Jump to content
  • Welcome to the eG Forums, a service of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. The Society is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the culinary arts. These advertising-free forums are provided free of charge through donations from Society members. Anyone may read the forums, but to post you must create a free account.

Martin Berasategui


rgruby

Recommended Posts

Hi,

Will be in San Sebastian in a couple of weeks, but without a car. Is MB's namesake resto in Lasarte at all reachable by public transit, or within a reasonable cab ride even?

Or, on a slightly related topic, would one of his associated restos - at the Kuursal or the museum (I think) in Bilbao - give a similar experience food wise to MB? and that I could actually get to without a taxi bill that rivals what I'll be paying for a meal.

Thanks,

rgruby

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We dined at MB's Kursaal restaurant in July. I thought it was fantastic, here is what I wrote about it:

<<That night, with the help of our hotel desk staff, we went to Martin Berasategria's restaurant Kursaal which is also in the Kursaal. What a fantastic restaurant! They deserve a star for sure. The layout is very minimalistic, tables very far apart. The staff is top notch and each staff member presents a different course to your table, each being an expert in their courses. The food was phenomenal...on the cutting edge without going over. We wanted to share a few things and just like in the book "A Meal Observed" which follows the staff and days of the famed Taillevent in Paris, instead of splitting things they gave us each our own portion and just charged us once.

We each had a glass of sherry, shared a bottle of wine, app and 1st course split, each had an entree, dessert, coffee and after dinner drinks for 150E. We loved this restaurant!!! As at the restaurant in Barcelona Kursaal provided small baskets for womens purses, cute! Really though I hightly recommend a night here. I also heard that they have a lunch tasting menu that includes a glass of wine for something like 20E each! Mr. Berasategria is very famous in this region and has 4 or 5 restaurants around.>>

I'm sure his namesake restaurant is well worth the price and the drive but we just LOVED this restaurant so if you get a chance......Have fun!! :smile:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rgrugby, yes Martin Berasetegui is easily accessible by train from San Sebastian if youre having lunch (don't think they'll be running after you finish a three star dinner). I forget the exact details but the local train system brings you right into Lasarte and then it is a relatively short walk, about a mile along a fairly suburban neighborhood, to his restaurant. Once there just ask around and hopefully the locals will point you in the right direction. One lady walked me about 2/3 the way, and we had a lovely chat on the way as well. I believe for the whole, I paid about 5 euros for the trip. Remember, there are a couple of train stations in San Sebastian. Just ask the person at the hotel or pension and most likely they will be extremely helpful.

BTW, MB was the highlight of my trip there. Enjoy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A cab is not a bad option to go to MB. It doesn't cost much more than what I tipically pay to go from home to one of Madrid's restaurants (I live near the airport): around 10€ from what I recall.

Though you could eat pretty well at the Guggenheim restaurant, IMHO MB at Lasarte plays in another league.

PedroEspinosa (aka pedro)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A couple of follow up questions.

Are the menu & prices at MB in Lasarte the same for lunch & dinner? I'm guessing reservations would be required for dinner - are they necessary (more than say a day in advance) for lunch as well?

Thanks again

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The most easy way to get to MB from SS, is by cab. We paid last month about 12,50 € a one-way drive.

Booking is absolutely necessary. We booked months ahead but needed to change are culinary schedule, since the day we wanted to go, it was already fully booked.

By the way, we were very impressed by his meal that gave an overview of the last ten years of MB, indicating at each course the year of creation.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Although I've only eaten lunches at Martin Berasategui and can't compare it to dinner, I'd recommend lunch and would have lunch myself the next time I'm in the area. There are a number of resaons why it's my preference in Spain and in particular in a rural area in a restaurant with a nice view and good light. Dinner is very late, and lunch is very pleasant. In either case, there's an advantage to not having to drive after a big meal although if I were driving, as I was each time I was there, I'd want to do it by day.

Robert Buxbaum

WorldTable

Recent WorldTable posts include: comments about reporting on Michelin stars in The NY Times, the NJ proposal to ban foie gras, Michael Ruhlman's comments in blogs about the NJ proposal and Bill Buford's New Yorker article on the Food Network.

My mailbox is full. You may contact me via worldtable.com.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Arzak was the restaurant that opened our eyes to Spanish restaurants, but that was years ago under Juan-Maria. Last October, we didn't find the food or service quite up to what we got as Berasategui. Mugaritz in fact, was the second most interesting meal although it was the one place in the region at which we didn't take the tasting menu. I was actually rooting for Juan-Maria's daughter Elena to impress us as much as her father did, but there were flat spots in both the food and the service for us.

Robert Buxbaum

WorldTable

Recent WorldTable posts include: comments about reporting on Michelin stars in The NY Times, the NJ proposal to ban foie gras, Michael Ruhlman's comments in blogs about the NJ proposal and Bill Buford's New Yorker article on the Food Network.

My mailbox is full. You may contact me via worldtable.com.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Subijana is vastly improved over the past couple of years, and also has a top-notch sommelier. On the overall ranking, close to 100% of Spanish critics now agree that Mugaritz is No. 1 in Guipúzcoa (and No. 2 in Spain behind El Bulli).

Victor de la Serna

elmundovino

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interesting that Subijana at Akelarre never pops up in these discussions about the Pais Vasco and San Sebastian.  Spaniards and Basques have all highly recommended this restaurant but I don't hear much from travellers.

I travelled there last year and thought that Akelare was the best meal I had. Much preferred it to Berasategui. Didn't get to Arzak.

The sommelier was by far the best we encountered on our trip and the wine list at Akelare was sensational (if you like Spanish wines - their 'International' selection wasn't as impressive).

Subijana has exciting twists on classic Basque cuisine and EVERY course delighted us. We wouldn't think of returning to Donostia without returning to Akelare (and planning to return next year).

Edited by estufarian (log)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...