I came to Axpe/Atxondo many many years ago. So when I pulled up into San Juan plaza it's as if time had frozen. Almost everything looked exactly the same. Even it's most famous resident Bittor Arguinzoniz's Asador Etxebarri also looked just as I had left it many ages past. Well there is a new resident in town and most would not notice it unless they ventured up the hill from Etxebarri. When I ate at Etxebarri the chef cuisine was an Australian who in his own right has an excellent restaurant in Sydney. Since then there have been American. French and Japanese CDC;s there. The latter is the one who launched Txispa right above his former employer.
Ballsy? Perhaps? The techniques of his native Japan and those of the Basque country have seamlessly melded into a single tasting menu. No soybeans? make tofu and miso using chickpeas. Vegetables from Japan that dont exist in the back of their restaurant on their own garden farm, run by a Japanese gardener. Interestingly about half the staff are Japanese and that probably has pushed the Asian quotient of Axpe by a significant percent. So in addition to practicing my Castellano I got to practice my horrific Japanese as well and it made for a great time.
"Kuma neko niku sobre la parilla?"
" Mucho Txakoli es una fiesta Yopparai Zubon Nashi!"
"Estoy aqui porque watashi wa kuishinbo!"
Having met some folks from Slovenia who own a restaurant not far from some of my friends (their villages are an hour apart) it was crazy to find we knew folks in common. It also made for a crazy amount of languages being spoken in the room.
"El Mundo es chotto loco!"
You start out with some snacks in the Foyer area where you have a stunning view of the Urkiola mountains. You then move to the kitchen where you continue with snacks and drinks and get to watch the kitchen in action. Finally you go into the massive main dining room and proceed with the main tasting menu. As the last savory the txuleta being the major savory protein, we were invited back into the kitchen to watch chef Tetsuro finish that savory beef on the large parilla.
After that you have a palette cleanser and a few desserts to finish your meal. Coffee and petit fours then complete the experience. The dining room staff are but two people, one local Basque and one from Valladolid. They kept us plied with the local Txakoli and then Rioja as the savories finished. We all got an ice apple cider (think ice wine but with apples) and it really completed the meal.
The blending of Japanese and Basque cuisines is seamless. Completely amazing. it is something truly unique and the fact that it's so deep in the Euskadi Herrialdea makes it that much more compelling. I could spend a week in this place. Alas it is a temporary fantasy, a delicious one at that. I hope I dont let too many years pass before Im back in the area again. For a village to have two stunners as Etxebarri and Txispa right next to each other is just astounding read more
