euskalkultura.eus

Mallory Legg. The mountainous region writes recipes of high-quality, seasonal ingredients — hearty, smoking, and well-worth the escalating attention. Here are a handful of the best Basque and Basque-inspired restaurants in London, with the hope that the list continues to grow.

ALTA

Rob Roy Cameron is a mastermind at work in his flagship restaurant, Alta, and I won’t stop talking about it anytime soon. The dishes are groundbreaking, with the most extraordinary elements shining simply amongst what I consider some of the best sauce work in London. Go for any crudo on the menu, alongside the famed Sardine Empanada, any meat from the live-fire grill, before finishing with a La Vina Cheesecake.

Where: Ground Floor, Kingly Ct, Carnaby, London W1B 5PW
Website: www.alta-restaurant.com

"Alta blows me away every time. A spot that marries ambience, mastery in menu, and technical precision to a T."
Mallory, Food & Lifestyle Writer/Creator

LEGADO

Legado has been on everyone’s lips, especially after flashing their new Michelin star this year. The contemporary Spanish restaurants highlight many regions of Spain, with Basque influence squeezing into the menu as well. To me, this is a reservation I am clawing for, drooling over the promise of goat’s cheese tempura, skate wing tortilla, and the half suckling pig head. Plus, the Legado sandwich is, according to many, the best “sandwich” in town. My heart sings.

Where: Yards, Unit 1C Montacute, London E1 6HU
Website: www.legadorestaurants.com

PRINCE ARTHUR

The Prince Arthur is a Belgravia pub with a daily-changing menu — a hook in itself. Inspired by ingredients both Basque and British, they serve some of the highest quality produce of its peers. It is not very often that you see caviar tins flying around the pub, but that’s Belgravia for you. The menu is exceptional, with lamb sweetbreads, blue fin tunas, and sea urchin, to name just a few of the more than interesting ingredients on the menu. Don your finest loafers, and treat yourself to a bit of a Basque special.

Where: 11 Pimlico Rd, London SW1W 8NA
Website: www.prinearthurbelgravia.co.uk

IBAI

Ibai is a Basque grill over by the Barbican, keeping it simple with a palette planted firmly on the mountainous regions of Spain. Think Cantabrian anchovies, king crab rice, or a fullblood Wagyu, side of seared foie gras. It is here that Basque cuisine really shines with a traditional halo around it, a true and authentic gem.

Where: 92 Bartholomew Cl, London EC1A 7BN
Website: www.ibai.london

Ibai is Basque dining at its most elegant – bold flavours, beautiful simplicity and a menu built around seriously good produce.
Elle, Venue Partnerships Manager

PINTXITO

If you don’t know of Pintxito, you’ve probably seen it, right smack dab in the middle of Covent Garden. It’s inspired by the Pintxo bars of San Sebastián, Bilbao and towns across the Basque Country, and brings a clear taste of Northern Spain to such a central London locale. Moreover, it doesn’t take itself too seriously in both menu and prices, with nothing surpassing £20 and all Pintxos under £6. For me, it is my ideal spot for a bottle of Spanish wine, a handful of tapas, and a further mooch into Soho.

Where: 34 The Market, London WC2E 8RF
Website: www.pintxito.com

BRAT

Brat — probably the most notable of Basque restaurants in London. It’s a Michelin-starred joint housed in an old strip club — above my favourite Smoking Goat — ideal for a rustic, although lively atmosphere. The menu, though, is a force in itself and has written its way into many a best-restaurant-list. It reads as a list of produce or game, working to highlight heroes of a dish, prepared in ways so simple yet unlike anything else you may have had in the city. Wood pigeon skewers, wild venison chops, smoked mussel toast, cull yaw muttons — it’s London Basque food in a way that sets a blueprint for the rest.

Where: 4 Redchurch St, London E1 6JL
Website: www.bratrestaurant.co.uk

BAR VALETTE

Bar Valette is a laid-back, more relaxed restaurant highlight Basque food in a modern European-style dining room. It’s modern bar snacks and contemporary mains, the likes of buttermilk fried chicken in pine or hay smoked trout and creme fraiche. A wonderful spot for a date night, given its unique appeal in such an unhurried space.

Where: 28 Kingsland Rd, London E2 8AA
Website: www.barvalette.com

SAGARDI

There is no better way to end this list than with a nod to Sagardi, a traditional Basque food place served no-nonsense within a butcher’s shop. Sagardi fuels Basque culture in London, driven by incredibly passionate hands with love for land and craft. If there is a place to truly experience authentic and traditional Basque cuisine, it is here, amongst the Basque barbecues, the grilled fish, the brothers who run it and their grandmother, who inspired them.

Where: Cordy House, 95 Curtain Rd, EC2A 3BS
Website: www.sagardi.co.uk