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Arzak Donostia Reviews
If only Michelin gave 5 Stars, Arzak would be first on the list.
From the very beginning this was a 5* experience. The staff were friendly, relaxed gently guiding you through the experience and accommodating allergy and preferences with ease. Chef Eleanor was out to check twice during our lunch. The food is artistically presented and full of taste and quality. Sommelier was also top level and friendly. Well worth visiting
When gastronomy meets art
I have wanted to visit Arzak since 1st seeing the restaurant on Masterchef over 15 years ago and we were fortuitous enough to book a table during our holiday. As you can imagine you have to book well in advance and even when we booked the holiday in May, we were unable to get the Saturday evening to celebrate my birthday. The anticipation and expectation was great, my only concern was that my wife would not enjoy as much as me, as there are certain things that she does not enjoy eating, however this was not the case. The staff are all amazing, knowledgeable, welcoming and attentive. We opted for the taster menu, the 5 appetisers were all phenomenal, particularly the energetic shrimp!!! (Love the name) Whilst discussing the taster menu, they offered options for my wife to not have the raw tuna as the 1st course and replaced with a vibrant roasted vegetable course, which looked and tasted amazing. For the meat course, 3 additional dishes were offered if lamb was not to your liking. Every single dish was art on a plate, the bread side plate is constantly refilled and the butters and olive oils which accompanied were incredible. They say you should never meet your heroes but Elena walking around talking to each of the tables was an added bonus and she was amazing. The added bonus of a 3 starred Michelin Birthday cake enhanced what was already a magical meal. This is a must for anyone seeking out amazing ingredients, cooked with care and incredible skill. I would travel to San Sebastián again just to visit Arzak
A must visit
Never disappoints. Fabulous food, not too much, great variation and superb service. Would have insisted on my wine selections but overall it was incredible and worth the price
How to eat ART!!!!
We had an incredible experience this evening! It was not a dinner, but the highest level of eatable art!! Too pity to destroy, too good not to! Combined with an incredible service and a wonderful wine suggestion! And knowing the history of the house and only imagining the hard work behind it, it made all the evening an experience for life! Thank you, Chef Elena Arzak!
Good experience
Its a traditional Michelin restaurant. We enjoyed eating there. It was a nice surprise to see the friendly chef visiting our table.
Unforgettable experience.
Fantastic 3 Michelin star restaurant. Do not miss if you are in the region. Fabulous tasting menu. We liked every dish. Great maitre d’ (Adolpho) who knew our Swiss village (Bluche). Very knowledgeable and pleasant sommelier, who made us discover extraordinary Spanish wines, some exclusively made for Arzak. Had the pleasure to meet Helena, fourth generation owner. An unforgettable experience. We will be back.
Best in class 3 Michelin stars
3 Michelin star well deserved. Restaurant located out of San Sebatian but you can walk from the city center, 45 mins walking. You need to book some months in advance if you want to eat in weekends. The taste menu worth 280 euroa not including beverages and wines. The menu is closed but the waiter offer you several options for each plate. Impressive traditional basque food with very fresh products and best in class preparation. Arzak is undoubtedly my favourite restaurant until now.
Terrible restaurant, don't come here
This place is horrendous. Far too expensive for too little food with maggots in the food. It didn't feel safe to eat and the pollo was undercooked. As a head chef myself i understand its hard to get food right consistently but this was unacceptable. I really believe for this price the food here should exceed my expectations but this was so terribly disappointing.
Perfection !
There is no need for many words when talking about Arzak. Reference point for 3 Michelin stars. Friendly smiling welcome, refined and elegant ambiance so it's obvious that balanced perfection is aimed at every point. Each plate in the degustation menu was super creative, almost a piece of art. Many thanks to all the chefs and their assistants in the kitchen who made this experience unique, Ms.Elena for her gracious hosting and Ms.Shua for her sincere sharing and support in wine selections. Eskerrik Asko.
Somewhat disappointing...
For me Arzak is the perfect example of a restaurant that delivers nice dishes in a convivial environment, but suffers because of its 3* Michelin rating. The highest culinary accolade from Michelin sets the bar high, and Arzak needs the Hubble telescope to see that bar because it is so far from serving 3* cuisine. The dining room is relatively small, the atmosphere is very relaxed and the service very friendly. Elena Arzak came out of the kitchen to put the menu together for us, although I think it just ended up being the standard tasting menu, however, this was a nice touch nevertheless. The plating of the dishes was somewhat laissez faire to say the least, and was certainly not the ultra precise, or elegant style one might expect in a 3* restaurant. The ingredient quality was good, although none of the dishes seemed that complex or memorable. Complexity doesn't have to mean lots of different things on the plate, it could be as simple as a beautifully cooked piece of fish served with an exquisite sauce that involved a lot of time and technique. Here the sauces were all pretty basic, with no hidden depths. The pastry section was unexciting too; pastry provides the opportunity to show off with lots of techniques to produce something that tastes great and looks pretty. None of the dishes ticked even one of these boxes. I've been fortunate to dine in quite a lot of 3* restaurants, and for me this delivers an low-average 2* or even high 1* type experience and that is the problem. If one is dining at a 3* restaurant then one expects at least one or two fireworks during the course of the meal, and here we didn't even have a damp sparkler. Michelin is not doing them any favours by maintaining this rating as it simply means customers have unrealistic expectations relative to what is being placed in front of them which is a shame because when pushing awards to one side, dinner here is a very joyful experience. I'm certainly pleased that I've tried Arzak, but at their current price point one can certainly do a lot better elsewhere.
Extraordinary adventure in food
Fantastic adventure in food - everything was note-perfect, the service impeccable and the owner gave us a personal tour of the kitchen and cellar. Extraordinary.
Délicieuse cuisine
Ce restaurant propose une cuisine délicieuse qui éveillera vos papilles avec chaque bouchée
Wonderful & creative dinner, beautifully presented, great atmosphere & service
Wonderful dinner and terrific experience for an evening out with our adult son and his new wife, approaching their first anniversary. Each course was delicious, beautifully presented, and sometimes featuring unexpected combinations of ingredients that worked so nicely together (e.g. fresh oyster with beef emulsion, sudachi, seagrapes, kefir lime and an additional sweet acidic note of tomatoey vinegar). Overarching all was excellent, friendly and attentive service in a modern, comfortable (and refreshingly well-lit!) decor with particular warmth and humor from Cesar, whose service, knowledge and amiable manner added greatly to the evening. We're out for dinner quite a bit, living in a "foodie" town ourselves (Portland, Maine, USA) and have the fortunate experience of having eaten in many Michelin-starred restaurants over the years around the world, so what stands out to us at Arzak is that they've mastered with clear confidence the highest elements of elegant fine dining while somehow creating a more comfortable, natural and approachable atmosphere and avoiding the sometimes intense, serious and rehearsed feeling of other excellent Michelin-starred restaurants. Even in San Sebastian, where there are so many excellent dining options at all levels, Arzak is clearly among the highest. Look forward to returning!
Celebrating 66
The genius of feeding the body, mind and spirit is the gift the 50+ kitchen staff serves up at this legendary restaurant.
Amazing all round.
First time visit, whilst in Spain for a holiday. A really excellent place to eat in and spend time with the family 100% recommend.
Best tasting menu in San Sebastián.
My first tasting menu experience and would 100% recommend. Service from start to finish was 5 star and the personal touch of meeting Chef Elena made the whole experience even better. Every course was exceptional.
What’s not to like about this restaurant? It has 3 stars for a reason, everything is exceptional.
I visited this restaurant in December 2022, whilst staying in San Sebastián. The restaurant, food and services was of the highest standard. As one would expect the menus was explained and each course was destinies along with the wine choices. I opted for the tasting menu with paired wine. Everything that was put in front of me was exceptional. However I have a penchant for salt and requested some to go with the bread and olive oil. Elena came to ask if everything was okay, I was almost embarrassed to say I liked a little extra salt. Within minutes 3 different types of salt were served, brilliant!! I also added a little extra to the marbled egg, eggs always need extra salt? This addition, in my opinion, turned an amazing dish into the most amazing dish on the menu!!! It was then funny to hear the lady sat at the table next to me say to Elena that the food was too salty?? What do we know?? We’ll done to all involved in such a fantastic restaurant, I’ll be back with my wife the next time we’re in San Sebastián. x
Wonderful memories made in this absorbing unique gastronomic experience
Arzak was an unforgettable experience. We went last night expecting and anticipating great food. But we were blown away at what was a life changing experience that was mind, body and soul. The atmosphere is peaceful, giving you time and space and enables you to focus on the incredible food. The staff were passionate and knowledgeable about all aspects of the food and wine. The owner came out to speak to us and was so warm and welcoming. It was my birthday and kindly I came away with a cake. We placed the trip for a long time and it was worth the wait. I cannot thank the restaurant enough for giving us these wonderful memories. Much love and thanks.
Worth the trip to Spain!
My husband and I were originally scheduled in March 2020 for our 10 year wedding anniversary. Three years later we finally made it to Arzak. We have sincerely never ever had an experience like this. The delightful chef/staff demonstrated a passion for food and service that was superior. Arzak is a true experience of interacting with the story put forth by the each perfectly curated and executed dish. We wondered after three years of waiting would it live up to the hype in our minds? Indeed it exceeded our expectations and we look forward to returning some future day. Literally worth the entire trip to Spain!! Thank you Arzak for your hospitality and such a special belated anniversary 🙏
Culinary Delights - Elena and team are Magic!
What an amazing experience! The food was so good and each meal so wonderfully explained by staff. You must go if you can get a booking, it was well worth the visit. Every course so tasty and full of flavour! I will never forget it!
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Let's say Peter has a great morning and decides to take his three friends to Arzak Donostia at 6 PM the same day.
He checks the restaurant's website and sees that no reservations are available. He then looks at the Arzak Donostia page on AppointmentTrader, but finds that there are no user postings either.
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* Peter really wants to go, so he increases the bid (or reward) to $200.
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* Peter can now enjoy the dinner with his friends at Arzak Donostia!
* As with all transactions on AT, disputes and no-show fees are handled through the platform's community-driven resolution system. Users with a strong track record are incentivized to fulfill bids successfully, and community members can report issues to maintain trust in the marketplace.
