We dined at Azurmendi last week and had a great time. After I got asked for input when planning the trip I thought it is only fair that I also provide a review.
Location: Stunning location. Most beautiful restaurant space we’ve been to. The design and setting really contributes to the experience.
Food: the 4×4 amuses sequence is definitely the highlight. You are lead from the forest-like foyer, to be greeted by the chefs in the kitchen, to the “garden”, to the dining room while indulging on all kind of bite-sized flavor explosions. I knew what was coming and was still really impressed by the creativity and taste of the amuses. My wife who leaves restaurant choice up to me and usually goes in blind rates this part as her favorite finedining experience so far. Highlights per room/theme: Foie in lime (picnic), Nori and roe (kitchen), Rose nectar (garden), Asparagus (Viewpoint)
From reading this subreddit I was prepared to be disappointed by the mains but continuing with the caviar tartlet, the famous truffled egg, and the oyster granita the strong impression continued. The shrimp was the most intense flavored shrimp dish I ever had at a finedining restaurant. I loved it, but I also enjoy sucking shrimp heads. My wife found the flavor a bit too intense. The lobster was similarly intense and is definitely up there with the best lobster dishes I’ve eaten. We also really enjoyed the final meat dishes with the exception of the partridge. While I thought the combination of chocolate with the foie-like filling was interesting, my wife really disliked this dish. I would probably rather place this in one of the amuses sequences than having it as finale of the savory courses. Before we got the partridge, we were asked which of the amuses we enjoyed the most (Foie in lime and rose nectar) and were served those again. This was a nice touch and from looking at the other tables Foie and rose nectar seemed to be the popular choice. At this point we were already really really full.
Desserts: Honey with flowers was nice as a palette cleanser. I loved the pistachio and lemon granita dessert, last dessert was nice but not exceptional. It tasted a bit like the spiced Christmas biscuits you get in Germany and the Netherlands (Speculaas).
The Petit fours were all great. Especially loved the yuzu one.
Wine pairing: Not a wine expert but we shared a pairing and enjoyed it. I especially liked the Txakoli and Sake.
Service: The team seemed quite young for a three star restaurant. However, our server was really enthusiastic and did a great job. He checked if we liked the pace, explained the dishes well, and made sure that we had a great time. The sommelier came across as a bit less enthusiastic and stressed. My hunch is that it was a language thing as we both don’t speak Spanish and the explanations of the wine pairing were a bit short. I was a bit disappointed that Eneko was not present himself but that can happen.
Damage: we paid around 850 Euros for 2 glasses of champagne, one wine pairing, water and coffee
Would definitely recommend a visit, especially if the looking for a basque fine dining experience. Would probably do it after a day or two of pinxtos though, as you can better appreciate the fine dining take on some local staples if you had them before. One negative point you could make is that the experience does feel a bit anticlimactic as it begins exceptional and then becomes a great but also rather normal (for a 3* restaurant) fine dining experience in the second part.h
by tofuimspeckmantel