BASQUE COUNTRYSIDE - GETARIA - RESTAURANTE ELKANO - POST 2

RESTAURANTE ELKANO One Michelin Star

Getaria is the picture postcard Basque Country fishing village that produced designer Cristóbal Balenciaga, Plácido Domingo's mother and Juan Sebastián Elcano (who was the first mariner to circumnavigate the globe).

You can wander down the old streets to the harbour, where you will see the fishing fleet, walking past various shops selling their wares.

There are stunning little beaches on either side of town.

Set on a crossroads above the harbour of Getaria, Restaurante Elkano is rated at number 28 in the Best 50 Restaurants in the World 2024 list. On arrival, we noticed that the outside of the Restaurant had been modernised.

See here for the complete list: www.theworlds50best.com

Elkano were pioneers in roasting and baking whole fish and crustacea over hot coals in the open air, in what, according to many a good judge, maybe the best fish Restaurant in the world.

To add to the atmosphere, the dining area has an olde-world charm.

Once settled in, we tried the excellent house beer, Ubera-basqueland x elkano, @basquelandbrew, which we all enjoyed trying.

We started with excellent bread,

And appetisers of,

Coliflor asada en salsa de pescado (roasted cauliflower in fish sauce).

Calball (mackerel).

And then chose our first wine, Ganeta Berezia 2022 @gainetatxakolina

Salpicon bogavante (lobster).

Kokotxas tres diferentes texturas (hake cheeks three different textures, fried, grilled and pil pil).

Guiso de begihaundi (a small squid, stewed).

Also, when in season, try the very expensive angulas (elves/baby eels) or camerones (small scarlet shrimp), which we had. They only appear during the full moon.

For the incoming star of the show, we chose Sorkin 2022 Makatzak @makatzak.ww, which went wonderfully well with the turbot and is probably the best Txakolina we have tasted.

The star of the show and the prized dish is, of course, the rodaballo (turbot).

According to the owner, Aitor, the dish is stunning. It has caramelised skin on the outside and tender meat on the inside.

You need to suck the marrow from the bones and will be shown how to extract every delicious bit by the expert waiters. You will need to eat it with your fingers.