Arzak is a

restaurant A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...

San Sebastián San Sebastián, officially known by the bilingual name Donostia / San Sebastián (, ), is a city and municipality located in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. It lies on the coast of the Bay of Biscay, from the France–Spain border ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. It features New Basque Cuisine. In 2008, Arzak's owner and chef, Juan Mari Arzak, was awarded the Universal Basque award for "adapting gastronomy, one of the most important traditions of the Basque Country, to the new times and making of it one of the most innovative of the world".

Description

Arzak serves modernized

Basque cuisine Basque cuisine refers to the cuisine of the Basque Country and includes meats and fish grilled over hot coals, '' marmitako'' and lamb stews, cod, Tolosa bean dishes, paprikas from Lekeitio, '' pintxos'' (Basque '' tapas)'', Idiazabal shee ...

, inspired by cooking techniques and presentation found in '' nouvelle cuisine''. The restaurant is inside an old multiple-storied brick building, with the restaurant on the main floor. Above the restaurant is a

wine cellar A wine cellar is a storage room for wine in bottles or barrels, or more rarely in carboys, amphorae, or plastic containers. In an ''active'' wine cellar, important factors such as temperature and humidity are maintained by a climate control s ...

with over 100,000 bottles of wine, as well as a test kitchen. The test kitchen, established in 2000, is where the Arzaks come up with new recipes and methods. It houses over 1500 ingredients that can potentially serve as inspiration for a dish. Assisted by chefs Igor Zalacain and Xabi Gutiérrez, the Arzak test kitchen comes up with 40 new dishes a year, stemming from recipes that are created and refined over a period of three to six months.

History

Built as a house in 1897 by the current owner's grandparents (José Maria Arzak Etxabe and Escolastica Lete), they turned it into a wine inn and

tavern A tavern is a type of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern that ...

. At the time, the village of Alza was separate from San Sebastián. When the next generation took over (Juan Ramon Arzak and Francisca Arratibel), it was turned into a restaurant. Kitchen duties are now shared between Juan Mari Arzak and his daughter Elena Arzak.

Awards and honors

*1989–present,

Michelin Guide The ''Michelin Guides'' ( ; ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The ''Guide'' awards up to three Michelin star (classification), stars for excellence to a select few restaurants ...

Three Stars *2003–present, Restaurant (magazine) S.Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants *2013, 8th best restaurant in the world, S. Pellegrino

References

External links

*
Arzak biography. A Teacher with the Eyes of a Child
Michelin-starred restaurants in Spain Basque restaurants Molecular gastronomy Buildings and structures in San Sebastián {{Spain-restaurant-stub

Description

History

Awards and honors

See also

References

External links