Hi friends! I know It’s been a minute, but I’m finally back from a wonderful three week siesta to Spain and Lisbon. I couldn’t wait any longer to tell you about the amazing food experiences we had over there. This post will concentrate on San Sebastian and then the next one on Lisbon.


Me on a narrow street in Getaria. It was a gorgeous warm summer day.

Michael and I were in San Sebastian about 15 years ago and we’ve been itching to go back ever since. Hands down, Spain is where you go for the best food in the world. When we were making plans for our summer trip, we decided to meet some friends in Lisbon with a stop in San Sebastian beforehand. We were VERY happy with this decision. Our friend Gerry  Dawes.
https://www.gerrydawesspain.com a prominent writer who has spent his career exploring Spanish food and wine, helped us plan our restaurant itinerary. Muchas Gracias Gerry!!!!

I want to tell you about two very different restaurants that we spent our time at on this trip. The first being Kaia Kaipe in Getaria, a beautiful seaside town about 30 minutes from San Sebastian, Spain. Before Kaia Kaipe, we made a necessary stop at the Cristóbal Balenciaga Museoa, a museum dedicated to Cristóbal Balenciaga who was born right in Getaria. Anyone who is even slightly fashion-focused should definitely visit this museum!

Balenciaga Museum

Balenciaga Museum

We worked up quite the appetite for our meal at Kaia Kaipe. I have two words for you. Hake cheeks. Hake is a white fish indigenous to the waters around San Sebastian. The cheeks were a little bit slimy, but mainly creamy and so so tasty. We loved them.

 

Hake cheeks

Another dish we loved was the grilled turbot. This dish was phenomenal and most definitely worth the hype. The best part about the whole experience was getting to dine while overlooking the very waters where all of this fresh fish was caught. We finished the night with a warm chocolate cake with mango sorbet and a fantastic bottle of Spanish Albarino, a light-bodied white wine (mainly from Spain and Portugal) with high acidity, refreshing citrus flavors and a subtle saltiness.

Grilled turbot

The next day we drove to the 3-Michelin Star Azurmendi Restaurant near Bilbao, the largest city in the Basque region of northern Spain. We don’t normally go for long drawn out meals anymore.  We usually prefer much simpler food, but this lunch was spectacular. Luckily, we had plenty of time afterwards to digest.

They call dining at Azurmendi  an experience and it truly was that. We started our meal in the garden with a picnic. We opened a basket filled with little bites. Some were soft, some were crunchy and some were liquid. Then we were led into the kitchen where we were offered a truffled egg and other delights.  Afterwards they took us to the greenhouse and then finally we sat for lunch.   Since words cannot possibly do this food the justice it deserves, I’m going to show you some photos.

amuse buche

 

Oyster, Olive and olive oil

 

Roasted Squid

 

Roasted and peeled lobster with coffee butter and purple onion

 

Honey and a thousand flowers

 

Petits fours

Everything was truly divine! And you know me, the meal wouldn’t have been complete without a conversation with the chef Eneko Atxa after our meal.

While our whole trip was amazing, these two restaurants in San Sebastian  were some of the biggest highlights. I would add them to your list if you plan on making a trip to Spain anytime soon. I know I’ll be dreaming about all of the amazing fresh seafood for a while!

I’d love to hear if any of you have been to Kaia Kaipe or Azurmendi, or if you have any other restaurant suggestions for my next trip. 🙂 Thanks for following along!

And very soon I will be announcing the date for my next cabaret show. I know so many of you have been asking me.  I will definitely do another one soon!!!

Xo,

Pamela