Martín Berasategui

Simply perfect

Charcoal-roasted young pigeon with red endive and olive bites

Out of the three 3 Michelin starred restaurants in San Sebastian, Martín Berasategui was the one I was looking forward to the most. I dined at his restaurant in Barcelona called Lasarte a few years ago, and that wonderful memory still remained strong in my head. My dinner experience at Lasarte was one of the very best meals ever in my life, exceptional cooking, stunning presentation, world class service. The resturant had everything, so it was well deserved to see it has been promoted to the 3 Michelin stars club in the latest edition. If Martin Berasategui's outpost can be such a beast, surely his flagship restaurant can only be even better?

Akelare

Seaside fine dining, luxury Basque country style

Roasted pigeon with mile and cocoa

Akelare might have a lower profile compare to the other two triple starred Michelin restaurants in San Sebastian, but it certainly has by far the best views. It is located on a hill and offering stunning sea views that few restaurants can match. Beside the Michelin status, it is also a member of Relais and Chateaux, which can only mean 1 thing: a top quality, luxurious restaurant with services that is fit for royalty. Unlike most fine dining restaurants, it has 3 tasting menus that allow diners from the same table to mix and match any of the 3 menu, a rarity as usually these types of restaurants would need the whole table to take on the same menu.

Arzak

Why the hype?

Oysters mondrian

The name Arzak really needs no introduction if you are a serious foodie, located in the gastronomy capital San Sebastian, it is a 3 Michelin starred restaurant with serious reputation. It has constantly been voted as one of the finest restaurants in the world from the World 50's best guide and it's head chef: Elena Arzak has been named the best female chef in 2012. I have eaten at Arzak's outpost in London: Ametsa, back in 2013 when it was first launched and it wasn't anything special at all. But given the fact that so many high profile foreign chefs failed in London, I was pretty sure Arzak would be a different story and could deliver an extraordinary meal, but sadly, that wasn't the case.

Restaurante Kokotxa

Affordable top notch fine dinning experience

“Carabinero” (large red prawn) rice, beets and seaweed

Most people are aware that San Sebastian is the food capital of Europe, thanks to its triple 3 Michelin starred restaurants and countless of value for money pintxos bars. However, there are also plenty of great restaurants too and Kokotxa is one of the finest in the Old Town area of the city. The restaurant is renowned for its contemporary cooking style, using high quality ingredients with international influences. Just like most high end restaurants in the Basque region, it offers the standard a la carte as well as two tasting menus. The decor is fairly standard, with white paint and tablecloth across the whole dining room.

Bar Zeruko

Modern pintxo bar

Bar Zeruko

There are so many pintxo bars in San Sebastain, but without a shadow of a doubt, Bar Zeruko is one of the finest the city has to offer. Located right in the heart of the Old Town area, the bar offers a range of traditional pintxo, as well as some very creative and modern pintxo that wouldn't look "out of place" in a high end restaurant. Some of the "stood out" dishes: The grilled scallop, well seasoned and blessed with smoky aroma and freshness, a total steal for only five euro. The suckling pig dish could easily serve in a fine dinning restaurant, beautifully cooked, moist and crispy on the edge with the mustard adding a touch of sharpness to offset the richness. The Ox fillet with foie gras was full of delightful intense and bold flavours, the fillet was tender and the foie gras had a melting sensation, amazing value considering it costed only 5.5 euro. Having eaten at a few pintxo bars, Bar Zeruko is a personal favourite of mine, and one I would return for sure if I ever visit the city again.