The new king of Basque cuisine
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| Galician rib |
Spanish Basque is my no1 Western cuisine easily, but finding decent Spanish restaurants in the UK is challenging, and even harder when it comes to Basque cuisine. When I noticed Ibai, a new Basque grill house just opened in St Paul, I was excited about it. From reading the menu, it just has so many things that I would love to eat, from whole Galician beef ribs to red prawn tartare, it seems like Ibai does not shy away from using some really top-class ingredients and if cooked right, it would guarantee some top-notch dishes. I ordered most things on the menu and was looking forward to a long Basque feast.
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| Pate Basque with truffle honey & grilled bread |
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| Croque Ibai: carabinero, boudin noir and Tomme de Brebis |
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| Carabinero tartare |
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| King crab rice |
The house's signature starter Croque Ibai was a prawn toast in a whole new dimension. It was stuffed with pork black pudding and sweet carabinero and soft sheep cheese, it had so much going on with multi-layers of texture and flavours but somehow it all worked so well together, I think I have found the best prawn toast in the UK. The king crab rice looked impressive and tasted great too, the rice had such a rich seafood taste thanks to the brown meat of the crab and the the crab itself was so sweet and loaded with soft umami flavour. Last but not least, a piece of British wagyu sirloin had such a beautiful texture, not as buttery or fatty as Japanese beef but I actually prefer it as it offers more of a beef taste and meaty texture. It was tender and well-seasoned, I couldn't fault it.
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| Octopus & piperade marmitako |
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| Turbot Chop, lemon & olive oil |
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| Grilled XL Carabinero |
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| British full-blood wagyu sirloin |
Sabor was once my No 1 Spanish restaurant in the UK, but Ibai is now the new king in town despite it being such a new opening. The ingredients are generally top notch and the team of chefs really knows how to control fire to cook the food just right. The only downside of the place is its slow pace service and I take it that is because it is a new restaurant so it is still finding its feet. That aside, for serious foodies, Ibai is a great place for sure.
Food 4/5
Average cost without drinks and services:
£80 (dinner)
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