Martín Berasategui

Perfection

Pigeon, stuffed with olives and foie gras, charcoal roasted with pil-pil kohlrabi
and carrots, cocoa and potato cappuccina 

There are not many restaurants at the top end level I would return for, especially ones that are not in London. However, Martin Berasategui's flagship 3 Michelin starred restaurant in San Sebastian is an exception. Having eaten at all three 3 starred restaurants in San Sebastian in my first trip to the city, I found that Martin was far superior and totally faultless. It was an easy decision for me to come back, the food at his restaurant is modern, refine and visually stunning, I got nothing but high praise. Once again, I opted for the restaurant's signature offering: The Great Tasting Menu, with 15 courses of world-class dishes one after another. 

Gilda (anchovy, chili pepper and olive) with
‘Agrucapers’ caper soup and ‘Balfegó’ tuna tartare

Bread with rainbow butters

Mille-feuille of smoked eel, foie-gras, spring onions and green apple

Cod jelly with asparagus pickled with ‘Añana’ salt

Oyster with green olive juice, wasabi emulsion and crunchy sea lettuce

Vegetable hearts salad with seafood, cream of lettuce and iodized juice

Tarama with beetroot and sour horseradish

Here are some of the highlights: The classic vegetable hearts salad was just as good as my last's meal at Martin Berasategui, light and refreshing but offered plenty of beautiful flavours, the shellfish and tomato element added a lovely hint of fruity and sea aroma to a salad that truly worthy of 3 Michelin stars level. The Grilled monkfish was moist and delivered a sensational meaty texture that almost tasted like lobster, the fennel added a blend of bitterness and coolness which turned out to be a lovely contrast. On top of that, the dish was finished off with a dash of crispy and crunchy squid to add balance to the texture, it was incredible. The charcoal grilled pigeon was meat course at the highest order, the smoky profile of the meat combined so well with the richness of the foie gras. Powerful tastes, melting texture with a plating that looked like a piece of artwork, totally faultless.

Langoustine over an aniseed sea-bed and coral mayonnaise

Seafood and seaweed tremble, plankton, and prawn consommé

Semifreddo of red curry, marinated monkfish liver and
spicy pickled broccoli marrow

Grilled piece of monkfish with its stewed juice,
roast diced fennel and crunchy squid

“The Truffle” with fermented wild mushrooms and collard greens

Lemon with basil juice, green bean and almond

Chocolate, coffee and tea with crunchy quinoa

Yuzu; Salt and pepper; Vanilla Tahiti; Orange and caramel

What can I say... everything was perfect, not a single dish I didn't enjoy. Martín Berasategui delivered another magical meal that just completely blows me away, it was also great to meet the legend himself at the end to express my gratitude too. Besides the food, the service was fabulous, truly world-class with amazing attention to detail. My visit was just as enjoyable as the first and I would happily return for a 3rd time in the near future, as simply put, this is the best restaurant in the world for me and I don't think I will encounter another one that can be better than Martin Berasategui.


Food 5/5

What I paid: 
300 Euro per person with wine

Average cost without drinks and services:
255 Euro

Loidi Kalea, 4, 20160 Lasarte-Oria, Gipuzkoa, Spain

https://www.martinberasategui.com/en/inicio

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