Reviews Ametsa

Having eaten at Arzak a few years ago and after reading a few reviews, I was excited and cautious.

The amuse bouche were definitely related and very well executed. We had the tasting menu as wanted to really take in the whole experience- we were not the only ones. Every dish was beautiful and well explained. The sea bass was stunning, easily the best dish on the menu. Only one gripe......2 desserts each, and full sided ones at that! It was quite a way to end a tasting menu!

Overall, not a patch on Arzak, but a great experience. Maitre d' feels a little along the lines of Jean-Claude at G.R, Hospital Rd,......but not as warming, but in that direction.

A fantastic place to go for a real basque experience in London.

Stars of the show were the plate of bite-sized aperitivos, with our favourite being the kataifi with scorpion fish cake – a crispy delight with no danger of the pastry of overpowering the filling. Unusually for me, as I tend to dislike the sweet-savoury mix, my favourite dish of the night was the tuna with cinnamon on fire, closely followed by the egg in the leaf. Throughout the evening, all the flavours were complex, yet distinctively Spanish, particularly evident in the langoustine crunchy-crepe. And when our final course arrived, the big truffle, which I remembered having at the Taste of London, I was pleased to discover that this one was even bigger, and the beautifully sweet and gooey brownie surprise in the middle was even better.

I’m in the process of planning a trip to San Sebastian and the Basque region.  It’s a part of Spain well known for a concentration of excellent restaurants and bars – including Arzak – a three-star Michelin restaurant. In the meantime and with some serendipity, I got an invitation to visit Ametsa with Arzak Instruction – a unique collaboration between Elena Arzak, her father Juan Mari Arzak, and Mikel Sorazu, Igor Zalakain and Xabier Gutierrez.  Executive Head Chef, Sergi Sanz trained with Arzak in Spain after starting his career working under Ferran Adria at the El Bulli Hotel Hacienda Benazuza in Andalucia.  At Ametsa, the menu is an innovative display of fine dining with clear references to both Spanish heritage dishes and to molecular gastronomy.  The restaurant is based in The Halkin hotel, a discrete, luxurious place in a quiet road just off Hyde Park.

Does any part of this restaurants name “Ametsa with Arzak Instruction” ring any bells? Well if you call yourself a foodie – it should do (otherwise I’ll let you off). Arzak is a Spanish restaurant in San Sebastian and is regularly refereed to as one of the best restaurants in the world, with no less than three Michelin stars of course. With such a wealth of accolades you could imagine the frenzy when the Arzak family announced the opening of a London venture in 2013, naming it Ametsa with Arzak Instruction. The restaurant sits within the sumptuous Halkin by Como hotel in London’s Belgravia district and if this restaurant has one thing spot on, it’s the décor – modern, artistic and unusual – the perfect setting for a Michelin dining experience (Ametsa has one star at the time of writing this). Elena Arzak was the lady who really put this London venture together (although isn’t cooking in the kitchens) and has done a great job – although it’s nothing like the San Sebastian restaurant.

Went for dinner with a couple of friends. We chose dishes for the menu rather than have the tasting menu, for no other reason than not being overly hungry. Beautiful loiking dishes, that were freah and tasty. The waiting staf were friendly and eager to help with recommendationa for food and wine choices. They even gave us a dish for free due to the fact it didnt arrive with our starters. My dessert was fabulous, tasting and looking. I would definitely return to try the tasting menu.

May 11, 2015 · by eatwithsteph · in Spanish . · Ametsa with Arzak Instruction History and Background : 1 Michelin star  Some of the critics’ anticipated openings of 2013. Opened by Elena Arzak, deemed to be the Best Female Chef in 2012 , the restaurant is located on the ground floor of The Halkin Hotel, just off Hyde Park Tube Station specialising in Basque Spanish food.  Arrival was to a rather bland and soulless room lined up with square tables and plain white walls, but upon looking up at the ceiling, you will find 7000 glass test tubes filled with cumin and spices. Rather impressive. Sitting down can be rather daunting as I watched half a dozen pair of eyes seep into me as I take my seat… guess this is what happens when you’re their first customer of the day.. The meal: We got a set deal for lunch here for just £27, a deal which I believe they still have at the moment. Tasting menus can be up to £145 and if ordering from the A La Carte expect it to be well over £50. So I do recommend the set lunch if you are to visit! Amuse bouche to start off with. I want their slanted glass tube! Chipirones en su Tinta (Black Ink Squid) Jamon Iberico sobre Almohadas de Pan con Tomate Iberico Ham over Bread Pillow Pimientos d

The dominant element of the restaurant is the feature ceiling which is created from 7,000 glass test tubes containing different coloured spices. The test tubes create a wave-like effect which is both artistic and unusual; though I did think it would be unfortunate if one ever broke and created a shower of spice!

Arzak is one of the best restaurants in the world (it has 3 Michelin stars) and is located in San Sebastian, where the best female chef (as voted in 2012 by the St Pellegrino awards) Elena Arzak works with her father Juan Mari Arzak. Ametsa is a collaboration restaurant located in London, by Hyde Park, that has been influenced by the cooking of the Arzak family and the restaurant. Although many times Elena and Juan have said they don’t want Ametsa to be exactly like Arzak and a sister restaurant, Ametsa is influenced by Arzak, but there is only one Arzak. Ametsa opened in the spring 2013 and has been one of the most anticipated openings of this year. It is located in the Halkin hotel, by Hyde Park Corner and has recently won 1 Michelin star. Ametsa, just like Arzak, present ‘New Basque Cuisine’, pairing the earthy flavours and techniques of Spain’s Basque

The only minor downsides were the quiet, formal atmosphere - I'm sure it's great for lunch meetings - and I wasn't totally sold on the interiors; the thousands of test tubes filled with spices suspended from the ceiling, bright spotlights and stainless steel serving plates added to the slightly sterile feel. Other than those small details, the food and service were impeccable.

“Nahm move over, the Basques are in town and with Ametsa they mean serious business”.   After having won just about everything there is to win with their legendary restaurant Arzak , father and daughter tag-team Juan Mari and Elena Arzák are now taking on the challenge of introducing  foodies in London to their Basque style of avant garde cooking with their new restaurant  Ametsa .   Given the buzz around anything Arzak , it comes as no surprise that on the day that the reservation lines opened for  Ametsa  the restaurant received over a 1,000 requests for a table. We were lucky enough to secure a booking and decided to visit  Ametsa  on their opening day. In fact we were the first guests to be seated and served for dinner on the opening night at Ametsa.

I’d really not fancied going to Ametsa. It wasn’t only the name that put me off. The negative reviews didn’t help. Ametsa with Arzak Instruction? What does that even mean? I’d heard of Arzak, the restaurant in San Sebastian. It’s on my bucket list. A look at the Arzak website shows Arzak has a separate arm, called Arzak Instruction, which offers consultancy services to food operators. So this is the reason for the unusual name. It’s very literal. And a bit of a mouthful. The restaurant is in the Halkin Hotel, yet another one of those London places that I can’t believe I haven’t been to before. I was dining with legendary PR guru I.P., who was game for a bit of food experimentation. The table was booked for 7pm and we were both early. We were shown to the bar and sat there happily chatting for forty-five minutes, until I was forced to ask the waiter whether we could be shown into the restaurant.

Mr Silver and I had an amazing time on our honeymoon adventure, but sadly all good things must come to an end.

When we arrived home from honeymoon we had a huge pile of post containing the usual bills, junk mail and bank statements. But there was one very exciting item in our mountain of mail:

A beautifully presented box with an exciting invitation inside...

Don't you always feel like a kid at Christmas when you receive an exciting package in the post?

When I give someone special a gift, I want give him or her something thoughtful and meaningful. I don't think there's anything better than a wonderful experience, for example when I gave Mr S a trip to Paris for his birthday or when I treated my best friend to Pollen Street Social for hers... I think the best gift of all is time spent together, it's cheesy but true! TRULY offer exactly these kind of gift experiences on their website so that you select the perfect present for your partner, mum, dad, friend or colleague. They haven't cornered the pet market yet but I can drop that in the suggestion box if you need something for your dog!

The very generous folk at TRULY had spotted me on twitter and offered me a choice of their luxury gift experiences to review for SilverSpoon London. As I browsed their website I was astounded by the collection of gifts that they had on offer; everything from Michelin dining experiences, to luxurious city breaks, to spa trips in the Himalayas. They can even fly you into space...well close to it anyway ;)

The option I chose was slightly more down to earth; a lunch for two at Michelin starred Ametza with Arzak Instruction at the Halkin Hotel, very conveniently located in walking distance from our flat.

I found the whole process with TRULY incredibly smooth. All you need do contact the TRULY Concierge who arranges everything for you. She assured me we wouldn't need to bring the voucher and we could just show up and give our name on the door.

I'd wanted to visit Ametsa with Arzak Instruction ever since it opened and Mr Silver and I were incredibly excited to experience our post-honeymoon treat!

From my comfortable red leather sofa I had a great view of the dining room.

The dominant element of the restaurant is the feature ceiling which is created from 7,000 glass test tubes containing different coloured spices. The test tubes create a wave-like effect which is both artistic and unusual; though I did think it would be unfortunate if one ever broke and created a shower of spice!

So why the long-winded name? Arzak, the original restaurant in San Sebastian, is one of the top ten restaurants in the world. Chef Juan Mari Arzak leads the kitchen and produces reworked versions of traditional Basque dishes using local ingredients and innovative techniques. His daughter, Elena Arzak Espina is his partner in running the kitchen and the business. Together they collaborated to bring their concept to the UK and Ametsa with Arzak Instruction was born.

The TRULY gift experience includes the set lunch option offered by the restaurant. As is customary, we also ordered a glass of champers each to wash down our Spanish feast.

The set lunch commenced with a selection of tapas.

A strawberry soup was a light and refreshing way to start, a bit like a strawberry smoothie. It was an interesting twist on a gazpacho soup, and one that worked very well.

Bread wrapped in Iberico ham surprised us. It looked somewhat heavy but the bread was light, crisp and airy and the ham gave a delicious salty tang.

The lamb meatballs were delicately presented with an adornment of flower petals. These were tasty but I would have loved an extra spicy kick of paprika coming through in the flavour.

Black ink squid. Squid is one of my favourite seafood options and Ametsa's version was tender and juicy with no hint of chewiness. I did have to double check with Mr S that it hadn't turned my mouth black, but he gave me the all clear.

There were two options for main course from the set menu:

Mr Silver chose a lovely succulent piece of pork belly for his main course. The meat course was perfectly paired with a side dish of nectarines.

Personally, I don't like fruit with my savoury dishes but Mr Silver loved the combination.

I chose hake with celery. My fish was incredibly well cooked and seasoned, the flesh of the fish gently fell apart under my fork and I enjoyed every mouthful.

It was accompanied by a light crispy salad, made even more zesty by the inclusion of grapefruit.

For supplement of £6.50 we had the option of adding dessert. On seeing the word 'custard' on the menu, Mr Silver was not going to say no to this!

The dessert was comprised of pineapple ice-cream topped with clove custard. The refreshing pudding sat under a tent of toasted milk...god only knows how chefs devise the clever feats of gastronomic genius!

The finally our meal included coffee and petit fours.

Which included a fudge bite, a small spicy cake and what can only be described as a large jelly tot. When we finished our lunch there was no need to think about paying for our meal, TRULY had taken care of everything and all we needed to do pay for our extras. I have to say thank you very much to TRULY for such a kind wedding gift, it was was the perfect way to cheer us up post honeymoon and a fabulous way of spending time together.

The pressure of a 65th birthday meal for someone who has fine dined in London for over 40 years. It's a big ask to impress him at this stage, but I desperately wanted to.

I first heard about this relatively new restaurant on the scene at a fairly prestigious charity auction where a dinner for two was one of the prizes. I figured it must be good. I looked a little further into it and learned that they had earned their first Michelin star soon after opening. Then I find out that it's the first foreign venture of the Arzak duo who own one of the world's best restaurants, Arzak, in San Sebastián.

Having been to San Sebastián with my 65 year old, I knew this was meant to be.

And so it didn't disappoint. In fact, it surprised and delighted from start to finish.

It begins with a team of staff who have all worked together from the initial conception of the restaurant through development and implementation through to the present day. We learned this from a brief exchange with the head waiter at the end of the meal. What this provided was not only a background of passion and expertise, but a sense of solidarity and teamwork that made us feel part of their team. The staff were not intrusive but struck that perfect balance between personability and professionalism. It's easy in restaurants such as this to feel overwhelmed and uncomfortable with the formality. That is certainly not the case here.

On the culinary front, we couldn't resist the £105 tasting menu. It was spectacular. Ok, egg with "chistorra" and crumbs doesn't sound immediately profound, but I can assure you that we were glowing with amazement as the yolk sauce mixed with the crumbs and rich mans chorizo that is "chistorra" hit our pallets.

Langoustines on lichens, scallops and spider crab with cassava soufflé, tomatoes stuffed with Iberian ham, sea bass with leek ash amongst many other dishes left us wondering how on earth another restaurant in San Sebastián by the same people could be two whole Michelin Stars better?

Well, there's our excuse to go back...

Had a lovely afternoon meal. The super crispy onion skin which was full of flavour was particularly memorable, as were the translucent paper-thin sweet potato. The dishes were elegant and well cooked but not outstanding in flavour. Staff were very friendly and well mannered though not super attentive. Overall, a very pleasant experience.

This is in my top 3 list of favourite restaurants; and with so many good options in London; this is a bit achievement; this is one of those restaurants you will remember. The service was just brilliant and our waitress was lovely; I which I had asked for her name but she is from Ecuador and was friendly, professional and lovely - a pleasure to talk to her. The food was excellent; we had 5 different dishes and each of them was excellent; I can't decide which one I preferred the most but they're all delicious. It is also very central so easy to get to; the only thing I wasn't very keen on was the decoration as it feel a bit clinical; however, this is just matter of time as my partner completely loved it.

Excellent. Came here for afternoon tea, and went away impressed with the variety and combinations of flavours and textures. The savoury bites in particular were creative and complex, but at the same time you do not feel any of it was forced - every ingredient played an important part! The sweet bites were also great, and not too sweet as some afternoon teas can be. Overall, a delicious and well-portioned afternoon tea with thoughtful creations.

We partnered with Ametsa to host a lovely private event, with special access to a very cosy private dining room behind the bar. With very little hints of what to expect from a minimally descriptive menu, every dish was a delightful artwork of surprising flavors and combinations—from an apple disguised as a peach, to a mysterious purple honey-combed shape candy which turned out to be a sweet potato. Each course was paired with an amazing Spanish wine, starting with two distinctive whites from various regions of Spain, followed by a punchy Bobal red, and vibrant moscatel wines to top off the evening. The creativity of the chef and the sommelier was undeniable. The service extremely attentive and friendly without being overbearing. While it’s easy to expect pretentiousness at an establishment as high class as this, I felt nothing but warmth, friendliness, a genuine sense of fun and passion in everything that was served. Would definitely return for either a date night or another private event!

For a special occasion, I thought that dining at Ametsa was a good experience. We went around Valentine's Day and booked the £50 special 6-course tasting menu deal thru Bookatable. I thought that the food was uniquely presented, playful yet delicious. I would definitely recommend Ametsa if you want to celebrate a birthday, anniversary or other special date.

Beautiful Spanish/Basque food with artistic presentation. Lovely wines to match. We really enjoyed our dinner. Hidden gem in London

Loved this place. We choose the tasting menu, it was accompanied by a glass of cava, white and red wine. There were number of dishes served, small but filling. Waiting staff are very friendly and can't do enough for you.

Very good, little style over substance. But we had the tasting mine and there was more than enough very good things to overlook that point. A little pricey for what you get but still very good.