Gastroteka Danontzat — Restaurant in Hondarribia/Fontarrabie

Hello reader, I am not from this town, I did not know the owner or any of his staff. I stumbled upon this joint totally by accident.

I normally avoid fine aka "fancy" dinner places like the plague, BUT, just like everything in life there are exceptions. And reader, this is an exception! I didn't even know it was listed as fine dining until two days later, it is that smooth of an operation. I was just passing through Spain and wanted to see the Basque country as I had heard good things. I landed at the airport with plans to drive on, but then I found this town and elected to stay. FYI if you are not cool, then just drive on to France or whatever. This fort town is like Hemmingway cool with solid vibes.

Anyway, this joint is a cozy one room restaurant joint with a bar. And it is perfect if you're about that life. The restaurant is very clean, and very well run, they all work like a well oiled machine. The staff clearly like their jobs and are just a blast to be around.

The food looked solid, with all different kinds, the steak looked amazing. They stayed packed with diners, But I don't eat "meals" when I am drinking, plus I was having too much fun at the bar. My wife tried their snack things like olives and such, and she said it was all top notch.

George the owner, is very cool and man I tell you what, he is just hell on wheels I totally fed off his energy and good vibes. He speaks english too, which is helpful as I only speak English and bad english. We elected to shut down that barroom every night! They have great taste in music.

The two guys working the floor and bar were also awesome and total pros, one dude speaks a lot of english, the other dude speaks a little too.

The cook is very cool, and y'all, he knows what he is doing.

Get the basque wines, AND try the sloe berry wine called patxaran! I can't pronounce it's name proper so I called it the red devil, and reader, it is so smooth, it is homemade hooch. It is in a big old green glass jug sitting on the end of bar. They serve it in little cold glasses, it goes damn good with the white basque wine. Don't pass on it, trust me y'all.

Readers, you will do yourself a disservice if you do not eat and drink at this joint. Don't be scare, just walk right up to the door and holla, they are friendly folk. ...

Danontzat was recommended to us by the staff at our hotel. Cannot say enough good things about this little gem. It was quite crowded, but the staff found us two seats at the bar. Chef Gorka Irisarri at Gastroteka Danontzat really enjoys what he does and has top notch staff who are all friendly yet professional and know their business. We ate here two nights after an amazing experience at Restaurant Arzak in San Sebastian and the experience at Danontzat was every bit as pleasurable and the service matched the Three Star. The highlight of our meal was each dish was "dressed" with a bit of the best olive oil i have ever tasted it was so good i bought a bottle from them to take - it was an Andalusian oil made from Picual olives that was the epitome of extra virgin olive oil and carried the scent of home grown tomatoes. Exceptional. They also did full pours for my gin an tonics. it was apparent that Chef Gorka wanted us to maximize our pleasure and we easily overcame our language barrier! the best part was watching his staff operate as a team to ensure each guest had the best experience possible. this is a well oiled machine and one that i inted to experience again. i had the best anchovies i have ever eaten, followed by rabo de toro; my wife got the most exquisite white asparagus and steak tartare. But watching chef and his team in action was the highlight of our experience. do not...

Where do I begin? Let me preface this by saying that we are professionals in the restaurant/service industry. My wife writes restaurant reviews in the New York Times, and has been all over Spain, including in Vascongadas (review coming up in about 10 days in the NYT). Service was okay but very slow for Spanish standards (two servers for an entire restaurant). Sangria was horrible (flavourless). The appetizers were really good, and highly reccomended (her review will also reflect that). The atmosphere was horrendous. There was a table with about 8 people and they were talking and laughing so much and so loud that we could not hear each other at all when we were trying to talk. When we told the server about our discomfort, he lied and said he would do something about it. He did not. When we complained again, we were told (by the server) that maybe we were in the wrong restaurant, and that this was normal behavior because we were in Vascongadas. Really? I am a native Spaniard, and having a table of people who are being so loud that you literally cannot hear each other speak, is NOT normal behavior anywhere. By definition, that hinders everybody's ability to have an enjoyable dinner. A restaurant should be an inclusive space where everyone feels comfortable and can enjoy their meal without having to wear earplugs. Very poor customer service. Please stay away, unless you are okay with what...