Aratz — Restaurant in San Sebastián

I am unfortunately unable to leave a positive review for Aratz, despite being very excited to eat here having travelled across the world from Australia. When deciding on dishes to order, our waiter Jorge suggested to substitute our selection of Cod in Piperrada for Tuna in Pipperrada, which was the "fish of the day" which had a better taste. Firstly, the prawns we had ordered as starter were decent and tasted fresh, although still contained some sand after peeling the prawn.

Unfortunately, eating the tuna immediately gave both me and my partner itching, swelling, and inflammation in the mouth, tongue, and throat suggestive of Scromboid food poisoning. Both me and my partner are deeply familiar with chili peppers as well as tuna, and this is not at all the typical response to this dish. A few minutes after eating a few bites, we also experienced chills, rapid heartbeat, nausea, and headache, which are further symptoms indicative of Scromboid food poisoning. Our waiter Jorge was gracious to give us a small discount to our meal, but overall prawns, the tuna, bread, and two waters was 60 euros, which is not at all acceptable considering our experience with the meal. Other reviews of the food seem positive, but none mention the tuna. Please keep this in mind if you...

I’ve been thinking on whether to post this but after a few weeks still thinking about it…

The waitress in this place was SO rude. She seemed to hate us. She threw (literally) the cutlery onto the table rather than placing it. She was extremely hostile, making us feel unwelcome. Not the best considering we spent €142 on a meal for two without alcohol.

The barman was equally displeased to see us. Shrugging us off when we walked in a bit too early for dinner service (we just wanted to make a reservation). Only nice experience was the lady that made the reservathon was friendly - thanks for treating us as humans!

So angry at how we were treated overall! Not sure if they were racist (we are not white) as other guests seemed to be getting a better service.

The food unfortunately was mediocre too. The turbot skin was limp and slimy (!) not nice and crisp like you would expect when grilled. The octopus was fine but nothing you can’t get in much cheaper places. Chips and salad were normal, nothing special. The flan was so bad. Literally the worst I’ve ever had, it wasn’t firm but falling part 😞

Please vote with your pocket and avoid...

A wonderful Basque restaurant near the Antigua neighborhood in San Sebastián. The atmosphere has it all; al fresco, a casual dining room and a separate room for white tablecloths/fine dining. Servers can come off a bit aloof but they’re honestly very nice, efficient and they do have got a lot of ground to cover.

For our visit we ordered raciones the truffle asparagus in a vinaigrette, crab stuffed peppers and the squid in its own ink. The raciones are served with bread to dip in the raciones sauce.

The asparagus was fantastic. Fat white and tender spears of asparagus served in a vinaigrette with a bit of truffle. The dish was outstanding and I could’ve eaten my weight in it.

The stuffed peppers were very good as well. The crab filling had large chunks of crab meat that elevated the flavor of the crab itself yet was also very rich and decadent. The sauce was creamy and had a great red pepper aroma. The peppers themselves were perfectly cooked and the sweetness was a nice contrast to the rich filling and cream.

The squid in its own ink was executed very very will.

Great experience, would...