Martín Berasategui, Lasarte-Oria, Spain

A short time into the meal we had at Martín Berasategui, the maître d' asked me if I was left handed. (I am. They then amend the placement of the cutlery to take this into account). This attention to detail for me encapsulates the highest level of service here, one of the best restaurant experiences we've ever had. The food too is beautiful, there is nothing here we don't absolutely love from start to finish. Make no mistake, €225+ drinks and service is a lot of money (for us) so it is absolutely vital that we go somewhere that is perfect. In our experience not all Michelin star restaurants are worth the money. Some seem to survive on hype and a high number on the World's 50 Best. Martín Berasategui however is well worth the price. Both the food and service were up there with the best we've ever experienced, anywhere.

We opt for The Great Tasting Menu.  (The dates in brackets are the year of origin of the dish).
A selection of bread and butters: boletus, spinach, beetroot and salted.

Rhubarb crunch with “Balfegó” tuna tartar and yuzu gel. (2017).

Mille-feuille of smoked eel, foie gras, spring onions and green apple. (1995).

Ham and truffle 'tortilla'. (2017).

Red Shrimp Royale and dill with Venta del Barón oil. (2014). This was probably my favourite.

Caviar gel with pickles of asparagus and its cream, salted with Añana’s salt. (2017).

Lightly marinated oyster with iced cucumber slush and K5, and spicy apple. (2015).

Tarama with beetroot and sour horseradish. (2017).

Vegetable hearts salad with seafood, cream of lettuce and iodized juice. (2001).
This was quite a few of our party's favourite dish.

Crayfish over an aniseed sea bed and coral mayonnaise. (2017).

'The Truffle' with fermented wild mushrooms and collard greens with 'Alma de Jerez' oil. (2015).

Gallo Celta Galician egg and citrus chicken stock with corn. (2017).

Grilled hake loin, coconut, red curry and liquid and crunchy razor shells. (2017). We recognise the 'Tortillitas de Camarones' element straight away, a variation of the bar snack from Andalucia.

Grilled Sirloin 'luisimi' over a bed of Swiss Chard chlorophyll and cheese bonbon. (2011). This was our requested replacement for the usual pigeon dish.

Desserts. Lemon with basil juice, green bean and almond. (2016).

Almond honeycomb with brittle bits and iced cinnamon. (2016).
Two of our friends had the wine flight to accompany the food whilst we shared a clean and fresh bottle of Mauro Godello (2014). Another lovely touch was when they poured out two glasses of dessert wine " a present from your friend Fernando." A pal from twitter and a friend of the restaurant had messaged them to tell them we were dining with them that day. This was the icing on the cake of a perfect meal for us.

Sometimes I question why we do this, flying abroad a great expense just to eat a meal. Restaurants as good as this one provide the answer to that. If I am paying the price I realised lately that I don't really want to be 'challenged' as a diner. I just want to eat the most beautiful food imaginable and this is what we got at Martín Berasategui.
10/10.

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