Went to Arzak this month (Feb 2025), and i was expecting a lot as it is a 3 mich star restaurant and was adored by our lord and savior Anthony Bourdain. It’s also not my first rodeo with fine dining. I’ve been to Alinea and other fine dining restaurants, and I was expecting to be blown away.
However, I was very underwhelmed with the meal. It was…kind of boring and kind of bland. We did the flexible tasting menu and got try everything on the menu. It was all good and fine, but I found myself longing to be back in old town picking out pintxos! The pintxos, ranging from €1-€10, were much more flavorful and really surprisingly delightful considering how simple they were and how they celebrated the simplicity of good product. Even the more newer spots in Gros, that had more contemporary twists, had more playful dishes.
Service was what I expect at a fine dining restaurant and the somm was great. The food, not so much.
I actually heard from Danny at Bar Sport that Akelare has far surpassed Arzak nowadays.
I’m sad! I feel like this was a pilgrimage to greatness and it was super meh. 🫤
by shleeberry23
2 Comments
I think most of the great chefs of the Spanish Avantgarde are already passe… I barely go to any fine dining places in the Basque country, but enjoy the casual options instead.
That is the problem with San Sebastián lol. Old Town.
Still these pics line up w the post 6 months ago and at least it looks somewhat reinvigorated from the things reported the last few years on here.