Akelarre - Relais & Châteaux in San Sebastian

Akelarre - Excellent food, but disappointing overall experience.

Akelarre undoubtedly delivers on the food front - the tuna and hake were particularly exceptional, and the spectacular ocean views combined with the kitchen tour create a memorable atmosphere.

Unfortunately, the experience was marred by logistical issues. Dinner started late and didn't finish until 1 AM, which made the final courses less enjoyable. The wine service was also disappointing - we had to select wines ourselves without guidance, and weren't prompted for refills, resulting in some of us sitting through two entire courses without wine.

With such high expectations for a 3-Michelin-star restaurant, we expected a more seamless experience. The food alone deserves recognition, but the service doesn't match the stars in my opinion.

This is a hard one for me to rate as it is a Michelin 3* restaurant so naturally I am more critical and has higher expectations. But also because I don’t want them to feel pressured by my comments thus it took me a while to submit this review.

However I feel as a 3*, it’s better that they accept every customer’s feedback or opinion.

Firstly, we had a drink downstairs before the restaurant opened. When the table is ready, we had to bring our drinks up ourselves. I saw the same with other guests too. They should have bring it up for the guests instead. That to me is service.

Secondly, my husband wasn’t too pleased they put us next to the stairs. If it’s full he rather not be able to make a reservation than to be placed by the front door next to the stairs.

Overall, some food are really good, while some didn’t wowed us at all. I guess it normal to have varied taste but if it’s a place we would recommend or go back? Then the answer is no. We had both experienced 1 and 2 stars in our travels even in Amsterdam so to have our first 3* sub standard experience is quite disappointing.

What puzzles me is also the extensive list of starters and desserts. Why do we need so many courses? Our tummies were bursting already from too much food to enjoy the rest of the dishes.

3 things did stand out that night. The very friendly female server we had, the soft spoken sommelier and the fact that they took each table guests to visit their kitchen and spoke to the chef a little.