4.5 stars -Though Txikito had been on my list for years, I happened to experience it sheerly by chance. I was meeting friends at the restaurant's bar, as they were waiting for a table at a completely different spot. We ordered a round of drinks, and I opted for a cocktail that included tequila, passion fruit, and other ingredients that I cannot recall. However, those are two of my favorite beverage components, so those immediately sold me on it. The cocktail was boozy, tart, and had notes of citrus. After we finished our first round of drinks, we were debating our next move when one of my friends received an update on our table at the other establishment; apparently, they needed another hour to seat us. At that point, we decided to dine at Txikito instead, and, thankfully, they were able to accommodate our party of 4. My favorite place in the world is San Sebastián, Spain, a city in the Basque region, which was the focus of the restaurant's cuisine, and I was eager to revisit my love for the area through the food. We were told that the menu items were all smaller portions to be shared, as was typical for Basque food. We were advised to pick 2-3 dishes each, which wound up being more than enough and costing a pretty penny. Everything was delicious, though! Since we ordered so many things, I will provide a summary below:
Snacks:
1.) Hot Jilda (smoked Japanese sausage, guindilla peppers, onion, mustard)--I loved this! We received 4 skewers that each had a section of a smoky sausage, a pepper, and a pearl onion. The mustard was the dipping sauce. We were told to eat all of the skewer ingredients together, which really helped deliver the full flavor impact.
2.) Gilda (anchovy, pickled pepper, olives)--This was another excellent skewer dish with anchovy-wrapped olives that were stuffed with peppers. It perfectly married salty, briny notes with spice.
3.) Quisquillas (flash-fried, head-on shrimp, espelette, yuzu aioli)--I had pictured large, head-on prawns, but these were small shrimp that still had their shells. We were told to eat the whole crunchy shellfish, heads and tails included. The aioli was a tangy dipping sauce. This was a fun snack, but not a must-order.
4.) Kroketas del día (Croquettes of the day: blue cheese)--These were mozzarella stick-looking bundles of fried potato and blue cheese. They were good and not nearly as funky as I had expected them to be. I think cutting the blue cheese with potato minimized the cheese's potential to be too strong.
Cold:
1.) Rusa (potato salad, flaked bonito, mayo)--This looked like a birthday cake! It was a tall cylinder with a base of flaked tuna, which was topped with a mayo-covered potato salad that included peas and carrots. Olives were sticking out of the top of it like birthday candles. I am not a mayonnaise fan, but this turned out to be my favorite dish! It offered the flavors of the Mediterranean in a refreshing and bright way. It was spectacular!
Hot:
1.) Mendreska (charcoal-kissed swordfish belly, smoked eggplant, porcini, padron)--The slices of fish were tender and cooked to perfection. The eggplant underneath the fish was almost like a baba ganoush, and its smokiness left a weird taste in our mouths. So, we were eh on this one.
2.) Cordero (roasted lamb belly, delicata squash, black olive, anchovy vinaigrette)--The lamb was rolled and crispy like a porchetta, and it was served over delicata squash. This dish was not super memorable, and the lamb was a bit gamey.
3.) Arroz Meloso (bomba rice, uni, wild shrimp, enoki mushroom)--While I had pictured this to be an uni-topped paella, it was more like a creamy risotto. It was rich and offered a great balance of earth and sea flavors.
4.) Filete Y Riojans (Wagyu steak, roasted sweet peppers, anchovy, bone marrow, scorched bread)--The perfectly cooked steak was sliced and served over a thin piece of toast that was almost like a cracker. The meat was plated with a long strip of tender, melt-in-your-mouth bone marrow, as well as marinated peppers and anchovies. This was another favorite of the evening!
5.) Cochinillo (suckling pig, tximiturri, eskarola)--This was a large slab of pig with tender meat inside and crispy skin on the outside, served over a green herb sauce. It was another winner!
6.) Hake with Pil Pil (SPECIAL)--The fish was nice, but the thick, creamy sauce had an unpleasant texture.
Sweet:
1.) Ruso (meringue, cultured cream, coconut)--I am not a meringue person, but these were nice with a hint of coconut. 2.) Flan Batido (whipped chocolate flan, olive oil, sea salt, Chantilly)--Chocolatey, creamy, delicious 3.) Gazta Pastela la Viña-esque (cheesecake, pineapple, espelette)--Firm, creamy, really good 4.) Pastel de Moscatel Basque (butter cake, moscatel grapes, creme anglaise)--eh, not very impactful.
In addition to the great food, I enjoyed my glass of Rose Tempranillo and the friendly service. I would go back, but would wait to see if they changed the menu first, since we ordered most of it! read more