Aidan Brooks

I'm really sorry you has such a bad experience at the Guggenheim, Matthew. Maybe they simply had a bad day and you were an unfortunate victim. Everywhere has up and down days, as I know from my own daily experiences. The pasta was deliberately cooked slightly short of al dente and I guess this is won't be to everyone's taste. The day I ate there the flavour of the jamón ibérico stock was superb - really pure - but maybe it was too weak the day you were there. Do give the place another go as I have no doubt in my mind as to the quality of the cooking.

I can only repeat what I said in the Mugaritz vs Martin Beresategui thread: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=113008&st=60 The food was creative, well thought-out for the most part and deserving of the status that Andoni Luis Aduriz has gained at Mugaritz. But you must bear in mind that these guys are executive chefs and sometimes things slip from the standards that they set as hands-on head chefs. When I went three weeks ago, both the food and the service suffered from some serious errors of execution. Hopefully all has recovered now, but as a chef de partie in a Catalan restaurant I know pretty much what was going wrong in the kitchens at the time I went there. I have yet to experience Arzak, because although I'm sure it's very good at what it does, I don't think it's in the same league when it comes to creativity, which is what interests me personally.

Sketch lecture room and library are probably fine because, as I understand it, they are subsidised by Gallery, which is the only kitchen I've ever walked out of since I first took up the tools of a professional chef. I subsequently described it as a slave galley with an "r" inserted by accident. Eat the food there by all means, but don't assume that the chefs have contributed any love to what they are doing.

Estufarian is correct - Cinc Sentits is open for lunch on Mondays. I'm planning lunch there with some friends next Monday and will let you know how I find the food and service.

John Talbot is spot on with his review of the Guggenheim Restaurante Gastonómico, where I had the great pleasure of consuming Josean Martínez Alija's 5-course "Sensations" tasting menu last week. I wrote up the experience on my blog. http://aidanbrooks.blogspot.com/2008/07/gu...ou-can-eat.html This meal was as near to simple perfection as cooking can get. I strive every day in the kitchen at Comerç 24 to execute food that perfectly. And the service was flawless.

Looks like I'm in a minority here. I ate in Mugaritz last week and also in the Guggenheim in Bilbao, a fine dining restaurant owned by Martin Berasategui. I had some serious problems with Mugaritz, both in respect of the food and the service. See my write-ups of both experiences on my blog: http://aidanbrooks.blogspot.com/2008/07/mu...-at-office.html http://aidanbrooks.blogspot.com/2008/07/gu...ou-can-eat.html