Akelarre

Located at Hotel Akelarre, Akelarre is a three-Michelin star restaurant by Pedro Subijana serving innovative Basque cuisine with a focus on seafood. At Hotel Akelarre you will also find a cocktail bar by the renowned Patxi Troitino serving unbelievable cocktails, and Oteiza, a casual offshoot of Akelarre also by Chef Pedro. If Akelarre feels like too much of a splurge, head to Oteiza for a chance to try Pedro’s renowned dishes. At Oteiza, be sure to order the sea bass with green pepper and vegetable bolognese, but Hotel Akelarre is worth a visit just for sunset cocktails; the views are jaw-dropping from the property. The restaurant is located 15 minutes from the center of San Sebastián.

turnip with flower garnish on a white plate

Arzak

The most famous of San Sebastián’s Michelin-starred establishments is Arzak, owned by renowned chef Juan Mari Arzak and his daughter Elena, who can often be seen greeting guests at their table in the dining room. The three-star restaurant, one of the area’s first to feature the experimental nouveau cuisine that made the Basque Country famous, continues to be the most difficult reservation to secure. Stick to the classics, because while the luscious foie gras in a crispy wrap dusted with coffee and tea is exquisite, it is an Arzak staple, and newer plates can be less inspiring. Book at least two months ahead of time if traveling during high season.

Food at Azurmendi, Spanish Basque Region, Spain

Azurmendi

Azurmendi isn’t found in the shadows of the gleaming titanium-clad Guggenheim, but instead in a rather dull commercial district outside town. Don’t let this, or the somewhat institutional dining room, put you off, however, since Michelin-starred chef Eneko Atxa is very much the standard-bearer of the new generation of Basque chefs. Atxa’s short menu changes regularly, but such dishes as his oysters with caviar in seawater mousse and griddled scallops topped with flying-fish roe and bathed in squid bouillon are spectacular. And the dessert not to miss is his heavenly “textures of chocolate” trilogy of ice cream, soft cake and airy mousse.

ELKANO in Getaria, Gipuzkoa (Basque Country), Spain

Elkano

Tourists and locals alike make a pilgrimage to the one-Michelin star Elkano in Getaria—about 30 minutes from San Sebastián—for its world famous turbot, which is grilled and served simply with few ingredients. Chef Aitor Arregui inherited the restaurant (which is now No. 30 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list) from his father, who first created the dish.

Exterior View - Etxebarri, Spanish Basque Region, Spain

Etxebarri

It’s well worth making a detour into the countryside between San Sebastián and Bilbao for the thrill of discovering chef Victor Arguinzoniz’s extraordinary avant-garde barbecuing at his restaurant, Etxebarri, in the tiny, pretty village of Axpe. Arguinzoniz is Spain’s wizard of smoke, and almost everything he prepares is grilled or griddled over a variety of charcoals he makes himself. A former dairy-company executive, he abandoned his day job to subsume himself in his passion for cooking with fire, a tradition in the Spanish Basque Country, several years ago, and Etxebarri has since become one of the hottest insider’s addresses in Spain. You’ll know why when you sample Arguinzoniz’s grilled octopus with peas and asparagus, griddled wild mushrooms and grilled squid and onions in a sauce of squid ink. His smoked-milk ice cream, the grand finale of a meal here, is one of the most original dishes in contemporary Spanish cuisine.

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Martin Berasategui

Martin Berasategui’s three-Michelin-starred table is also located outside San Sebastián, in an elegantly decorated contemporary house in Lasarte. Berasategui’s style displays the tutelage of French chefs Michel Guerard and Didier Oudil, with whom he worked at the beginning of his career. If Berasategui’s ingredients are proudly Basque, there’s a certain Gallic elegance to dishes such as his signature caramelized mille-feuille of smoked eel and foie gras and sea bass sauced with juiced green beans and garnished with baby peas.

round dining table with a white tablecloth by the window with greenery outside

Mugaritz

Mugaritz is an innovative and experimental restaurant in a beautiful hilltop setting, approximately 15 to 20 minutes by car from San Sebastian. The restaurant has held two Michelin stars for years and is led by Chef Andoni Luis Aduriz, who has helmed the restaurant since 1998. Chef Aduriz is lauded as one of the most influential chefs of the time, and his work is paired with the brilliance of the restaurant’s research and development team. In dining here, travelers may feel as if they are participating in a science experiment (in a good way), so one should come ready to have fun and experience food in mind-altering ways! Note: the restaurant is not for everyone. Again, it is very experimental, and the menu changes yearly.

cured ham and buttered bread

Narru Restaurant

Restaurant Narru is a one-Michelin-starred restaurant across the street from San Sebastian’s Buen Pastor Cathedral. One of the city’s best (and largest) restaurants, Narru has a relaxed but refined vibe and a small selection of outdoor seating. The focus is on high quality ingredients and an elevated presentation of regional specialties. Do not miss the pan con tomate; it is an ideal umami bite. Reservations are a must.

Food at Restaurante Kokotxa, Spanish Basque Region, Spain

Restaurante Kokotxa

In a food-mad city, this is the under-the-radar Michelin-starred table you don’t want to miss. The name refers to a great Basque specialty, the gelatinous meat from the heads of certain fish, particularly hake and cod, that is usually cooked in green sauce or sautéed. They’re on the menu but chef Dani López also looks to Asia and Andalucia for inspiration. His eclectic contemporary Basque cooking is deeply produce centered and the menu changes often, but dishes like red tuna tartare with black garlic, mango and pickled vegetable sorbet and roast lobster in an airy foam of ajoblanco on a bed of rice noodles show off Lopez’s style.

Xarma

Though the location on a busy avenue near a highway overpass may lack some charm, chefs Xabier Diez and Aizpea Oihaneder’s restaurant is a real insider’s address for some of the most exciting contemporary Basque cuisine in San Sebastián. The chefs cooked their way through an impressive array of star kitchens, including Michel Bras in France and Arzak and Martin Berasategui locally, plus a stint in Spain’s Extremadura, before setting up shop here, and this place is all about their passion for tweaking tradition in the most delicious of ways. Think white asparagus ice cream and inventive, sometimes playful, dishes like foie gras bon-bons with green apple cream, boned pigeon with red-fruit risotto and liver toffee and a sublime cocoa sorbet with almond cream.

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