C
GRILL GODS
Man on fire: Asador Etxebarri, Axpe, Basque country
“In the flames of the fire lives something that can help ingredients reach their fullest potential.” These are the words of Bittor Arguinzoniz, high priest of the low flame who abandoned his job as a forester years ago to create one of the world’s most astounding grill shrines. Everything – from the homemade goat butter to the caviar-size spring peas to the grass-fed Galician beef to the apple tart – gets hit with smoke from wood the chef chops right outside the back door. But this isn’t the hard smoke of a pit master; this is the delicate finesse of an artist in full control of every bite that passes into the dining room. Ask 10 of the best chefs from around the world where they’d eat their last meal on earth, and probably half would tell you here, at the high-mountain altar of Etxebarri.
• Plaza de San Juan, 1, 48291 Atxondo, Bizkaia, +34 946 58 30 4
The turbot kings: Elkano, Getaria, Basque country.
On a quiet stretch of Asturian coastline, between the Cantabrian Sea and the Camino de Santiago, at first blush Güeyu Mar looks like a chiringuito – a mellow seafood shack. However, inside nothing about husband and wife Abel and Luisa’s work is the least bit laid-back: not the remarkable wine list, nor the specialised hand-cranked grills or the constantly rotating, individually sourced menu of fish and seafood. Depending on the day, your meal may begin with tiny, candy-sweet quisquilla (shrimp) and grilled oysters with caviar and conclude with any of half a dozen whole grilled fish: from the pull-apart flakes of grouper to big-bellied king fish rippled with fat and gelatin. Afterward, waddle down to the nearest stretch of sand for a siesta.
• Playa de Vega, 84, 33560 Ribadesella, Asturias, +34 985 86 08 63
Spain
Spain’s best restaurants – in the middle of nowhere