San Sebastian Archives - Gazing and Grazing

Arzak is Resting on Past Laurels

February 6th, 2016

Arzak, one of San Sebastian's leading restaurants, doesn't seem as novel as it once must have been. Indeed I couldn't shake the sense that the restaurant is resting on its past laurels and coupled with patchy service for a Michelin 3-Star restaurant, our experience was disappointing. I'm hoping that perhaps we got them on a bad day but I don't think the dishes were memorable enough to warrant trying them again. Especially when there are so many other good restaurants in San...

Asador Etxebarri – Ultimate Grilling

February 6th, 2016

This has got to be one of the most fulfilling restaurants in the world. Humankind discovered fire for this reason - to cook meat, and no one does it better than Etxebarri. The freshest produce supplied by nearby farms and fishermen are grilled just right, and without a lot of dressing so that the natural taste of the food comes through. From fish to steak, even cheese, every course was pure joy.

Located midway between Bilbao and San Sebastian, Etxebarri is worth the taxi ride...

Mugaritz – Fun but a Bit Strange

May 29th, 2015

San Sebastian's Michelin two-starred Mugaritz gets polarising reviews and I wanted to find out why so I went recently to try out the restaurant. The best way I would describe the food is that it's exploratory and really tests diners' boundaries in some cases. So, while I didn't enjoy all the courses, I really had a good time because on the whole it was fun. The wine probably helped in this case as did going with open-minded and adventurous friends.

The restaurant is degustation /...

Northwest Spain – Cliff Notes on the Flysch Route

May 25th, 2015

I had a grand plan to walk at least half of the 15km Flysch Route, a cliff top walk along the coast south of San Sebastian between Zumaia and Deba. However, the tourist information office in Zumaia looked at us and recommended that we just walk out to the view point. I guess we looked that unprepared. Nonetheless, I'm grateful for their advice because the seemingly short 4km excursion actually kept us occupied for two hours.

The Flysch Route gets its name from a particular rock...