Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
torch at his countryside restaurant
Mugaritz
(Aldura
Aldea 20, Errenteria;
&
34/943/52 24 55;
www.mugaritz.
com), 20 minutes southeast of town.
Restaurant
magazine
named it the fourth best restaurant in the world in 2008.
His gastronomic flights of fancy can be anything from vac-
uum-poached baby carrots, baby squid, and carrot blos-
soms floating in squid broth, to tiny purple Basque potatoes
transformed into hard-shelled “pebbles” that melt in your
mouth. On the outskirts of town,
Martín Berasategui
(Loidi Kalea 4;
&
34/94/336-64-71;
www.martinberasat
egui.com) learned his craft from his mother, but what has
won him three Michelin stars is a fanatical attention to
detail: For a
porrusalda
(eel soup), for example, he collects
the moisture eels give off when smoked and mixes it back into the savory
broth. Berastegui's protégé Raúl Cabrera
has caught his first Michelin star at
Kursaal
(Zurriola Pasealekua 1;
&
34/94/300 31 62;
www.restaurantêkursaal.
com), a starkly modern light-filled restaurant overlooking the beach in the
Kursaal Convention Centre. Cabrera's recipes playfully explore the deep flavors
of his locally grown products. Simplicity seems to have been what scored
the star for chef Daniel Lopez at
Kokotxa
(Campanario 11;
&
34/94/342 19
04;
www.restaurantekokotxa.com), in the Old Town—from the minimalist white
decor of his airy dining room, to attentive service, to meticulously cooked small
portions of fresh seafood served on stark white plates.
The San Sebastian experience is very much tied to the personalities of these
individual chefs, who preside over their small kitchens day after day instead of jetting
off to film TV shows or oversee spinoffs. (Many places are closed on Mon, to give the
chefs a much-needed day of rest.) Menus change often, according not only to
the chefs' inventiveness but also to the seasonality of ingredients, especially
seafood.
Note:
Reservations, made well in advance, are absolutely essential for all of
these restaurants. If you've come this far, you don't want to miss out.
(
Fuenterrabía (20km/12 miles).
Juan Mari and Elena Arzak.
L
$$$
Hotel María Cristina,
Calle Oquendo 1 (
&
34/943/43-76-76;
www.westin.
com). $$
Anoeta Hotel,
Paseo de Anoeta 30 (
&
34/943/45-14-99;
www.hotelanoeta.
com).
