76 replies to this topic

[The Viking]

IMHO: Lunch, definetely!

Going back there the 6th of September with some fellow gastronauts, arriving at BIO airport at 12.00 and then headed directly to Etxebarri, San Sebastian afterwards.

[docsconz]

This restaurant is at the top of my list for when i return to Spain. In general, I think lunch is the way to go in Spain if one can do it logistically. I think that would be especially true at a place like this if one is staying in Bilbao or San Sebastien as the nighttime drive would probably be very difficult and stressful. Of course, if following Joe Gerard's recommendation, it might be a different story.

[Trucie]

Etxebarri in a nutshell - A Food Lover's Dream. The second best meal of my entire life, the best being Tetsuya's in Sydney. This was estupendos! you will never think the same about grilled food ever again. It's not just the food, it was the whole experience. A great day trip out of the city into the countryside, blue skies, picturesque scenary and riedel glassware. Ha! i have never drank from riedel glassware before, can't say the water tasted any better :-)

We drove from Bilbao with our little matchbox GPS connected via bluetooth to the Nokia mobile phone which had Tom Tom loaded with the map of Spain. a LIFESAVER i tell you. Got us there even when it got lost because of a new roundabout that was not on the map.

As mentioned in other posts, there is a guy who speak english there. He is the sous chef. He comes from Australia. He is very friendly and was not in a rush to spend time talking to us about the produce... he emphasised alot about the freshness and the quality of the produce. The degustation was not on the menu so you need to speak to the chef. Once the price was agreed we got very excited and became worried at the same time. It was much more than our budget and through the excitment we forgot to ask how many dishes we were getting... Well...here it goes....

Wine: Pazo de Señorans Seleccion de Añada 2002 Albariño

1. Chorizo De Caserio
Homemade chorizo.



2. Mantequilla
Lets not get confused here, its simply grilled bread with a heavy handed portion of butter. I swear it tasted like foie gras, but it's just butter!


3. Cigalas
Langoustine, half portion each, most expensive langoustine I ever had, best we ever had. Unbelievable seafood-sweetness. I noticed the shell as very soft - slight tougher than a prawn but still your able to crack the shells using just your fingers. The chef said they deliberately catch it at this stage because it gives maximum flavour. Due to my upbringing, I sucked on the shell and the head with glee, oblivious to my surroundings. Nothing, nothing was wasted at all.



4. Ostras
Oysters on seaweed. I asked the chef where he sourced it, its was massive. Came from France. Size 00 !!!



5. Caviar Brasa

Before the grilled Iranian cavier arrived, we were brought a palate cleanser - something milky in the glass. The grilling brought on a hint of smokey bacon.



6. Espardenyas
Can't give you a direct translation - but it was so devine and super sweet, tasted like a razor clam/squid but it's not. From looking at other egullet posts i believe this is the sea cucumber.



7. Chipirones Brasa
The dish I had been waiting for, baby squid is in season. How can i describe the ink: sweet, seafood like and the texture is creamy smooth. The charcoal smell brought a smokey bacon flavour.



8. Hongos Brasa
OH WoW. Here comes grilled cepes and aubergine. Out of this world. Sorry the photo does not do this dish justice.



9.Ventresca de Bonito
Grilled bonito (spanish tuna) and tomato. Simply succulent.



10. Chuleta

What were they thinking? Final course was a hunka chunka grilled steak from Pays Basque served with green salad and a plate full of chunky chips. Tender but not in the same league as argentian or wagyu beef.



11. Infusion de fruots
Homemade vanilla ice-cream with red berry sauce.
Followed by coffee and petit fours.



Inside the dining room.



Front entrance to the grill house.



The courtyard


And finally... the good stuff.

Edited by Trucie, 12 October 2007 - 06:10 PM.

[vserna]

Re: "Tender but not in the same league as argentian or wagyu beef."

Major cultural chasm here!

Why this obsession with 'tenderness'? I wonder. 12-level wagyu in Japan is indeed tender - but it's also white, practically all fat, and absolutely lacking any sort of texture that a Westerner will appreciate.

In Spain, we insist on some muscle and texture, plus all the meaty and minerally flavors of well-aged beef, in our steaks.

Etxebarri entirely fulfills this premise. That's why I consider their steaks, as those in the top steakhouses in Tolosa and in Madrid, to be vastly superior to any I've had in Japan, to most of those I've had in the US (since the 1977 easing of USDA regulations on prime beef, they've never been the same!), and to a large chunk of those I've had in Argentina, save for those in very exceptio nal restaurants like the reborn La Cabaña in Buenos Aires.

[luizhorta]

I do agree Victor, not a big fan of Wagyu myself. Have you tried "our" brazilian version of meat at Rubayat in Madrid?

[Bueno]

I completely agree here. If I want tender, I'll eat Jell-0. If I want flavour with bite, power, and a nice chew - I'll get me real steak. I'd much prefer a great rib-eye or strip to a filet; any time.

[chrisp]

I completely agree here. If I want tender, I'll eat Jell-0.  If I want flavour with bite, power, and a nice chew - I'll get me real steak.  I'd much prefer a great rib-eye or strip to a filet; any time.

Here here - a nice steak should resist a bit I think. Very suspicious if it just falls apart like it's been stewed. In some steakhouses in Australia they treat the meat so it's over-tender, I think out of some mistaken belief that people will forgive a lack of flavour as long as it's tender enough. Big mistake.

[Txacoli]

Two birds with one stone: Axpe is so beautiful...why not lunch? It is not like the menu is different.

The tasting menu at Victor's was in the 70eu range last winter. The wines were reasonable and good. Lunch for two ran something like 250eu out the door, with cava, wine, wine, etc.

For a trifecta.....hospitality, food, wine, views, culture, architecture, kindness....I guess that is a septafecta.....stay at Garro in Munitibar after you eat at Victor's. Five hundred year old cherrywood beams in a house filled with modern sculpture, house made pastries, great coffee with local cream in giant bowls.....50 euros out the door.

Meanwhile....why does no one ever mention Andra Mari? It is 15 minutes from Bilbao, open for lunch on inconvenient days......and right up there with the best food in Spain. And I speak as a working graduate of Mugaritz. Chalked potatoes were cool two years ago...but they still taste like.....starch and chalk. At Andra Mari: cereza saladas (cherry membrillo).....stays with you a year later. Ensalada de setas y moluscos en escabeche de sidra.....Rafa would not be unhappy. Smoked foie....the best foie we found in Spain. So why is Andra Mari uncool? Stodgy service? The Alpine views marred by the industrial park creep?

Beats me.

Victor is great....but if I had to choose at gunpoint....I would take Andra Mari. 48eu for the tasting menu....over night at Garro. Heaven.

So shoot me.

[Pablo Carrion]

Andra Mari is definitely next on my list.

If you take the "tasting" menu at Victor he serves half portions of most of the menu and charges half the dish price. I think we paid 145/head, including the 7 courses, 3 different wines, desserts, and of course the caviar will make it a bit more expensive...but well worth it!!

[Raflab]

Had a terrific lunch at Etxebarri last Saturday, and developed some ideas about the "perfect" Etxebarri experience (for me anyway):

Go for lunch. The surroundings and vistas of Axpe are rural and really beautiful; I can't imagine it'd be as striking at night.

I'd say about half the room was having a tasting menu, with a good helping of tourists. The half that was ordering a la carte appeared to be all Spaniards. On those tables I noticed a preponderance of shellfish (chipirones, gambas, cigalas) and chuleta.

If you want to go for the tasting menu, be aware that
-They will happily recite all the dishes proposed for the tasting menu of the day. They are fine with deleting or adding to the list.
-The caviar can be taken off and significantly brings down the price (something like -25/head, may have been even more)
-Everything is cooked on the grill (even milk for the ice cream!). It has a very particular smokiness which started to become a little "same-y" by the 4th or 5th dish, especially in the delicate ingredients like the oysters with seaweed, the mussels in beet broth, the ceps with aubergines, etc. At times it seemed like only the textures were changing dish to dish.

As has been mentioned many times ingredient quality is out of this world. To me, though, it's not really a tasting-menu kind of place. The chef isn't trying to create new or complex flavor combinations- he is trying to respect the essence of each ingredient with minimal adornment. In that setting, I'd rather enjoy regular portions of two or three contrasting things- like superfresh gambas and some steak- than numerous proteins and vegetables all infused with the same, distinctive, smokey flavor. To me, these limits would put the world-class grilling and ingredients in their best light and avoid fatigue.

The meal was great, but when I return I'm going to order only a few items including the most promising-looking shellfish of the day and the chuleta, and skip the tasting menu. This will also result in a meal costing half as much!

[docsconz]

I have to say, Trucie, those photos really had me drooling - very nice work. Very nice report notwithstanding the cultural meat preferences discussed.

[Trucie]

I have to say, Trucie, those photos really had me drooling - very nice work. Very nice report notwithstanding the cultural meat preferences discussed.

Thank you! I also went to Akelare on the same trip so I'll be posting pictures from that desgustation menu soon.

Very interesting comments about the beef. This was my first proper Spainish beef. Yes it had a full flavoured meaty taste with a muscle bite, if that's the best way to describe it. I'll have to try more Galician and Pay Basque beef next time.

Oh, if you look at the beef picture careful, you can see the grilling gave it a crunchy charcoal texture - this was my favourite - looking for meaty charcoal bites.

[Lenski]

Just one brief note about this marvelous restaurant. It was my third visit and the food has always been beyond outstanding. I always ask for "lo que decida el chef" (minus the caviar, since I had it on my first visit). I had the usual suspects (butter, chorizo, cigala, gambes de palamos, the divine chuleta and several others). New preparations for me:


Mussels in red beet broth. Although I detest red beets, this was a very good combination. I am not even commenting on the quality or preparation of the mussels.

http://forums.egulle..._5393_85737.jpg

Kokotxas. One of my favorites. Served on its liquid on top of (I think) leeks.

http://forums.egulle..._5393_58109.jpg


Becada (Woodcock). Probably the only "marginal thumbs up" dish of the day. I did not care much for it.

http://forums.egulle...5393_174148.jpg

Now, I would like to mention Extebarri's desserts since they are outstanding and usually ignored since what precedes them is so marvelous (and very filling). However, I would like to mention the two I had.

The first was the ice cream. Not your usual vanilla ice cream. It is "Helado de infusion de leche reducida a la brasa con una reduccion de frutos silvestres." So they make the base of the ice cream out of the burned milk (a la brasa) and it yields a very rich and extremely tasty ice cream. A taste I had never had before, a taste you cannot pinpoint but wonderful nevertheless.

http://forums.egulle..._5393_44359.jpg

Then there was another winner "Flan de queso fresco" This fresh cheese flan came in a flan terrine that they remove in front of the customer and it deflates without breaking. What is tremendous about this dessert is the realization of what good ingredients can accomplish. It is, honestly, a slice of heaven. My table was unanimous that it was one of the best desserts they had ever tasted. Very worth it.
http://forums.egulle..._5393_34359.jpg


I will be back in February or March....but I would go back tomorrow. It is, however, a pretty expensive restaurant (two menus with two glasses of wine came at around 310 Euros), but worth it.

[MobyP]

Finally managed to make it here and had a great meal. Feel very foolish that it's taken me so long. Anyway, click here for pics.

[Pablo Carrion]

Finally managed to make it here and had a great meal. Feel very foolish that it's taken me so long. Anyway, click here for pics.

Theres something genuinely evil about Etxebarri in that it keeps me from trying other places, I just keep wanting to go back there...I see some updates on the menu, so Ill just have to back once again.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

..I see some updates on the menu, so Ill just have to back once again.

Well done, Moby.

There may well be updates, Pablo, but there is also very delicate seasonality, making something available today while not yesterday. Yes, a good place to return to.

[augustine]

Finally managed to make it here and had a great meal. Feel very foolish that it's taken me so long. Anyway, click here for pics.

Theres something genuinely evil about Etxebarri in that it keeps me from trying other places, I just keep wanting to go back there...I see some updates on the menu, so Ill just have to back once again.

I understand. The desire to return, after three separate dining experiences last year, is still incredibly strong. A plate of garden vegetable with a light emulsion in September stayed with me throughout the winter. I am still cross for missing the becasse.

[MobyP]

I don't know if someone posted this already, but Lennox said they had a new English website.

http://web.mac.com/l.....Welcome .html

[ameiden]

Etxebarri still has no Michelin star but is now amoung the Top 50 restaurants of the world, according to the British restaurant magazine. One reason more to report from our recent tasting menu here, in the beautiful mountain village of Axpe:



The weather wasn't too brilliant but even before we arrived the whole market square smelled of Victor's smoky grill. For my birthday, I want a bottle of that burning wood and fresh mountain air smell, please!



We were quite surprised that, apart from a table of four Japanese tourists, we were the only guests having lunch. A couple of tables were filled later but there was still about 70% of the restaurant empty. We then discovered that a separate room was filled with local guests (speaking basque and all heavily smoking) on some kind of a function.

The usual starter of Chorizo -



Butter as a course in its own right -



Gamba



Oysters on seaweed salad



Sea cucumber with beans



Baby squids with spring onions



Bone marrow with baby peas



Poached egg, purple potatoes and sliced cepes



Baby eels, by far the most expensive but in my view not the most delicious dish we had (costing 50 Euros for the half portion you see). All I could taste was a smoky flavour and the spaghetti al dente texture, the eel taste wasn't really developed in these little creatures (or if it was, it was overrun by the roasting flavours from the grill)



Some kind of porc pâté with paprika, an excellent choice



And finally, the famous chuleta with green salad



When Marco Pierre White says "mother nature is the true artist" it almost seems to me like he is talking about Etxebarri. The ingredients they use are truly outstanding, the best and purest. Tremendously enjoyed our lunch here, and it is fascinating how the smoky aromas complement each of the ingredients in a different way. The secret of this place is best produce, the mastery of the grill, simple presentation, and last not least an impressive location. Bill came to 380 Euros for two, including a bottle of Chivite Chardonnay, a bottle of water and two coffees. Unfortunately, we couldn't manage a dessert and besides that, we were booked into Arzak for dinner!

[pedro]

.....

Baby eels, by far the most expensive but in my view not the most delicious dish we had (costing 50 Euros for the half portion you see). All I could taste was a smoky flavour and the spaghetti al dente texture, the eel taste wasn't really developed in these little creatures (or if it was, it was overrun by the roasting flavours from the grill)
.....

As you correctly point out --and so did Andoni Luis Aduriz from Mugaritz in the last Madrid Fusión--, the gastronomic value of the angulas resides more, if not exclusively, in the texture rather than in the taste.

[Raflab]

There's a glowing (and informative) profile of Victor and Etxebarri in the forthcoming issue of Food&Wine, written by Anya von Bremzen: Victor Arguinzoniz: The Grilling Genius of Spain

The article explores Victor's evolution as a self-taught chef with some interesting info on his techniques and his biography (that he was a forester, for example-good background for someone who makes his own charcoal out of different woods!). This is by far the most conspicuous appearance by Etxebarri in the U.S. mainstream food press that I have seen. I'm happy that Victor is receiving the acclaim he so rightly deserves (much as he clearly loathes the attention), but (selfishly) I am a little nervous that Etxebarri could become a trendy "it" destination and it will be impossible to get a table!

[Lenski]

I think that, after the F&W article, the restaurant will be widely known...even more. However, it is difficult to get there and the food being served, I believe, will not attract the huge crowds as, for example, elBulli does.


Again, I think he is a genius and the "flan de queso fresco" has been the best dessert I have ever had. And I lived for seven years in Paris. However, I can live without the chorizo and the butter dish.

Edited by Lenski, 30 April 2008 - 05:01 AM.

[SDyson]

I think that, after the F&W article, the restaurant will be widely known...even more.  However, it is difficult to get there and the food being served, I believe, will not attract the huge crowds as, for example, elBulli does.


Again, I think he is a genius and the "flan de queso fresco" has been the best dessert I have ever had. And I lived for seven years in Paris.  However, I can live without the chorizo and the butter dish.

I think finding Etxebarri has just become much easier for English speaking visitors. There's now a website with an English language version, which has detailed instructions on how to find it. Unlike GPS directions, Etxebarri's description takes account of the interminable roadworks that add to the challenge. You can also make reservation requests from the website.

I had a different response to the bread and butter - I can still remember it from over a year ago as one of the most deliciously simple things I've ever eaten.

[robert40]

1. Some really nice photos.
2. Google translate is worthless but a bit comical.
http://lamplus.exblog.jp/7987815/

[John Talbott]

A couple of questions;
Is there any way (eg bus) to get there from Bilbao without a car?
What prices are we talking about for a complete meal with wine and coffee?
Remind me what time lunch is in the Basque country?
Thanks
John

[Lenski]

Hello,

I do not think there is a way to get there from Bilbao without a car. I am sure it is easy to get from Bilbao to Durango, but then it might impossible to get from there to Etxebarri.
Prices will vary depending on what you order but I would budget E150 pp, or less. During my last visit in February, I think that it was significantly more expensive than six months before.

Lunch in Spain, 13:30pm to 15:00pm starting time, earlier during weekdays.

It is a great experience and a gorgeous setting. And it still has some of the best desserts I have ever had in my life.


L

[butterfly]

You could catch the local train to Durango and then (maybe) get a cab to Axpe... I don't think there is a local bus service to the town, but I could be wrong. Why don't you give the restaurant a call to see what they recommend (and report back!)?

I would adjust those lunch times back a bit to 2:00-3:30 (with 2:30-3:00 generally being the flash mob) and a bit later on weekends. At least here in Madrid most places are completely empty until at least 2:00. Northerners tend to eat dinner a bit earlier, but I haven't noticed earlier lunch times. It's usually not a great idea to visit restaurants outside of the normal mealtimes since things are either winding up or down.

Edited by butterfly, 03 June 2008 - 09:08 AM.

[Matthew Grant]

After reading other reviews we decided not to go for a tasting menu (€150, pre-printed in English and left on all the tourists tables)

We ordered a plate of Chorizo which was very good but I wouldn't rate it any higher than the Joselito Chorizo I had eaten earlier in the trip (which itself was beter than other joselito chorizo I had eaten). A single Cigala to share was exceptional and beautifully cooked. Without doubt the best Langoustine I have tasted. But so it should be, at €200/kg this single specimen came to an almighty €80.

The Prawns again were good but I can't say that they were that much better than others I have tried. The head juice ran stright out onto the plate so sucking the heads became a fruitless exercise.

The Beef was beautiful, great texture, good well hung flavour. The Accompanying salad was erratically salted, quite literally large clumps of salt, maybe 1/2 tsp at a time.

Had the flan so raved about above, nice but not exactly mindblowing.

Overall, interesting but not worth a special trip unless you are in the region IMO, I certainly wouldn't train and taxi it. As for difficult to find I'm not sure what the difficulty is? The instructions on the website are clear and tapping it into a GPS takes you straight there exactly as described on the website

Edited by Matthew Grant, 12 June 2008 - 04:28 AM.

[augustine]

A couple of questions;
Is there any way (eg bus) to get there from Bilbao without a car?
What prices are we talking about for a complete meal with wine and coffee?
Remind me what time lunch is in the Basque country?
Thanks
John

Hi John,

A taxi from the Airport at Bilbao is 40-50 euro or you can catch a train from Bilbao to Durango where a bus goes to Mondragon via Axpe. The latter is painless and you get to enjoy Durango for a stretch of the legs. A lunch I had was around 80 euro including wine and went as follows

Wafer thin Speck

A bowl of vegetables, beetroot, fennel etc with an olive oil emulsion from the Arguinzoniz garden

A thick tranche of sea bass from what most of been a very large specimen

Smoked Ice Cream.

My instructions were simple. As I was eating there in the evening I wanted a light lunch with intense flavours. I regard this as one of the greatest lunchs I've ever had. I sat down to Lunch at 3.00pm.

Edited by augustine, 13 June 2008 - 05:19 PM.

[Matthew Grant]

I specifically asked for a vegetable dish when I was there last weekend and aside from peppers and a a green salad served with the steak there were none available. The tasting menu was also lacking a vegetable course.