IBAI by Paulo Airaudo — Restaurant in San Sebastián

I want to highly recommend Ibai. I also want to address some of outlier reviews that failed to understand this establishment. If you enjoy great food and are willing to pay for an incredibly thoughtful tasting menu, you must try it. Ibai is among the best restaurants I have ever experienced.

When you come to Ibai you will feel like you are eating at someone’s home. It’s intimate and curated. Ibai only seats a few tables and the service is fantastic. Every wine recommendation and course was expertly explained and thought out.

The cuisine is Basque. It’s authentic, locally sourced, and prepared creatively. Lobster, mushroom broth, crab, oysters, foie, squid, pea soup, and veal sweetbreads were incredible courses that reflect local delicacies and intentional sourcing. The sea bream main course was my favorite preparation of grilled fish.

The cheese course is proudly presented by the chef and shows that Basque Country can compete with any French variant. As for dessert, it finished the production beautifully. Caviar on flan? You did not know that you needed it.

The wine list is fabulous and each recommendation from our server — who I believe was also the house sommelier —paired beautifully. Every wine felt fairly priced and picked with a purpose.

I can see that a few people are confused by the price and type of cuisine in the reviews. If I were them I would simply read about the restaurant before committing. Asking a fine dining establishment to lower its standards reflects poorly on the reviewer — not the chef.

I can find no fault with this restaurant and recommend it highly. Come with an open mind and trust the chef. You will be...

The only bad reviews seem to be those surprised by the price so let’s get that out of the way first- Ibai is expensive, with the base menu starting at 160€ per person even for lunch. But the chef got 2 stars in Argentina and delivers comparable quality at Ibai in a dining room of only 6 tables where they make you feel like you’re in someone’s home, in a good way. Service is warm and seems genuinely concerned with you having the best time possible. Food is exquisite with every dish being delicious unlike some other tasting menus that sacrifice taste for experimental wow factor. The lobster and foie gras starters were world class as were the truffle cheese amuse and osetra flan (think salted caramel vibes). Wine list was excellent and had some great values such as sold puligny Montrachet...

A last-minute reservation turned into an unforgettable experience, thanks to Elena who was incredibly helpful over the phone and managed to secure us a table. The space is beautiful, warm, and elegant, and the food was simply outstanding – every dish full of character and flavor. Martin guided us through the wine selection with professionalism and charm.

After our meal, while enjoying our coffee, we had the pleasure of meeting Chef Paulo, possibly the most down-to-earth, relaxed, and approachable chef we’ve ever encountered. We truly enjoyed the conversation and thank him for his time and openness.

A big thank you again to Elena, Martin, and Paulo for making our lunch at...