de cerdo de Bellota Carrasco+pan cristal con tomato. We find Carrasco’s acorn fed jamon at least on par with the Joselito Grand Cru.
2. Gamba Rojas from Palamos. They reduced the portion to four shrimp, instead of six. Have them in the latter part of the week.
3. Callos y Morros-guisados a la manera tradicional (This is a traditional hearthy tripe and gelatinous cheek/morros stew from pork with paprika.)
2012 TXOMIN ETXANIZ (Txakoli).
This is the best, most refreshingly fruity txakoli from the hills of Getaria. It has 11.5% alcohol. It is hard to give it a grade, but it is a must try and it matched well with the jamon.
They had excellent quality freshly squeezed (a week ago) olive oil, manzanilla (green) from Artajo in Tudelo, with 0.2% acidity. They also had the classic Arbequina, which was more round and less spicy.
ELKANO IN GETARIA
This is arguably the best seafood restaurant in the world. They only serve the local catch. Aitor chose our meal for us.
1. Gambas: They were grilled as well as in ceviche with chopped celery and a vinaigrette.
2. Almejas de Carrill: They were steamed.
3. Percebes. These were the firmest.
4. Kokotxas of merlu: pil pil and a la brasa. There were the freshest possible.
5. Camarones: These are panfried in the shell.
6. Rodaballo grilled whole: This is the best turbot imaginable.
7. Besugo fish liver and eggs: This is also a gastronomic pinnacle.
Dessert: Helado de queso with fresh berry sauce. This is great.
2012 TXOMIN ETXANIZ TXAKOLI from GETARIA.
This is textbook fresh Txakoli. It sets the standards.
2012 ADUR GETARIAKO TXAKOLINA
This is a new style Txakoli from Maitena Barreraeta and Hector Gomezek who worked in France, which is aged sur lie and experienced batonnage. It is smokey and round, with ripe apple flavors. It has less mineral and freshness than the Etxaniz, but finish is longer.
Txakoli is excellent match with anchovies.
2011 EMILIO ROJO RIBEIRO
This wine has a citrus, orange blossom nose. It has a nice cut. It is clean, crisp, and complex, with pineapple and citrus flavors. It has a lingering saline minerality in the long finish. It is possibly the best white wine of Spain and is like a cross between a Grand Cru Chablis and a Chavignol Sauvignon. It has 13% alcohol. 95/100
2009 DO FEREIRO CEPAS VELLAS.
This is another great white of Spain. The aroma is quite grassy and the palette has the type of cut you experience in top Sancerre from the likes of Dagueneau, Vatan, Cotat… It has a smooth, velvety texture. Batonnage worked well here. There is nice acidity. It has a potentially longer life ahead than the Rojo. It is concentrated, with a long finish dominated by agrume flavors. It does not have the minerality of the Rojo, but it is better match with the gelatinous turbot. 94/100
Ranking: 19/20
EPELETA IN LEKUNBERRI, NAVARRA
You can have great chuleton at this restaurant.
The anchovies from Calabria are excellent. (Anchoillas on aceito de olive)
We had excellent morcilla, which was homemade and did not contain rice. It was served with vegetables.
Then we had the 1.6 kg. rib eye. It was from a 14 year old Galician breed cow. It was marbled. It had received about four weeks of dry age. It was incredible, with a rich mineral and earthy taste, while not being dry. Incredible depth of flavor, and so hedonistic! As there are individual cows, like great bottles of old wine, it is not clear whether this experience can repeat itself.
We had Aralar cheese with membrillo. This is from sheep milk. We had both young and aged pieces. This was very good.
1997 LA RIOJA ALTA GRAN RESERVA 904
The aroma from an aged Rioja reminds me of blood, tar, and smoked meat. It is like Cote Rotie, but without the fruitiness. On the palette, it gradually unfolds with red fruits, and the medium long finish leaves the impression of wild mushrooms, earth, and dried herbs. This was the optimum drinking point and the wine was a very good match with the deep earth flavors of the rib eye. It is a steal for the price, which is under 50 Euros. It has 13% alcohol. 93/100
RANKING: 5/5
ZUBEROA IN OIARTZUN
The chef is an excellent saucier and this restaurant remains one of the best places for classical French cuisine prepared with Spanish ingredients. Since chef Hilario Arbelaitz gave up from pleasing those in search of avant-garde cooking, this restaurant once again became a destination for my wife and I. It lost one of the two stars in Michelin, but improved in terms of giving pleasure. I remember enjoying this restaurant as much in the late ‘90s.
The amuse was spider crab, crab jelly, potato cream, and salmon eggs.
1. Huitres “Gillardeau” grilles sur crème de bourraches et emulsion de leurs jus. They were served warm and were very good.
2. Langoustine rotie, sauce au gingembre, huile de corail et ravioli de basilic. This dish was also very good.
3. Cepes sautéed with poached eggs. This is excellent. It is a dish of fresh and flavorful wild cepes and farm eggs.
4. Becada. This is the plat de resistance. We had one per person. They were roasted rare to medium rare and served with their own jus and blood and a red wine sauce. Their liver was presented on a toast. Tart tiny beets were stuffed with foie gras and served as a garnie. The potato puree is reminiscent of the old Robuchon potato puree at Jamin.
For dessert we had the Tarte de gueso. This is world’s best cheese cake. They prepare it with idiazabal, some Spanish blue cheese, and the mascarpone-like San Millan cheese. It is served with a fresh berries coulis and unfermented milk yoghourt.
2012 GAITAN VALDEORRAS.
We had one glass each of this wine. It is a fine example of Godello, with herbal, grassy notes on the nose. It is quite dry, crisp, and clean, with a hint of citrus. It has a light, clean feel. I remember more oaky and heavy Godellos from Gaitan, so I think there is a welcome change in style. 89/100.
2004 ARTADI VINO EL PISON
We had this wine decanted three hours before drinking it.
It has an aroma of violet, floral notes, licorice, sweet tobacco, nutmeg, and blackberries, together with a silky, elegant texture. A cornucopia of fruits unfolds on the palette, especially blackberry and black raspberry. It has more black than red fruit, which characterizes a classic Rioja. It has deceptively soft and smooth tannins. The oak is well integrated, and the strong acidity is buried in fruit. The finish is long and dominated by iron minerality and fungus. The final impression is sweet. The wine is complex but not heavy. Parker got it right this time. It has 14% alcohol. Grade: 98.
IBAI
This restaurant remains a favorite. It is must visit when in Donostia.
The amuse was chorizo from Rioja. (The bread is average, and not on par with Elkano and Etxebarri.)
1. Baby eels (Angulas) in a salad. This was outstanding.
2. Baby eels in a casserole with garlic and parsley. This is the classic preparation of angulas. It was equally outstanding.
3. Kokotxas pil pil. This was outstanding, as always.
4. Wild Lenguado. The dish is the best in the world.
5. Becada. It was grilled medium, and this did not work. It was a bit dried out. The foie was presented on the toast. Another table got it on rice, which may have been better. You should suck the brain.
2011 DO FEREIRO CEPAS VELLAS
The wine has a citrus, grassy aroma. It developed grapefruit and agrumes after aeration. The long maceration and barrique elevage did not upset the balance. It has a dense texture, but needs a couple of years to round off. It is a great value. It has 12.5% alcohol. 93/100
2006 PRIORAT IDUS VAL LLACH
This wine has some volatile acidity in the ripe black fruit aroma. Fortunately it is not jammy or too big. It carries its alcohol well due to the acid-sugar-fruit balance. The round and velvety tannins are buried in fruit. It is not my style, but it works with becada. It has 15.5% alcohol. 89/100
RANKING: 4.5/5
ETXEBARRI IN AXPE
We had another stunning meal. This is one of the most consistent and best restaurants of the world.
1. Goat cheese butter and Mantequilla black salt. It is hard to find this in the modern world. The bread (from a local baker) is also excellent.
2. Burrata cheese from buffalo milk.
3. Home cured anchovy with excellent cracker. This is another favorite. We were served a very fat and huge anchovy. This was great with Txakolin.
4. Artichoke (alcacofas) with garlic, olive oil and borage. This dish was like artichaut epineux. The artichokes are firm, excellent.
5. Gambas di Palamos. They are the ultimate!
6. Boletus odulus (like wild ceps) with eggplant (berenjena). They were firm and meaty.
7. Scrambled eggs (rovvelta) with Alba truffles. This was delightful.
8. Handcut, homemade chorizo (txistorra). This is the best chorizo I have tasted.
9. Besugo (red sea bream) with greens. This was very fresh, juicy, and grilled perfectly.
10. Becada (woodcock). It was served rare to medium rare on bomba rice. This is one of the best preparations of becada. It was outstanding, and was served with a fresh garden green salad.
Desserts:
1. Reduced milk ice cream with red fruit infusion (Helada de leche reducida infusion de frutas rojos). This was super.
2. Souffle de castanas (chestnuts). This was stunning.
Even the mignardises with coffee are noteworthy.
2010 PASSOPISCIARO GUARDIOLA ETNA CHARDONNAY
This is an interesting wine from Franchetti. It has a floral nose with hints of crème brulee and fresh yeast, but the palette is not dominated by oak. The first impression is classic apple and pear fruits, but some citrus and grapefruit components developed after aeration. It also developed a smoky, mineral aroma. Minerals are detectable in the finish. The texture is lush and creamy. I liked it more than the Tasca d’Almerita chardonnay, and it is more intriguing than Gaia’s expensive Chardonnay. It has 13% alcohol. 93/100
2012 MERLA ALTO ALELLA
This is a very good bio wine, with forward fruit, especially pomegranate and blackberry, in a silky, smooth body, with perfect acidity and an earthy finish. It flirts with complexity. This reminds me of the Morgon Beaujolais from the gang of four members. This wine gives tremendous pleasure and works with game. It has 13% alcohol. 92/100
Ranking: 20/20