Deep in the heart of Northeastern Spain’s Basque country in the town of San Sebastian lies a small two story restaurant - Arzak. The restaurant has been rewarded with three Michelin stars and is ranked eighth on the list of the World's 50 Best Restaurants 2013. Elena Arzak runs the kitchen and is the fourth generation member of her family to work in the kitchen at Arzak restaurant. Food is in her genes and it shows because this is one of my favorite restaurants in the world. Three Michelin star restaurants can be pretentious, arrogant, more focused on retaining their stars instead of giving the diners a good meal. Arzak is NOT one of these restaurants. We went their on opening night, where after a short brake, the restaurant were back in business again. It was packed. Old people, regulars, families with children, tourists - everybody was enjoying themselves and nobody felt left out. The food is creative, modern, inventive and very fun. The restaurant really lives up to its reputation as the most important innovative forerunner of the New Basque cuisine. Elena describes the food philosophy of Arzak the best: "Tastes have changed, and we listen closely to what people want. People like lighter plates than they did when my grandmother was cooking, and they eat more vegetables. At the same time, our cooking is multisensory, which means that the food is very important, but so is the presentation. We want the food to be both serious and fun, and we want the guests’ own tastes to be reflected in the experience." So how was the menu? I will let the pictures speak for themselves. Here are the appetizers. My favorite was without a doubt the Sardine with strawberry - never thought that flavor combination could work, but when you infuse the strawberries and pack them with so much flavor, the sardines blend very easily together with the sweetness. Jaw-droppingly good!!! Moving on to the main courses - we were treated to one culinary explosion after another. Fantastic presentations gave away even more breath-taking flavors. Rich, powerful, but also very eloquent. Best of all was the main fish course: white tuna cooked to medium rare perfection. The fish was fresh, intense and buttery. "This is the fatty part of the tuna," our waiter explained, "it is in season now so this is the right time to eat it." The intense richness of the fish was blended with garlic petals which created a balanced composition of savory and sweet, buttery and crisp and spicy. The desserts were also amazing. So rich and flavorful and yet, you just wanted to eat more of them. I guess that is the best grade you can give a restaurant. The final dessert was one of the most beautifully crafted dishes that i have ever seen. Colorful, vibrant and very fitting for the season. It was called Golden footprint and Ladybird - it is easy to understand why. The dining experience finished with some edible tools - all in the fun spirit of Arzak. As an additional bonus we had the opportunity to talk to Juan Mari for a couple of minutes. He is still very active in the restaurant even though Elena runs the kitchen. He is nice, friendly and you can that his passion for food still burns brightly. Arzak is an amazing experience and I can't wait until I have the opportunity to come back - hopefully sooner than later.
1 Comment
5/1/2017 11:44:36 pm
Look at the best designs and decoration of dishes on this page and even that will not help us to finish our hunger but we can enjoy it really. If you ever want to enjoy this delicious food, just visit that restaurant or try to make it at home but i don't think that decoration is a child's play.
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