It is hardly a revelation to tell readers that San Sebastián is a destination for food lovers. To be honest I can’t believe that it has taken me nearly 42 years to get there; but get there I did back in September. I had recently completed the legendary Marathon du Medoc in Bordeaux, and used that as an excuse for the rest of my trip to say that I was merely helping my body recover from the calorie deficit that it had incurred during the marathon.
Of course, San Sebastián is mostly known for its pinxto bars, where you can sit at counters in various establishments around the city and eat handsomely whilst pointing at things that look tasty but have wonderfully unpronounceable names thanks to the magnificent Basque language. However, there is also an excellent fine dining scene with many starred restaurants for hedonists to choose from to help you celebrate that special occasion. For us, the occasion in question was our 14th wedding anniversary – and I wanted somewhere appropriately decorous. My research led me to a restaurant called IBAI – a place that specialised in fish and only opens for lunch as it basically cooks up what is brought in fresh that morning.
The restaurant is situated down a few stairs from a rather unassuming bar in the old part of town. They only have about five or six tables so the dining experience is a very personal and attentive affair. One of the first things I noticed is that they were playing music (very softly in the background) by a favourite artist of mine – Fantastic Negrito; I absolutely loved hearing his songs accompany our meal!
Appetisers
The menu they serve is refreshingly simple and easy to navigate. The focus is the catch of the day – more of that later. You start with a few very tasty appetisers to whet the… well… appetite. We were given a mushroom broth which was made with an extremely intense consommé along with a solitary (yet delicious in its isolation) mushroom. This was followed by an oyster dish which was just perfectly presented – you can see from the photo how beautiful it was. The oyster itself was grilled and served on a chive emulsion with dots of chive oil. The texture of the oyster was spectacular, not stringy, tough, or chewy. Lastly, we were served a ‘foie micuit’ which was presented to the table before we were cut a small slice. It reminded me of a cross between foie gras and a pork pie – if you can imagine such a thing. The inside had been made from a fish, but had the texture of paté; it was encased in a very delicate pastry. The top was made of thinly cut slices of fresh, tart green apple.
The starter courses
Next were the starter courses. You can each choose two or three (depending on the price you want to pay), but importantly you don’t both have to have the same dishes – so you can do mixing and matching – which of course, we did!
I started with the lobster salad, where you were presented with various pieces of the most delicious and flavoursome pieces of fresh lobster, which is served with an emulsion made from the lobster’s head, micro-tomatoes from the local area, and a sherry vinegar. You do have to pay a supplement for this course, but it’s definitely worth it! Next up was the Kokotxa Trio where you are presented three morsels of anchovy, all prepared differently. From left to right you have: confit-style, fried in tempura, and grilled. It was a really clever way to show this ingredient off; I think that my favourite was the simply grilled version, which was served with a nice oil alongside it.
The next dish was a slight contrast to the last two – a Marmitako which is a traditional fishermen’s soup. It’s made with potatoes and whatever fish they can source. In our instance it was tuna. The flavours within the soup were deep and intense (as you’d expect from a fine-dining establishment). The last of our dishes was a local speciality – a Donostiarra-style Spider Crab which is served all around the city (‘Donostia’ is the Basque name for San Sebastián). I must say that the star of this dish was actually the confit tomatoes that run through it – the flavour of these was just so intense! There was also a dash of brandy through the dish that gave it a bit more oomph.
Time for wine!
Time to talk wine. I wasn’t sure what I was going to go for initially but when I opened the wine list I was immediately drawn to one particular bottle – a birth year 1983 Conde de los Andes Rioja Blanco. The sommelier was delighted I’d chosen this wine – he had personally tasted wines from this cellar going back to the 1920s and told me that they age exquisitely. In the glass it was a deep Marmalade orange, which was to be expected given the age. The nose was unreal – it was full of exotic aromatics – Seville oranges, jasmine, and vanilla were the primary notes for me. Somehow it still smelt fresh and vibrant too. On the palate it was still possessive of so much energy and vigour. It provided the perfect foil for the dishes where you needed something full-bodied enough to match the complexity of the flavours, whilst also still possessing the edge and acidity to cut through.
The catch of the day
As I mentioned earlier, the main event on the menu is the catch of the day. This changes day-by-day and month-by-month dependent on what the fishermen can catch. You can imagine I was thrilled when we were told that today’s catch was the ‘king of the sea’ – Turbot. With fantastic ceremony our fish was brought out to us on its cooking platter where you could see it in all its glory. It had been cooked in a light and delicate buerre blanc sauce with confit garlic liberally strewn all over it. The waiter cut it up into portions and then gave them to us. He recommended that we particularly savour the cheek portion which contains the finest meat in his opinion. Oh my! This really was heavenly – it absolutely was one of the finest dishes that we had ever eaten.
Cheeses, desserts, and some sherry
Next on the menu was a selection of local, artisanal cheeses from the cheese trolley. We opted for a mix of cows’, sheep’s, and goats’ cheeses, with some harder cheeses alongside some softer. They were served with local compotes. You can never really go wrong with a cheese trolley, can you??
After this we were offered a choice of desserts. We decided to take one of each so that we got to try both of their offerings. The Apple Tart, which had the finest and most thinly cut slices of apple sat on top of it, there was a lovely quenelle of ice cream and a candle (as we were celebrating our anniversary). The real winner though was their famous IBAI flan which was absolutely delicious. Rich, luxurious, velveteen.
To go with these desserts, we had the chance to try something very special – an Oloroso sherry that was served directly from a Demijohn. This sherry was made of a blend that had an average age of over 100 years! It was an absolutely remarkable drink. The colour was so deep and rich in the glass. The nose was full of caramel, hazelnut, and dark chocolate truffle notes. On the mouth it was deep and dark, almost a burnt caramel kind of profile that gave way to mocha notes. The finish was extraordinary; it lasted fully over three minutes. It was a perfect accompaniment to the desserts. A real reminder that sherry is one of the wine world’s most under-appreciated offerings.
In conclusion
That was quite the lunch, and just the right way to celebrate 14 years of marriage. We are lucky to have eaten at some very special places all around the world over that time. Several restaurants and dishes just stay with you, and you will always remember them. I am confident that the turbot we were served at Ibai will be one of those experiences. There are all sorts of reasons to go to San Sebastián, but I would definitely say that Ibai is one of those.
timmilford.com 