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Basque in its glory
Northern Spain's celebrated cuisine is London's coolest new culinary trend, with exciting restaurants opening across the capital
Spain has been the hottest country on the culinary globe for quite some time. From El Bulli and Mugaritz to El Celler de Can Roca, Spanish eateries have dominated the top five on the World's Best Restaurants list for the past ten years.
Their influence has certainly been felt in London, with the enormous popularity of Jose Pizarro's restaurants and Nacho Manzano's Iberica group of eateries and stores, not to mention the lengthy queues seen nightly outside Barrafina. But now, the rise of a particular style of Spanish cooking is being felt in the capital: that of Basque cuisine, hailing from the northern region of the country around Bilbao and San Sebastian.
(Image credit: THE GAZTRONOME)
Home to Michelin-star-adorned Mugaritz and Arzak, as well as the lesser-known but equally lauded Akelarre and Martin Berasategui, San Sebastian is the beating heart of the region's cuisine. And now, lucky Londoners are enjoying a hint of the gastronomic prowess of that city on the capital's streets.
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Basque cuisine is not new to London. Marylebone's exquisite Donostia - San Sebastian in the Basque language - opened in 2012 and remains one of the best places for a glass of txakoli (the slightly effervescent and acidic white wine from the region). In 2015, the team launched a grill-focused restaurant, Lurra, just across the road on Seymour Place. Meanwhile, Arzak has spent three years working with The Halkin hotel's restaurant in Belgravia on the clunkily titled but consistently wonderful Ametsa with Arzak Instruction.
(Image credit: Eneko at One Aldwych)
Recently, a number of new Basque restaurants have opened their doors – or are planning to – demonstrating that Londoners' hunger for the cuisine has only grown. Counter Culture, the sister to next-door neighbour The Dairy, already popular with locals, welcomed its first diners in Clapham in April. In true Basque style, it serves small plates from a bar and is serious about its cured meats and pickles. It does it with considerable class – elevating the pintxo to San Sebastian levels of complexity and flavour.
(Image credit: THE GAZTRONOME)
In addition, Eneko Atxa, of Azurmendi, near Bilbao, is opening a new eponymous restaurant: Eneko at One Aldwych. The chef is dedicated to sustainability and showcasing the finest Basque ingredients, including pork, oxtail, oyster mushrooms, fish, seafood and corn talo (similar to a tortilla).
And coming soon to the capital is Sagardi, set to open on Curtain Road in Shoreditch in September. It will be the first UK outpost of the popular Grupo Sagardi, which started in Barcelona in 1995 and has remained at the forefront of Basque cuisine across Spain and the world. The restaurant will fly ingredients over from producers daily to create super-fresh, authentic cuisine for pintxos, served at a bar, and a grill restaurant with table seating.
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Look out also for Basque supper clubs called txokos – a tradition of the region via which gastronomes come together to cook, eat and chat. Beronia, a Rioja wine producer, has a txoko club that hosts nights in London, including at Iberica restaurants, and at food festivals across the country. If you can't make it to San Sebastian, it could be the next best thing.
