RESTAURANT XAYA — Restaurant in Bayonne

Exceptional cooking, notably the beautifully presented octopus, tuna in fig leaf with pollen and red wine reduction (very cleverly proceeded by a small entremets of tuna and honey tartare to accustom the palate to the combination), and a brilliant Galician beef, also served with a little saussisson-style tartare.

How this restaurant doesn't have a Michelin star is beyond me, when others in Pays Basque are far beneath the standard set at Xaya.

The sole misstep, to our taste, was that the main desert choice was cream-heavy - a blueberry tart held in a delicate, crisp casing that was ready to wow with the intensity of the berries, but was overloaded with dulce de leche that clogged the palate just when it demanded refreshing.

From the moment we tasted the amuse-bouches that kicked off the evening we knew the food was going to be out of this world, and excepting the heavy-handed cream dollop on the tart, it lived up to the promise of those first mouthfuls.

By the end of the meal we were tiring, the high chairs proving uncomfortable over more than a 3 and half hour time span on a hot night in Biarritz (hence the low star rating for atmosphere). Service was impeccable, informative and friendly, and the speed with which dishes were presented was pitch perfect over the first three courses though slowed as the tables filled up with large parties. Nevertheless, it gave us space to digest and wouldn't have been an issue with the comfortable high-backed seating the majority of (low) tables enjoyed.

One of our party was gluten and dairy free and the extent to which her dietary requirements were accommodated, and the invention with which alternatives were presented was sincerely appreciated, and impressive.

From the small yet wide ranging wine list we selected a Priorat 'Iura' 2018 from the Atavus estate, a natural wine that showed great aromatic complexity and an excellent focus enlivened by a blend encompassing bone dry Pedro Ximinez. It combined magically with the tuna to further elevate both the dish...

We opted for the 5 course degustation menu and it was excellent! High quality tastings, 5 courses was perfect. Albg with the 5 courses there were several treats along the way. The duck was done beautifully rare with a forest berry reduction and truffle mousse, the white fish was with a mustard sauce, there was a tuna sashimi course, a cheese and greens course, and more… all of it was wonderful. The wine pairing complemented each course. The first wine was a Chardonnay… I’m not fond of Chardonnay but this was well balanced, the 2nd wine was really delicious. It was a Roussanne, Marsanne, white Genache, and Viognier blend; perfect with the fish. The duck and truffle mousse was paired with a 2014 Boudreaux that was fabulous & perfect with the duck, and the desert was so creative with many different distinct flavors complimenting each other with a natural fermented sparkling Muskat. It was a very fun experience. I highly...

We made two mistakes. Booking through trip advisor (we were late arriving into St Jean de Luz) and not ordering an entree. Maybe this offended the waiter who said we would have to wait for 45 minutes. We waited for 65 minutes to the embarrassment of some of our fellow diners who worked through 3 courses while we waited…and waited. Sadly the food was not worth the wait. An over cooked stuffed squid with a tasteless rice dish and a very odd and lifeless vegetarian dish, also lacking in flavour. Both dishes seemed like they had been sitting on the pass for a while. We didn’t dare wait for desert for fear of missing breakfast! A small carafe of white wine and a bill for €72. Lacklustre food, zero service and shockingly poor value. At the end, our poor experience was acknowledged. I’d have much preferred good service...