Ezcaray By Francis Paniego

I would highly recommend this for a special occasion, booked it based on tripadvisor reviews and we were not disappointed. The food and service are amazing and the cards explaining each course were a really nice idea and lovely keepsake of our lovely night here. This is a real culinary experience, and probably one of the best taster menus I've ever had.

Hugely disappointing. The room was sparse and very bright. Not conducive for a dinner. The service was simply a conveyor belt approach, delivering dishes far too quickly with no panache. Just a very fast and simple explanation of each dish and then quickly whisking away for the next dish. No sweeping of table or folding of napkins when taking a comfort break. The staff had no passion for their role. Hardly five star. As for the food, bland would be an adequate description. Taste buds were not awoken or excited. Some dishes looked interesting but did not live up to the visual expectation. The final main course of the tasting menu, there is no al a carte, was pigeon which was inedible as the meat was so tough. Dessert was described as being served warm, it was served cold. Sadly nothing good to report, Cafe Saigon next door a far superior option.

My husband and I along with our 8 month old had an exceptional lunch at this pop up. The service was outstanding and the food was creative and delicious. We loved the “olives,” croquettes, and meatballs. The staff was so kind and brought our little toys to keep our son occupied while we enjoyed our lunch. It was so nice to be able to have a fancier meal :

We had an outstanding lunch on our first day in San Sebastián. Elegant and refined food. The omelet and the olives and the oil....delicious. What a find.

We were doing a 3 week European trip and ate in many restaurants along the way and I will say that Ezcaray 's food was by far the most unique we had (possibly ever had). Sometimes places that try too hard to re-invent and dabble in molecular gastronomy don 't always taste good, but Ezcaray was actually very good. I tried things I wouldn 't normally eat and actually liked them. Everything was presented very beautifully and professionally. It started out at a station near the entrance where we were served a mocktail Cold Infusion with a few amuse-bouches including black olives that looked like black olives, but were actually cheese. We enjoyed that since we had no idea before we ate them. Everything was very good throughout the whole meal, but the standouts for me were the Croquettes (I could have eaten a whole meal of these) and the Cod Tripe (something I would not normally eat, but it tasted and looked like gnocchi). We even had a very picky eater in the group who they accommodated on every course (they seriously had to re-make everything for her personally after she had a reaction to the peppers during the amuse-bouche). It was very kind of them, not every restaurant will do that. The only minor complaints I had were that it was pretty bright in the restaurant. It 's a very beautifully decorated room and I like to be able to see my food, but the lighting felt a little bright for such a nice place. Just slightly dimmer would have set a better mood. Also the beginning part of the meal before they seat you could have been done in a more private or out of the way area, or perhaps there should be a better system. We had to wait 15 minutes after our reservation out in the bar area of the hotel because they bring each group in one at a time to have their amuse-bouches. I like the personalized experience, but we didn 't really understand why we were having to wait until we actually got in there. Overall though, this was a very good dining experience that I recommend to anyone who likes tasting menus and unique, refined food. I wouldn 't be surprised if it gets Michelin Stars, it is certainly worthy of it in my opinion. Of course Francis Paniego 's other restaurants have them so I 'm sure it 's only a matter of time.