This was our second Michelin Star restaurant in two days. Quaint old building, approximately 600…read moreyears old in a small town outside of San Sebastián. The service was excellent, not stuffy at all. Prices where normal for a Michelin Star winner. If your out in this part of Spain it's definitely worth the drive. We had choose three appetizers, two main courses and two desserts.

The family who owns our gorgeous Airbnb made us a reservation at Zuberoa for our anniversary and…read moreafter peeping the menu and the photos of the lovely stonework building I got super excited. It's a bit of a trek from San Sebastián proper (20ish minute cab ride) but well worth it to try a meal from Chef Arbelaritz, who is well known in the region. I didn't find the menu too "out there" in terms of creativity. There's always the risk at a Michelin meal that you'll be eating 7 different colors worth of foam, but in this case familiar things like tuna tartar and quinoa made unique appearances. I wouldn't say my mind was blown but everything was certainly tasty. Our servers tended to switch off, but were very attentive. We opted to try the tasting menu, which consisted of: Tuna Tartar Spider crab and prawns ravioli Lobster, cauliflower and fennel Egg yolk, foie-gras cream and mushroom emulsion Stir-fried squid and gelatinous broth "Pelayo" style Red mullet, celeriac, and quinoa Roasted suckling pig, mashed potatos and cumin flavoured fruit compote (which I had) Roasted pigeon, liver toast and turnip filled with mushrooms (which the huband had) Macerated apricots in amarette and lemon and mint sorbet Hazelnut crocanti with hot chocolate Note! I was beyond full by the time the entrees came out, so definitely come hungry. No wine pairing was offered with the menu but they made it happen when we asked and they pretty cool about honoring our request to begin with a local Txakoli wine. With the wines, a bottle of water, tax and the two tasting menus the total was €344. Bonus points for the tooth brushing kits in the restroom!

From the owner: Las mejor cocina tradicional vasca con producto fresco especialidad en menús para grupos grandes,…read moreraciones y platos combinados. También ofrecemos menú del día, hamburguesas y bocadillos excelentes. La mejor calidad precio disponemos de terraza cubierta con servicio de mesas.

This was supposedly the best seafood restaurants in Hondarribia. We gave it to attempts during our…read morestay there the first one the waiter was very lovely and spoke English. The white asparagus was amazing and that's about where the meal ended. We had ordered the deep-fried monkfish, and it was undercooked and extremely greasy as were the potatoes. Thinking we just didn't understand the menu. We gave it a second try and it was not any better the second time they said they did not have a reservation, but seated us anyway. Our second experience was even more underwhelming. We found this place to be overpriced and difficult to get into for no real reason after two attempts I would not recommend if you're looking for a good restaurant in this area I would recommend Almameda that just received is Michelin star and did not disappoint.

The experience here was superb. Our server, so-so with English, but then my Spanish is so-so; we…read moremade it work. When we pointed to items on the menu - we chose only fish/seafood for the evening - she'd go into the kitchen, bring out the fish to show us, confirming if if it was piece too big (she brought out a 1.5 kilo piece of turbot, which we could normally take care of, but we had ordered other dishes). The dishes were amazing: monkfish (cooked perfectly) & clams in a traditional Basque green sauce, anchovies with green chilies and onions, the bacalao al pil pil was beautiful, and a main course of a type of cod perfectly grilled. It's a modest-looking place, but don't let it fool you. The server made the evening very memorable. So, if you make out to this special little town, and you should, try this place.

Mugaritz is iconic! It is not the best meal you'll ever eat, it is not the most comfortable you'll…read moreever be in a dining setting, and it is certainly not the most enjoyable time you'll have at lunch or dinner. But we're here for art - Mugaritz is truly an expensive piece of art that you get to experience if you so decide to go! I've been to Mugaritz twice, and each time has been extremely unique. Not one repeated course, and the experience overall felt different. The attention to detail and care with which they make the meal at Mugaritz is just stunning, and the overall ability to interact with a staff that so clearly loves their job is so fun! Most recently we had everything from pig snout to roasted bees to a soup that we made a as a group of diners. Every dish was plated beautifully, had a story behind it, and felt like true performance food art. The wine pairing is such a treat because they bring you wines that are mainly collaborations, and you get to try so much during your journey. If you want a good steak go to Casa Julian, if you want to save money eat pintxos in San Sebastian, and if you want the best meal ever go to Azurmendi - but if you want an experience that is truly worth having, spend 4 hours at Mugaritz - you will not be underwhelmed.

A very interesting experience (9/2023), giving Mugaritz 4 stars. A very influential place/chef, it…read morewas a bucket list type place so all of the poor reviews and friends' advice couldn't stop me from seeing it for myself. Like others have said, they try to give a unique experience, saying they don't follow a traditional fine dining format, but more just serve you textures and temperatures in no particular order - somewhat true, but the meal did still follow (albeit loosely) the standard, with light bites followed by more substantial entree type dishes, and a little sweet to end. There were few courses where utensils were provided, most of the meal was to be experienced with your hands. The menu was definitely an experience, and it's sort of masochistic - they don't want you to like everything, and pushed us to tell them which dishes/courses/flavors/anything we didn't like. Overall though, the food was mostly good. Nothing with flavor that will blow you away, but the creativity I do greatly appreciate, and I've been to enough of these dinners where something weird and off the beaten path like this is appreciated. There were a couple courses that unfortunately fell flat in terms of flavor, and of course they were the 'weird' courses too - the milk from a fake boob was flavorless and made a mess, the cider "skin" peeled from the face had no flavor and fell apart, making this course basically one where you have to pick up sauce with your hands and eat it. My main issue with the experience overall was the service. Maybe they were understaffed, but it was just bad. The cups are wooden, so servers can't tell that they're empty unless they're standing over them basically. They wouldn't serve a dish unless they had two people ready to serve them simultaneously, which resulted in multiple times where the food was sitting by our table, with one server awkwardly trying to flag down another so we could be served - one of these took like 3 minutes which was very weird. They made a whole spiel about the wine experience where you choose a painting from a booklet and give them keywords to help them choose a bottle for you, but they took that booklet and never asked us about it again so I guess they didn't wanna do that. The wine list is very short, the sommelier couldn't tell us much about the wines we asked about. Also there was one sommelier for the entire service, and the servers refused to pour wine for us so we would sit empty for long periods of time, and the wine was out of our reach where it would be weird to get up and pour our own. We asked one server multiple times to refill our glasses after an extended period of time, and he reluctantly poured the wine, except he did so into my cup with water in it? Barely an apology, no fresh water cup offered or anything. Just very weird stuff from a 2 michelin star/world's best restaurant, where consistency and attention to detail are typically the standard.

We splurged at this place on our last night Hondarribia with a group of ten and had a great time…read more The atmosphere of this upscale restaurant is luxurious with the upholstered chairs around the extravagantly decorated tables, the chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and the carpets on the wooden floor. In summer, so I have been told, is the terrace a beautiful spot as well. The chef greeted us very friendly and took the time to explain his menu and the specials of the day in a mix of Spanish, French and English. You could really see that he is passionate about the dishes he makes. The food was a revelation: The starters like a degustation starter, the fish soup or the filled raviolis, the mains like the filet steak, scallops with mushrooms or turbot and even the desert were all delicious. The service was one of the most attentive, caring and fun I have seen in a while. We really indulged ourselves and still paid less than 50 Euro per person, which in part is due to the fact that necessities like water or coffee are priced more than reasonable (3 and 2 Euro respectively). So if you feel like having an excellent dinner which still is reasonably priced, go for it.

Hondarribia is an extraordinary town with a gastronomic explosion…read more Few tourists (contrast with Saint Jean de Luz). Little urban blight (contrast with Donastia) Picturesque everywhere. (The ugly stuff was foisted off on the neighboring town of Irun.) And magnificent restaurants everywhere. Ironically - Cafe Exteberria is NOT one of the famous restaurants. If you want the places the New York Times or the food critics love - go down to the waterfront. The critics say - probably correctly - you will eat like a king. Cafe Exteberria is a neighborhood joint. It is in the old city within the ancient city walls. An unusual (and highly desirable) feature of the old city is that there is VERY LITTLE COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT anywhere in the old city. There are not only few tourist stores. There are no stores period stop the end. In the Middle Ages, walled cities had the houses people lived in, a castle and nothing else. If you did business, you did it in the streets. Hondarribia has kept things exactly that way. Not a single house has been knocked down or cleared out for modern business. The houses have been upgraded for modern comforts. (They now have flush toilets instead of people dumping their bedpans in the street.) Everything else has been maintained. So if you want to eat, there are only two choices. There are some tavernas off of the central square. In the southern part of the old city far from the central square, there is Cafe Exteberria. It pretty much only takes care of the locals. It is a wonderful establishment. It carries a small but wonderful assortments of global microbrews. (None from the U.S.. but intriguing examples of Mexican, Danish and Scotch artisanal beers.) There is plenty of Spanish/Basque food and drink. They keep a local red vermouth in a barrel and serve it with fruit and ice. That is a fine fine beverage and I endorse it heartily. They have a nice little menu of sandwiches and pinxtos. We went with the omelet with tuna and the deep fried hot peppers. Fine dishes both. Two additional marks of class. a) The television was set to the Mainland Chinese channel (with Spanish subtitles.) While we ate we watched Chinese telenovelas. The middle aged owner of a business was scheming against his brothers and being morally corrected by the rest of his family. b) The owner has a first rate jazz collection - mostly in vinyl - which she plays as the background music. Great vermouth, fine basque food, Chinese telenovelas, and late fifties jazz vocals. What's not to like?

Wow! Little more need be said... let the food speak for…read moreitself; you'll just have to get a table and enjoy. Instead let me wax lyrical about the incredible service... world class. Makes you feel like a king but also like family at the same time. That the world's best female chef made time for small talk says it all. Ps Shout out to the concierge at the Maria Christina for the last minute table.

Tucked up in the quiet Alto de Miracruz, Arzak feels miles from the Old Town shuffle; we took a…read morelovely stroll through the neighborhood before lunch and arrived already relaxed and having worked up an appetite. Inside, it's calm, bright, and welcoming, remarkably friendly for a restaurant with Arzak's stature. This is a true family house: the building began life as a tavern run by the Arzak great-grandparents in 1897, and today Juan Mari Arzak and his daughter, chef Elena Arzak, carry the torch. They're standard-bearers of New Basque Cuisine, and the restaurant has held three Michelin stars continuously since 1989. Our menu balanced playful ideas with Basque soul. A striped egg arrived nestled in a drift of puffed rice and flower petals, creamy, nutty, crunchy, and gently smoky; the kind of dish that makes you grin before the first bite. The texture contrast was killer. A sardine pintxo on a delicate biscuit, lacquered with seeds and a bright little dot of acidity, was pure hit-the-spot snacking. Then came hake kokotxas, those beloved Basque cheeks, set over a green, herb-forward emulsion with light dairy notes and ribbons of something pickled to keep everything lifted. It's the Arzak trick: modern framing around very classic lines. From the sea again, a monumental carabinero prawn arrived butterflied and just-cooked, crowned with citrusy zest and paired with small, sweet orange cubes. Powerful and ingredient-forward, as Basque cuisine should be. The meat course kept the restraint: thick, rare slices with a glossy jus and crisp, earthy garnishes. Restraint and boldness improbably worked together. Desserts were fun and varied: a rhubarb-and-strawberry composition that leaned tart and garden-fresh; a lacy, airy "waffle" scattered with vibrant red powder; a chocolate plate with honeyed, brittle-like shards; and those geometric little chocolates at the end. Service was genuinely warm and inviting throughout: attentive without choreography for its own sake, and the pacing let every course breathe. We left happy, full, and a little star-struck by how gracefully Arzak still threads innovation through tradition after all these years. It was a privilege to meet her after our meal. If you're a food-traveler, it's worth the pilgrimage.

Outstanding Michellin star restaurant that was perfect from beginning to end. The seating is…read morespacious, the ambiance is relaxed, and the food was as good as it gets. The prefix menu changes frequently. Each course is served with Silver Service and explained. Pacing was perfect. I attached our menu to give a sense of what's offered.

From the moment we were greeted to our check the service was excellent! The waited was fluent in…read moreEnglish and described the menu with great descriptions. The started with local sardines and tomato jam that had the perfect balance. The regional in season white asparagus was so amazing, so tender and flavorful. The short rib we a special local dish that they added their own creatively to and the carrot purée was the right balance. We had local oysters in a local wine and like all things here it was great. Their belief is the source needs to be very close to the kitchen. The ambiance is clean with new designs and a pice of dirt wood at each table with the location. We would definitely recommend this restaurant to anyone.

What a wonderful find! MUST VISIT ON YOUR TRIP!! We were wandering by when we looked through the…read morewindow and saw how modern this place looked. We glanced at the menu and decided to give it a try. They have a wide variety of food. We got several dishes to share. Beginning with table guacamole, they give you the components to mix for yourself with a mortar and pestle. I hate onions and cilantro, so I was able to get my share before my friends mixed them in! Served with crispy chips, it was a nice change from regular pintxos in the area. Next was the ceviche, tuna and sweet potato (with a lot of onions), onions aside the tuna was delicious with a well balanced spice of peppers that were included in the dish. Next up was the Iberian ham cheese quesadillas: perfection! The simplicity of the dish was what made it taste so good. Exactly what it sounds like, but the cheese was delicious. But the BEST part of the meal was the al Pastor tacos! They were better than some of the tacos I had in Mexico City! Perfectly seasoned meat, with just the right amount of guacamole. MUST HAVE!!! Lastly, the desserts! The churro dessert was AMAZING! And the rice pudding was also delicious, light and flavorful! We were all amazed by this meal. Everything was delicious. The most consistent meal we have had by far during our stay in San Sebastián.

What a treat! This place is barely visible on the street, but it's worth finding the signless door…read more The wood paneled walls draw you into a bustling restaurant. I came for lunch on a Monday. The menu is an inventive blend of Peruvian, Mexican, and Spanish. They have menus in English if you ask for it. The atmosphere is casual, but we ended up spending $50 for a two person lunch. The service is friendly. They bring plates out in courses, so it's easy to have a relaxed drawn out meal here. You don't feel rushed. The abodaba tacos were the highlight. The slightly crispy texture of the meat was heaven. The Sweet Potato Causa was a table favorite too!