MY OH MYYYY - What a spectacular meal!…read more Went here on a date and was seated quickly by a kind waitress. We enjoyed crispy chippirones and a surprisingly light aioli to accompany this starter. Next, my boyfriend ordered a beautiful bowl of seafood risotto and I ordered the duck with truffle mashed potatoes. The duck was cooked perfectly and those potatoes could not have been creamier or more addictive....seriously, why must I live so far from this place!? The portion sizes are really generous and the pricing is fair. The ambiance of this place is romantic yet family friendly. Furthermore, the restaurant offers specials and prix fixe menus. For dessert, I decided to try the chef's surprise dish, with which I was pleasantly surprised! The outer layer of this "lemon" was white chocolate and inside was a soft pillowy cake with a tart lemon curd and raspberry jam. It was perfection. I certainly left happily that night :)

Wonderful hamburger, sea bream fish was great with ratatouille! Virgin raspberry mojito was super!read more

Being situated in the harbour at Socoa the suroundings and the view are quite nice. Very friendly…read morestaff. We had oisters, grilled Turbot and moules. All very tasty, althoug the fries and oven potatoes could have had a little ekstra crispyness.

Very good restaurant with a nice selection of local food…read more Make sure to try their Magret de Canard and fries as it is amazingly tasty (and not too fatty). The service was nice and efficient and the armosphere cosy.

I wanted to sample the French side of Basque cuisine, so we hopped on a train for a day trip to…read moreSaint-Jean-de-Lutz. I read so many good things about L'Essentiel, I knew this was my lunch spot for the day. It was the perfect choice. After eating at 3 Michelin Star Disfrutar and 2 Michelin Star Amelia within days of eating here, what does it say that L'Essentiel perhaps served me my favorite dish of my entire trip.... Salmon and Pancakes. This was an appetizer of fine gravlax drizzled with oil, that you paired with a pancake blini. Putting the butter on the warm pancake then topping it with luscious salmon, pickled beet, and pickled cauliflower for a little crunch. It was the perfect bite. Truly memorable. I kept balancing a little of each ingredient on the pancake and thus creating my own French Pintxos Turbot roti au buerre persille - Turbot roasted in parsley butter, served with earthy flavors of grilled gem lettuce, carrots, peas, fava beans, bacon lardons, whipped cabbage and potato puree, saffron sauce. Outstanding. Carré d'agneau - épaules confites barbecue - this was lamb two ways. Lamb chops with shredded lamb shoulder in a barbecue glaze, carrots, turnips, white asparagus, thyme au jus, and fromage blanc with chives, which kind of acted as a Greek yoghurt. Highly recommend eating here if you are in town. Or also use it as an excuse to visit this great French beach side town. Either way, dont' fall in love with any specific dish I mentioned here, because the chef is all about fresh seasonal ingredients, and changes things around. But I would totally trust any dish they make here. Very friendly service as well.

Generous portions in the €20 menu. Delicious fresh calamari, moule and fish. Friendly…read moreEnglish-speaking waiter. Tolerant of our 2 toddlers. Definitely better than the norm for family lunch or dinner.

This restaurant is middle of road from Biarritz to San Sebastián. Our private tour guide stopped…read morehere for lunch. While the service could improve by hiring additional servers but the food is extra ordinary, from lobster, to clam and sardines and octopus. Thanks for doing a great job. The ambience and scenery were great. My only complaint is the fritz was burned.