Comments on: Arzak (San Sebastian, Spain) – Can the Daughter be King?

By: Matt Mark

Matt Mark — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 17:58:53 +0000

Hey Chuck,

First time commenting – Renee mentioned you hooked up in SF recently for Quince and I was reading UE’s site and had to drop by

Interesting review, we went in July 2009 and had a fantastic and exciting meal. Your pics do reveal some pretty sloppy presentation and prep i have to say. We had a very different menu from the looks of it, none of these dishes look familiar at all.

One of the highlights was a foie oil on thinly sliced apple. Will never forget that one.. Arzak was definitely one of our favorities from our Spanish tour. I wish we all had the cash to go back to every regarded restaurant a bunch of times to see if things change

On another note, couldn’t snag a non-smoking room reservation, which was a little annoying and we had to sit beside the stairs. The other issue was the non-English speaking ladies and non-descriptive menu

Matt

By: chuckeats

chuckeats — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 06:49:11 +0000

otto – thanks for your insights. the pictures were taken with an old camera and i couldn’t agree more they could be better. the “pushing” comment is interesting and it could be they need new challenges – for now, i see no need to return – but i would love to understand what i am missing.

By: otto

otto — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 06:32:07 +0000

Hello friends, first of all sorry for gramatical and expressions mistakes but i`m basque who studied spanish language before english language so….. welllll i´m a cook and i worked in Arzak Restaurant with Juan MAri and Elena , i say that they are fantastics cooks and better persons but in fact their cousine is ralentizing,,,, i think they need new pushing….. these photos could be better i´ll write again and take you a new photo gallery Thank you
Basque country for ever

By: Jon

Jon — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:06:58 +0000

Chuck, I know it’s been about 3 years since your visit to Arzak, but even for 3 year old cusine I don’t think these plate-ups are well composed at all, the food looks very unorganized and somewhat unappetizing at times. I hope they’ve re-vamped their cuisine and plating techniques since your visit.

-Jon

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 03:49:33 +0000

Chuck, I have to agree with you on this one. Our meal Arzak was underwhelming for many of the reasons you describe.

By: Administrator

Administrator — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 20:06:19 +0000

Ulterior, i haven’t been to Extebarri – that is near the top of my to-do list. I suspect it will be one of my favorite restaurants in the world given how much I love seafood.

By: ulterior epicure

ulterior epicure — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 11:56:51 +0000

Great photos, ChuckEats! Great friends of mine were in Spain on my birthday and asked for a recommendation for a place near San Sebastian to celebrate my birthday. I recommended Arzak as one Spanish restaurant that I regrettably missed on my last trip. They went and toasted me all the way on the other side of the world and sent me a menu – sans photos. From your pictures, I’m really quite shocked at how sloppily everything is plated there… not what I imagined. Have you been to Extabarri?