Restaurant: Zuberoa
Location: Araneder Bidea, Barrio Iturriotz, s/n, 20180 Oiartzun, Gipuzkoa, Spain
Date: June 18, 2016
Cuisine: Basque
Rating: Really tasty and effective (1 Michelin star)
We rented a lovely house outside of San Sebastian in the Basque Country town of Oiartzun — and turns out, it has a 1 Michelin star restaurant of its own, a mere 200 yards from the house.
Zuberoa is located in a charming 600 year old building! The same family has owned it for several hundred years and it was originally a tavern.
Above is part of the main dining room.
And they also have this lovely patio, which was packed on Saturday night and a smoker’s paradise.
The tasting menu.
Cava to start.
An amuse of foie gras with cherry reduction.
This was insanely good. The dollop on top was like a maple syrup foam and together with the cherry lent it a sweet, rich, candy-like quality.
Sea urchin royal to the fennel flavor. A sort of foam of fennel and urchin. Delicious too.
Lobster salad, its coral vinegar and lemon. Just a little lobster here. “Coral” must be the roe.
2006 Pazo de Señoráns Albariño Rías Baixas Selección de Añada. VM 93. Aged for 34 months on its lees in stainless steel tanks. Vivid yellow-gold. Highly complex bouquet of candied citrus fruits, almond paste, white flowers, smoky lees and minerals. Bitter orange pith and pear skin flavors gain sweetness with air and pick up an exotic floral nuance. Rich yet lively wine with superb finishing power and mineral-driven persistence. This singular wine is ready to drink and should hold well for at least another five years.
Poached cod fish to the olive oil with brandad, its skin sauce and its jelly´s crispy.
Spider crab and prawns ravioli in his broth. An awesome little rav.
Scallop, cauliflower and spring mushrooms (zizas) emulsion with brazed endive.
Confited cod fish chin, brandad and “Vizcaina” sauce. This part of the cod fish is super special and a specialty of the area. It has a particular gelatinous texture that is very prized. My extensive Chinese dining has prepared me for such culinary travels.
Egg yolk spring-like. A really delicious egg prep with a fascinating textural combination. The green was somewhat like a pea soup.
Roasted anglerfish and stir friend squid tallarine. Very nice piece of meaty fish. We googled the anglerfish and had quite the laugh at his hideous countenance.
Steamed hake with its pil-pil and pickled yellow peppers.
1981 C.V.N.E. (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España) Rioja Viña Real Gran Reserva. JG 96. This was certainly a great older Rioja. No decant but allowed it to evolve over hours. Garnet color consistent with previous, very little fading. There is an earthiness and attractive mustiness on the nose with surprisingly bright raspberry and strawberry. Palate brings light cherry and raspberry, warm spring earth, and pleasing umami flavors. Still enough of a tannic backbone to lend sufficient structure to the melange. This bottle would have still had many years of life ahead of it. If only every bottle performed this well.
Fried hake and French fries was enjoyed by my son.
Roast pigeon, liver toast and turnip filled up with mushrooms.
Roasted lamb ribs. Some very flavorful tender lamb ribs. Almost like lamb/veal.
Peach and passion fruit “ crème brûlée “ with raspberry ice-cream.
Pineapple sorbet coat in fermented coconut milk..
Confited cherries, lemon thyme flavored with its own sorbet and Danish cookie. Pretty awesome fresh in-season cherry prep.
Chocolate, coffee, and banana set and orange nappage.
Alex enjoys his chocolate gelato!
Some finishers.
Overall, Zuberoa was really quite lovely. The food was varied, very Basque in style, and supremely tasty. While still modern in style it was a little less “wild” than the 2 and 3 star places we dined at, but in many ways this made it more approachable. Service was fabulous and they easily accommodated our varied party and even our young son. Plus it was quite reasonable by the standards of such an elaborate and fantastic meal.
