AKELARE is San Sebastian's most recent entrant into the illustrious three-starred Michelin restaurant set, and JetMoney is puzzled as to how it came to get the top honour after dining there the other night.
It's up there alright - high on a hill above town, that is. And it's out there, too, by way of what chef Pedro Subijana presents on the plate. As one of the JetMoney team commented during our meal, "everything on the menu should be in quotes".
Admittedly, there were some delightful high notes during the night but things looked grim from the outset.
The first in a series of canapes came in a "party box" with four very different tastes and textures, none of which appealed to any of us - a dusty-tasting basil balloon, a scary black pudding roll, a bizarre fish-soup ball, and a chequer-board cracker of olive and red pepper which had the mouth-feel of paste.
Other starters included martini straws on ice (which were oddly medicinal in flavour) then liquid almonds and bread (these were good). The oysters in their "shell" didn't go down well at all. They were "like being hit in the face by a wave of sea water", commented one of our party, and "have the texture of sand", said another. We think you'd be hard pressed to eat four of them offered as an appetiser option. A mussel served topped with black bread was slightly more impressive.
Slices of melt-in-the-mouth Iberico ham came next, served draped over an inflated baguette crust which was smashed on delivery to complement the wonderfully yeasty meat. Think Vegemite overtones on the back of the palette. Yummo.
The dish of the night came next in the form of egg with caviar, cauliflower puree and chive butter. This was one of those things that looks and tastes better than it sounds, with the egg presented as a smooth, flat pancake shape of high sheen, topped with generous portions of Oesetra caviar. It was a cream and butter bomb, but the saltiness of the caviar cut through the richness of the delicious puree for perfect balance.
At this point, most of us went on to try different seafood options ranging from a visually impressive lobster salad with cider vinegar (this was good) to a fish and shellfish soup (it didn't get eaten), overcooked Hake with mussel and clams, and roasted lobster with spiced balloon (made of cheeze, incredibly). This last dish was more clever than it was great.
Of the meat dishes, including veal, pig's "trotters" and roasted milk-fed lamb, the latter alone was well received, standing out due to its succulent tenderness. It should really only be ordered, though, by those who can tolerate a high fat content.
Not one of the three desserts that hit the table was enjoyed. None was finished.
On a positive note, wine afficianados will be delighted with Akelare's wine list which was very good, peppered with lots of older vintages. It's also remarkably reasonable. We reackon we could have paid for our whole meal for four people for the price one would pay in Paris for the 1990 La Tache we enjoyed for just £680. It was a perfect bottle with beautiful fruit. Also amazing was a stunning 2004 Chassagne Montrachet "Les Ruchottes" for just £72.
Three-star glassware was also very much appreciated, with sommelier burgundy glasses produced for the La Tache.
Overall, JetMoney rates Akelare as a Michelin two-star at best. We've since eaten at another locale which we think may be more deserving of the top gong. More on that soon.
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