Top Restaurant Review - Arzak, Spain

16 April 2009

Foodies from all over the globe flock to Spain to try the local cuisine. Spain has influenced the entire world in terms of what and how people eat. Other than French, Spanish cuisine is the world's most recognizable; and by sheer numbers, the most popular.

In the lush area of San Sebastian, Spain, the Arzak restaurant gives diners a gastronomical experience they won't soon forget. Arzak is a three-star Michelin rated restaurant that specializes in Basque cooking. Basque refers to the Basque people and includes local meats and fish usually grilled over hot coals. The technique also uses a wide array of pungent spices and sheep's milk cheeses.

Arzak gets it name from head chef and founder Juan Mari Arzak, a celebrated chef who's been cooking and compelling food critics for decades. The restaurant is a family-run business, and Arzak's daughter now shares in the cooking duties. The building is located on the outskirts of San Sebastian and the dining room is spread out over two floors. You get a look and feel of old world Spain as soon as you arrive at Arzak.

The roadside tavern in which the restaurant is located is over 110-years-old. The Basque style of cooking implemented within is known as “groundbreaking Spanish,” and the chef presents all the dishes in a unique fashion.

You can find very fresh and local dishes like the seared white tuna, fresh figs, hyperfresh eggs, and even in-house-made truffle oil. There's also a fresh selection of oysters served daily, as well as local foie gras, crayfish, squid, stuffed sweet peppers, fish mousse, pheasant, orange flan, and much more. The three-star Michelin rating the restaurant received in 1989 is still with it today. 20 years of excellence in the restaurant business is not only uncommon - it's a downright anomaly. Many patrons frequent this local restaurant and newcomers make the trek every year in the thousands to try some of the wonderful Basque cooking at Arzak.

Other than the old-style feel and new-wave recipes in Arzak, the vintage cellars are also a huge draw to this quaint Spanish location. The cellars promise to be a journey all their own, featuring a wealth of French and Spanish wines with fascinating selections from the Golan Heights collection and from Porto. There's a room dedicated to champagne and sparkling wine, and for the cigar enthusiast, the cigar room has a selection of smokes from Mexico, the Canary Islands, and even Cuba.

There's a lot to be said for a restaurant that has been in business so long using the same formula. While other upstarts try to grasp your attention with hydrogen-laced foods and gold-wrapped appetizers, Arzak presents a straightforward menu with wonderful regional selections. Instead of hiring one of the hotshot chefs from around the world to share the duties, Juan enlisted his daughter to keep the tradition going. The menu prices have modernized, however, but the overall ambiance has not. Arzak remains one of Spain's finest restaurants.

Tags: san sebastian, arzak, spain, juan mari arzak, basque, golan heights,
Posted In: Fine Dining,

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