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Securing reservations at coveted restaurants around the world can be something of a competitive sport, especially when it comes to a certain kind of diner. You know the type, so sharply depicted in the dark comedy/horror film The Menu: Each elite reservation bagged is a status symbol, bragged about online or name-dropped to friends. Asador Etxebarri in the Basque Country in northern Spain is one such conquest.
A fixture on many global “best” lists, it’s notoriously difficult to get a table there, as well as to communicate with the staff — even after you send full payment in advance for the nearly $300 tasting menu. (Until I arrived at the restaurant, I wasn’t 100% sure whether I really had a reservation or had just been the victim of a scam.)
I’m usually hesitant about visiting such restaurants, jaded by their inclusion in so many superlative rankings. Due to the nature of my work as a food writer and cookbook author, as well as my deep love of food, I’ve had numerous experiences at these sorts of places. Often, they’ve left me disappointed (especially when I was paying). But while planning a milestone birthday last year, friends whose opinions I trust impressed on me that Asador Extebarri was different: a hyped-up restaurant truly worth the hype.
