Arzak

This was THE restaurant. Arzak was the primary reason for our trip to Spain. At least, it was the impetus for us to plan a trip to Spain and its culinary pleasures. Arzak was the first restaurant we made reservations to and the restaurant in which we were most excited. Undoubtedly, we were greatly influenced by Anthony Bordain's No Reservations profile of Spain, which included his visits to Arzak, Asador Etxebarri, and Mugaritz. Due to his overwhelming praise of all three eateries, we decided to just follow in his footsteps. Arzak is located a short drive from our hotel, Astoria7. The building could have been easily missed, as the century-old house in which the restaurant resides looks much like the other houses on the avenue. The tiny parking lot is located in the rear of the building, at the end of small tight alleys and accommodates no more than ten or so cars.




The interior of the restaurant is a stark contrast to what's seen outside. There's a distinctively modern zen aesthetic. Stark white table clothes, polished metals, opaque sliding glass doors and decorative cement wall were what stood out. We were seated in the middle of the intimate, ground floor dining room. Another sliding glass door led to the kitchen and a staircase led to another dining area upstairs.

1. Corn, figs and black pudding - One of the better corn soups we've had. The soup was creamy with a nice sweetness from the corn, which was accentuated by the addition of the fig. Very tasty.

2. Yellow cripsy rice with mushroom - A creamy mushroom taco. The thick mushroom puree held up nicely against the crispy rice. The plating was also very cool.

3. Ham and tomato smoke - A recurring food pairing that we'd see throughout Spain: tomato and ham. There's something very distinct about the tomatoes in Spain. They had a much more distinctly sweet, acidic and tomato-y taste. A bit of caramelized sugar rested on top which added another level of sweetness contrasting nicely with the salty ham.

4. Marinated anchovy and strawberry - A warm, rich strawberry topped by a briny anchovy with cheese. Another demonstration of contrasting flavors. With our new found appreciation for anchovies, we really liked this pairing. The flavors of the strawberry were accentuated, whether that was due to the nature of the berry itself or because it was served warm or both, which really made this a bold dish.

5. Kabraroka pudding with kataifi - A white fish pudding wrapped in chards of crispy, vermicelli-like dough, I believe the stuff is called "kataifi". The dough was very delicate and supremely crispy, which made it a bit difficult to eat without food bits flying everywhere.

6. Cromlech with onion, coffee and tea - A Stonehendge of creamy foie gras mousse. This was very rich in flavor and a bit difficult to handle. It was to be flipped upside-down and eaten from the bottom up. The outer layer had a soft crunch. The coffee and tea were down stage to the velvety mousse and crispy shell.

7. Lobster Coralline - There was a lot going on in this dish. The highlight components were the well-prepared lobster with a nice "bounce-y" texture and the crispy and sweet sesame seed crisp.

8. Tapioca salad with citrus - Along with the lobster was a rather enigmatic salad. Fresh greens and bits of citrus, but why the tapioca?

9. Dusted egg and mussel - A beautiful looking dish. More bits of fried kataifi dusted with herbs. A slice of mussel gel sat on top of the poached egg, which made it look like the yolk was cooked on one side. Another demonstration in complimentary opposites of texture. We're always fans of a nice poached egg, but there wasn't much here to take the classic to the next level.

10. Lowtide monkfish - A firm white fish. The clam shells were mold of a creamy mussel sauce. The little blue stars of sweet, citrus-y jell-o and the red coral-looking puff were seaweed tempura. But with all that beautiful presentation, the dish lacked the same glamour when it actually hits your palate.

11. Red Seaweed - More sauce and seaweed puffs. Can't say it left much of an impression on either of us.

12. Sole with head cheese - A much more tender cut than than the monkfish. The pairing made for an odd combination. Though both were tasty on their own, it wasn't quite clear why both would appear on the same plate.

13. Pigeon with orange and corn - A very well prepared fowl - juicy and tender. It had the rustic, game-y taste of pigeon which we always enjoy. A very nice protein.

14. Lamb with rosemary and tumeric - Another game-y protein. And just like the pigeon, this cut of meat was also very well prepared. The lamb was moist and tender. It was served along side a sliver of red pepper.

15. Asparagus in tempura of black sesame and ham - We didn't find the texture of these deep fried finger foods as crispy as the foie gras cromlechs earlier. However, the ham and asparagus paired nicely.

16. Soup and chocolate "between vineyards" - Our second chance at basil ice cream didn't come as the surprise it did when we had it the first time. The supple spheres had warm liquid chocolate within. The semi-bitter chocolate was not terribly sweet and helped offset the strawberry puree. Good balance overall and quite tasty.

17. Playing marbles with chocolate - Although an interesting concept, this plating lacked in execution. The flavors were as unappealing as it looked. The sugary-chocolate marbles were hard and crunchy and were not helped by the tough crumble. The white and dark chocolate sauce was tasty but they didn't benefit this messy dish.

18. Mead and Fractal Fluid - One of the most beautiful platings of the night. The base was a honey water flavored with anise. As the red dye was poured on top, a whimsical fractal design dispersed throughout the plate. This was then mixed together and poured atop the white chocolate shelled lemon curd below.

The chocolate shells were flavorless, having been overwhelmed by the lemon curd. The fractal liquid added additional sweetness and a hint of liquorice, but didn't help save this disappointing dessert.

19. Lunatic Sweet - Another dessert in a shell. It was as if the pastry chef found a new technique and wanted to demonstrate as many variants as possible. Having just had the marbles and lemon curd shells, this version wasn't as novel. 

20. Mignardises - Nuts and bolts. Very clever and very fun. But again, more of the same textures repeated here as the last three other desserts. Some semi-sweet chocolates and crumbles and citrus candies.

With all the anticipation coming in, this was the most disappointing meal of our entire trip. With the exception of the corn soup, there was nothing that we truly felt was delicious. A lot of the plating was fun and original. Although we do eat with our eyes first, it's our stomachs that remember.

The service also lacked much to be desired as well. None of the servers looked as though they wanted to be there. Although they were relatively attentive, all of our interactions felt cold. One item of particular note, we received our bread service halfway through our amuses, when it appeared as though the rest of the tables received theirs at the beginning. In addition, a small well in our bread plate was never filled with olive oil until halfway through our dinner. Although these are minor details, they reverberate a bit more when dining at a 3-Michelin starred restaurant. An anti-climatic end to dinner occurred when chef Juan Mari Arzak came out of the kitchen to greet his guests. When he made it over to our table, he asked me where I was from to which I replied "Los Angeles", to which he gave no response and left the table. All this without ever acknowledging Danmy.

So for a 200 Euro dinner at a 3-Michelin star, number 8 restaurant according to San Pelligrino, we expected more in terms of the food and the service. Additionally, this was the only restaurant that left a line item on their receipt for gratuity. This being our first fine dining establishment in Spain and not knowing any better, we felt obligated to leave the standard 15%. However, as we frequented more and more eateries, it became clear that we'd wasted our money, as none of the others requested or left a line for gratuity.

So, if you're planning a trip to San Sebastian and debating on whether or not to dine here, we'd definitely recommend not doing so and spending that money on some of the city's other great eateries.