Eat Like Ushi

Despite San Sebastian's reputation for exceptional high-end gastronomy and similarly experiential tapas bars, sometimes a meal in the middle is what you are looking for. On this occasion, it was coincidentally a Monday which is when most restaurants and even a large number of tapas places are closed. Luckily Egosari (which has a pinxtos bar upstairs and a restaurant downstairs) was available, and my memory of eating here back in 2009 reaffirmed it as the chosen place for the evening.

They specialise in seafood as reflected by the majority of a la carte items available.

- Tepid salad of spider crab, prawns & scampi (ensalada de txangurro) €17.4 - sweet spider crab meat picked into mounds, served with salad, peeled prawns and a decorative scampi;
- Donostiarra's fish soup €6.2 - rich creamy fish soup with intense flavour;
- Casserole of anglerfish & hake with clams & shrimps (cazuela de rape) €18.4 - tender hake chunks and small clams served in what seemed to be the same soup as the above.

Each dish was delicious. My only slight gripe was both dishes with the soup seemed to be the same base - not disappointing from a flavour point of view, but rather it would have been nice to have been informed so I could choose something with more variety.

Next time I'd order the Crab Salad and try the cazuela. If the cazuela had a different base, I'd have the fish soup also. I didn't see any of the items under the 'seafood' header on the night, but I'm sure they'd be good too.

The first tapas experience of the trip was met with much anticipation. Honestly I thought the venue would be more a typical tapas bar, when in fact turned out to be a sit down restaurant. It was a reasonable warm winter day so we sat outside in a specially erected tent. 

I ordered off the Catalan menu which shocked the waiter who couldn't understand why I wouldn't order from the English menu, even telling me at one point the prices are the same. What can I say - I like reading Spanish menus and find it useful to learn for those times that menus are only in Spanish. Tossa seems to be suggested for their croquettes. Other than that I liked the look of the larger dishes on the menu than the tapas.

- Pan con Tomate - complimentary/service-charged bread with tomato drizzle excellently salted and simple delicious. The best version I had in Barcelona all trip;
- Les Croquetes Foie €1.6pp - foie gras fried croquettes with a nice delicate crisp shell & a soft filling that didn't quite remind me of foie gras. Still tasty;
- Cloises salsa verda €10.5 - steamed clams in a gorgeous strong buttery garlic sauce that I had to stop myself from drinking off the plate;
- Tortilla Patatas €2 - Spanish silky egg omelette with soft potato chunks. A well made version of the simple classic;
- Polpo a la Gallega €11.5 - tender octopus Galician-style (boiled with paprika) although the method isn't one of my favourites. Vowed to stay with grilled or fried from now on;
- Chorizo a la Sidra €6 - sliced chorizo cooked in cider. Typical chorizo with the cider adding a slight sweetness, but I wouldn't get it again as it seemed to mask the flavour rather than enhance it. 

Next time I would order Ceps Croquettes (likely to be stronger flavour than the Foie) and the Clams (can't see it on the menu, perhaps it was a special?). The bread should be automatic but if not, specifically request it. They offer grilled octopus, prawns and calamari which I find generally to be safe bets.

In a quieter area outside the main ring, Quimet y Quimet is listed on every tapas list I could find online. The location near Parallel station makes it convenient just prior to taking the cable car up to Montjuic. 

The place is small and cosy, with neither the staff nor menu in English. It didn't stop me from ordering confidently although there was one surprise due to my poor translation. 

- Langostinos pleads 6 u - 6 succulent cleaned peeled prawns with a touch of pepper for merely €4.70;
- Navajas - nicely chewy razor clams steamed with a touch of paprika;
- Anchoas con Piquillo Montaditos - bread topped with red pepper, anchovy, garlic & olive which was as good as it sounds;
- Salmon, Yogourt y Miel Trufada Montaditos - misinterpreted trufada as truffle/mushroom when it is actually honey, dripped onto smoked salmon & cream cheese. Different but sweet & smoked;
- Carrillada de Cerdo Ibirico - wasn't sure what this was other than something to do with pork so ordered it wanting to be surprised. It was cold boiled slightly dry pork leg with mushrooms & chips. More filling rather than memorable as such but I'm glad I tried it. 

The food quality is great especially at the prices. It probably reflects the location outside of the main centre and dedication to travel there. High recommendation - if you can't read any Spanish menu, be happy to be creative.

Next time I would order any selection of prawns, razor clams, anchovies, mussels, oysters etc. (which are my seafood staples with tapas). Their is a large variety of montaditos all similarly priced and every one I saw other people eating looked delectable.

Los Toreros has the fortune of being one of the very few tapas recommendations that is actually right in the heart of the tourist centre of Barcelona. It is just north of the market and very close to Las Ramblas. Judging by the guests and recommendations from stickers at the front door, it seems popular with the French.

They are particularly renowned for serving Rabo del Toro - bull tail stew as their famous tapas. Unfortunately on this evening they didn't have any available. Initially that turned me away, but after a short walk around and careful reconsideration of the area I returned hungrier. It was a good decision at reasonable value also. The sangria washed the food down well.

- Boquerones Rebozadoes a la Andaluza (breaded anchovies) €5.9 - great meaty anchovies lightly fried;
- Chipirones Rebozados (small fried calamaries) €5.95 - really juicy calamari pieces with the best light wispy batter that melted in your mouth. Sensational;
- Lomo a la Gallega (pork fillet specialty of Galicia) €4.9 - the only slight let down with dry slices of boiled pork fillet, olive oil and a sprinkle of paprika. Like Galician-style octopus (which I also am not a fan of) except with pork;
- Paella de Mariscos (seafood paella for 2) €25.8 - nice collection of prawns, mussels and lots of calamari chunks embedded into smoky paella rice. My only criticism would be there was no crunchy burnt rice parts. 

I would definitely come back for the food and especially location.

Next time I would order Fried Calamari and Seafood Paella. If available, the Rabo del Toro should be tried. Additionally there is a large variety of tapas to choose from at reasonable prices.

On the tapas trail was La Pineda, a charcuterie and cheese shop that also happened to have some tapas. Unfortunately it wasn't what I was expecting, but that's what happens sometimes when you write down the name of a place from a list and go there out of convenience.

The men serving us were friendly and non-English speaking and quickly informed me there was no hot dishes, only cold pinxtos. Nonetheless we sampled what they had available.

Anchovies served brined or in vinegar were a good standard as expected everywhere in Spain. Tuna with a very mild chilli oil was dry but at least substantial. Bread with a sundried tomato, mild cheese, anchovy and olive topping had a lovely combination of flavours. Roasted marinated artichoke was surprisingly good with a unexpected soft char outside and a crunchy raw inside. Lastly a pastry filled with tuna & egg and topped with a dry red pepper and olive was average but certainly different.

The only other options were cheese or jamon. I would recommend coming here for a drink and snack, but being aware that the range is limited and there is no hot food or any raciones.

Seafood and paella are two of the most common recommendations people seem to ask about in Barcelona food threads. Paella is from Valencia but I suppose since Barcelona is relatively near and also the most commonly visited Spanish city. Barceloneta is the port area in Barcelona known to be home to the city's best seafood restaurants.

It was lucky that one place came up with recommendations for both quality seafood and paella. There are certainly other options mentioned around, but Can Majo seems to have the least number of negative reviews of the lot. The food turned out to be fantastic.

- Pan con Tomate - Barcelona's staple of toasted bread with olive oil & fresh tomato. I felt it needed a little salt to stop it from feeling like cold tomato juice;
- Navalla del Delta del Ebre a la Planxa (grilled razor clams from Ebro) €15.45 - I had eaten razor clams at several places in the prior few days so wasn't going to order these, but the waiter insisted they were shorter and better. Indeed he was correct and their grilled sweetness and released juices were intensely stronger, unique and much better;
- Calamarsets a la Planxa (grilled medium squid) €15 - bargain collection of whole squids cooked to perfection, a soft elastic texture without any hint of chewiness;
- Paella de Marisc al estil Can Majo for 2 (shellfish paella Can Majo-style) €43.86 - excellent paella finished (probably) in the oven so the top rice and seafood also had a charred surface. Serving for 2 contained 2 bugs, 4 whole prawns, 4 clams, some loose mussels, prawns and squid. Deep hearty satisfying flavour.

Next time I would order any of the three dishes I ordered (the bread was automatic) but there are many others to pick from. Their unique options such as Barnacles or Sea Cucumber or Anemones would be high on my list next time.

I tried for about 3 years to get a reservation at El Bulli. Sadly Ferran Adria closed the place down before I could be successful.

The follow-up ventures 41 Degrees and Tickets in Barcelona are subsequently well regarded and sought out. 41 Degrees has a 41 course menu that can only be booked for specifically 4 people - sadly there were only 3 of us visiting Barcelona. Tickets reservations can only be made 60 days in advance (which I missed out) but they do have tables for walk-ins.

Even though this trip was on a weekday in the midst of winter, I couldn't be sure how long the queue would be. For that reason we started queuing 30mins prior to opening and managed to be right at the front. Opening time came and we were the first seated. Coincidentally it happened to be a quiet night with about half the seating place empty while we were there.

There are many a la carte tapas options to pick from or alternatively you can ask the waiter to create a tasting menu comprised of the a la carte items. They predict 15-18 courses. Given it was our first visit, we allowed a tasting menu, but I would certainly choose myself next time knowing what I liked. Especially as I also noticed the tasting menu neglected all the items under Tapas from the Sea or Tapas from the Land which did have some good sounding options.

- Fish Crackers topped with Nori (fish and potato cracker with seaweed sprinkle) €5 - like paperthin fish-flavoured chips;
- Tickets' Olives (green marinated in olive oil, cinnamon, star anise, peppercorns, lemon peel) €7.8 - famous from El Bulli, creamy green olive-flavoured liquid inside a thin shell;
- Crostini with Tomato Seeds & Cantabrian Anchovie (with sprinkles of silver paper) €4.3pp  - tomato "caviar", soft salty anchovy on bread, like an upmarket version of a typical Basque tapas;
- Tickets' Olives (kalamata marinated in olive oil, rosemary, peppercorns, orange peel) €7.8 - black version of the olives with an incredibly strong kalamata flavour;
- Slices of Tuna Belly with Sea Urchin (with wasabi, ginger, nori) €12.5 - delicate tuna belly, slight hint of pepper, soft creamy with only a subtle salty sea urchin after taste;
- Mini-Airbags stuffed with Manchego Cheese (topped with cheese slice, hazelnut caviar & powder) €8.9 - creative cheese bags and hazelnut caviar although not sure they added much together;
- Airbaguette of Joselito's Iberian Pancetta €3.9pp - dry flaky hollow baguetta with minimal pancetta flavour, a waste of time;
- Steamed Brioche with Truffled Cheese (Provolone, Mozzarella, black truffle) €4.4pp - soft bread with minimal cheese flavour and no truffle flavour;
- Smoked marinated beef, smoked cream cheese, onion, thyme, vinegar powder (off menu item) €4.1pp - heavily smoked ingredients in an unusual combination. More creative than good per se but worth trying;
- Orange Salad with Gordal Olive Nectar, Mint & Cumin €8.2 - orange slices in a soup of olives, mint, orange, lemon & cumin. Refreshing intermission in the menu;
- Slightly Spicy Tuna Belly Cone with Lime Zest €4.8pp - nice tuna pieces mixed with apple topped with flyfish roe & wrapped in crispy nori paper;
- Artichokes with Idiazabal Cream & Moroccan Lemon €8.65 - crunchy soft artichoke, rich cheese cream & slices;
- Avocado Cannelloni with Crab & Romesco Sauce €12.6 - mild crab & sour cream filling avocado roll;
- Razor Clams in Escabeche, Saffron Pearls & Soy Sauce Shards (45sec cooked, olive oil caviar, vinegar, paprika, soy crisp) €14.8 - tender clams in a mix of flavours;
- Oysters No.2 with its Pearl & Sea Lettuce Water (smoked sea water, pearl of silver filled with wakame water) €4.6pp - pretty decoration of a pearl. I think I ate this too quickly to appreciate it other than the water was very heavily smoked & brined;
- Oysters No.2 Tepid with Chicken Jus & Truffled Duck Fat (& gold dust) €4.3pp - sounded creative & tasted like a Cantonese cooked oyster with some chicken broth. Good but I can get it elsewhere;
- Steamed Brioche filled with roasted pork & cheese (off menu item) €3.9pp - better than the plain version above simply due to the additional of stronger flavours with pork & cheese;
- Tickets' Tiramisu (with coffee, mascarpone, almond biscuit) €8.4 - stunning deconstruction with a mix of warm & ice cold ingredients, coffee, chocolate & mascarpone. Real winner;
- Warm Lava Cake of "Turron de Jijona" with Raspberry & Thyme Sorbet €9.7 - almond cake filled with nutty caramel with a refreshing sorbet.

The meal was creative and different although I have to admit I wasn't excited by the flavours as much as anticipated. Next time I'd be specific with my menu so hopefully I'd be more satisfied in the end.

Next time I would order definitely Olives, Crostini, Tuna Belly Cone and Tiramisu. I would likely order the Tuna Belly & Sea Urchin, Orange Salad, and Artichokes. But I'd be more interested in the Tapas from the Sea/Land items such as Confit Tuna Belly, Grilled Unilateral Cooking Lobster or "High Level" Sirloin Steak.

Martin Berasategui's restaurant has a large number of accolades. It was in the Top 50 restaurants in the world for 6 years, culminating at 27 before falling out in 2012 and also holds the TA #1 position for San Sebastian, which is a feat given the quality of restaurants in the town. Online reviewers comparing the great restaurants of San Sebastian often suggest that his 'greatest hits' menu is the one to go for and is perhaps the most friendly, accessible and easily liked cuisine in amongst the gastronomy restaurants.

The restaurant was quiet for lunch in June, with only one other table that day. After a taxi ride, we ended up in a lovely restaurant that included a balcony area overlooking the grassy hillsides of the region.

The menu €175pp seemed to be more recent than I would expect for a greatest hits, but was full of bright colours, foams and tasty jellies with no dish disappointing or tasting awkward. He seems to especially like green.

"I propose that you allow me to seduce you in small mouthfuls... seductive, light and succulent, they will whet your appetite and be the introduction to a magnificent meal"

- 1995 Mille-Feuille of Smoked Eel, Foie-Gras, Spring Onions & Green Apple - flavour mix of buttery foie gras, sweet apple, salty eel;
- 2001 Squid Soup, Creamy Squid Ink Ravioli served with Squid Crouton - deliciously strong squid dish, slivers of soft flesh, sweet ink morsel.

"This will be followed by:"

- 2011 Oyster with Cucumber, Kaffir & Coconut - cold oyster in a beautiful salty sweet Thai-style broth;
- 2012 Morsel of Asparagus & Raw Truffle, Air & Juice - strong truffle flavour, light cheese, roast sunflower seeds adding texture;
- 2009 Little Pearls of Raw Fennel, Risotto & Emulsion - raw crispy fennel topping soft sweet 'risotto' of fennel pieces, air emulsion;
- 2012 Smoked Balloon with Mille-Feuilles of Endives, Oily Fish, Watercress & Chickweed - smoked fish liquid balloons with smokey mackerel pieces, watercress broth, light cheese;
- 2011 "Gorrotxategi" Egg Resting on a Herb Liquid Salad & Dewlap Carpaccio - perfect poached yolk, beetroot pieces, green herb sauce, truffle oil & vintage cheese;
- 2001 Warm Vegetable Hearts Salad with Seafood, Cream of Lettuce & Iodized Juice - gorgeous plate of colourful salad ingredients, tomato water, jelly salad;
- 2011 Roast Red Mullet with Crystals of Edible Scales, Tail & Marine Salad with Sesame & Nuts - meaty portions of pig tail, soft mullet, juice tasting like wakame, almond cream;
- 2011 Grilled Sirloin "Luismi" over a Bed of Swiss Chard Chlorophyll & Cheese Bonbon - rare local San Sebastian beef, good combination with cheese, salt and chlorophyll.

"And desserts to finish:"

- 2012 Melon with Caipirinha, Lemongrass Sorbet, Crispy Flowers & Sheep's Milk - alcoholic jelly, sweet melon, delicious subtle lemongrass sorbet;
- 2012 Chocolate Frost with Mint, Asparagus, Caramelised Pumpkin & Bitter Coffee Icecream - chocolate & orange aerated sponge, bitter coffee icecream, mint, ice, asparagus pearls;
- tower of petit fours - cinnamon milk drink, alcoholic cranberry juice, portions of pistachio nougat chocolate.

Overall an excellent meal. The flavours were great and no dishes were questionable. In comparison to Akelare and Mugaritz, I think Martin Berasategui had the most straight forward dishes using fine gastronomical technique, although the other two probably have a more inventive edge.

Set on a hill overlooking the ocean, Akelare is known for having one of the classically top 3 chefs in San Sebastian and for commanding a magnificent mountain-top view over the ocean. Given that Spanish dinners start at 8:30pm (and the opening time for many of the top restaurants in San Sebastian is thus 8:30pm), the perfect season to go is summer when it coincides with sunset.

Unluckily for me, this particular summer day was fraught with rain, fog and cloud. Throughout dinner the skies got darker, there was a glimpse of the ocean below at one brief point, but otherwise disappeared amongst mist. At least the food was good.

Akelare offers two tasting menus named Aranori and Bekarki. I don't know if there is a different concept between the two, but I chose Bekarki €145 as it sounded more molecular.

Sea Garden Appetizers
- Prawn's Sand - dried mini-prawns ground into a crispy crustacean sand;
- Oyster Leaf. Take the leaf & feel its flavour & aroma - a leaf that tastes like an oyster. Don't understand how, go figure;
- Mussel with "Shell", now that it with the spoon, whole in your mouth - mussel coated in cocoa;
- Sea Urchin's Sponge - onion-flavoured textual sponge, but couldn't detect any sea urchin;
- Beach Pebbles (shallot & corn) - soft corn morsel;
- Codium Seaweed Coral (goose barnacles tasting tempura) - crispy seaweed tempura.
Served with a drink of pomegranate and kava.

Bekarki Menu
- Xangurro in Essence, its Coral Blini and "Gurullos" (the crustacean's meat is reinforced by its juice. Accompany with the pasta that looks like rice grains) - intense crab-flavoured combination of crab meat patty, wet bread soaked in a thick crab liquid and served with salty fish rice;
- Razor Shell with Veal Shank (combine razor shell with veal and cauliflower mushroom. Textures, flavours, contrasts...) - oceany soft clam, thick meaty veal jus, delicate slight crunchy fungus;
- Sauteed Fresh Foie Gras with "Salt Flakes and Grain Pepper" (sauteed foie gras with a lot of "Salt'n'Pepper") - perfectly warm and cooked delicious foie gras onto which the waitress dumped a shocking amount of "salt" (crystallised sugar) and "pepper" (fried vanilla rice cream) which complemented the flavours beautifully;
- (alternative course to foie gras) Pasta Carpaccio, Piquillo and Iberic with Parmesan shrooms (homemade pasta with piquillo and Iberic flavour. It feels like eating cold meat, even though it's vegetable) - black truffle slices on a light thin pasta, but not enough mushroom flavour;
- Turbot with its "Kokotxa" (the preparation is made entirely with turbot, including its "kokotxa". Pil-pil sauce. A crispy chip of its own skin") - turbot with fake cheek, soft like mash with a strong salty fish flavour;
- "Desalted" Cod Box with Shavings (crystallized cod presented in a fish box, over eatable shavings & cod tripes in tomato water) - cod flesh covered with rice powder, salt, served on pasta shavings and cod tripe in a clarified tomato sauce (like pure natural MSG);
- Roasted Suckling Pig with Tomato "Bolao" & Iberian Emulsion (to get a crisp & juicy texture, the baby pig is cooked in Iberian broth and finished in the oven. Start with the baby pig with tomato "bolao", continue with another bit of the Iberico emulsion. Finish tasting all together. Tomato "bolao". Iberico emulsion) - cute potato chip pig, roasted garlic, vegetable liquid and excellent pork with crispy skin;
- Carved Beef, Tail Cake "Potatoes and Peppers" (red meat, like we eat the rib. Tail cake with foie gras. Eat with your fingers the coppered potato and the piquillo peppers and the meat with a little bit of the juice) - superb rare beef, crispy chips and sweet sauce;
- Milk and Grape, Cheese and Wine in Parallel Evolution (grapevine, curded sheep milk & walnut. Powdered fresh cream with chives & grapes. Quark cheese with nutmeg & pink pepper aroma, must of tapioca & tomato. Idiazabal semi-matured with quince jelly & wine dust. Brandy sirop with gorgonzola cheese ice-cream. Torta of Casar's grape with soaked raisins in Pedro Ximenez. Start from the left to the right to recognise each and every of the different flavours that the milk has, as well as the transformations that the grape & milk suffers from the origin up to the oldness) - from the left, weak like tofu, sweet grape light cheese, salty yoghurt, strong, and lastly ultra strong;
- Layered Strawberry & Cream (a reconstructed strawberry. Strawberries and cream flavour and a basil seeds game) - squeaky basil and raspberry seeds, and a giant "strawberry" of white chocolate coating a strawberries & cream filling topped with mint. Brilliant design.

Overall an excellent meal of creative reconstructions, various textures and flavours from both quality natural ingredients and innovative designed ingredients. Although not in the San Pellegrino Top 100 restaurants, Akelare is commonly listed in the top 3 in San Sebastian. One of the key factors is the combination of menu quality with the setting high on the cliff is unmatched, and so I would certainly try and reserve a table next to the window on an evening when the sunset will be colourful and late.