Amazing Crab and Steak at Rekondo!!

Rekondo, San Sebastian

April 19th 2013

Outside the Rekondo, San Sebastian

Rekondo is slipping into the mists of fading memory, though it was a memorable lunch and one worth repeating should the opportunity arise.

Rising lazily at 8am and sauntering down for a full breakfast at the Hotel Londres, we had a couple of hours for morning sightseeing around San Sebastian town. 

It was a bit rainy as we set off, armed with hotel map and umbrella and directions from the concierge. The foodies in the group had opted to go in search of the Spanish breakfast churrillo - sweet deep fried dough traditionally eaten with chocolate. Some of the ladies naturally wanted to shop and the gentlemen kept them company, carrying the bags and taking photos. 

Inside the Rekondo, San Sebastian

The small part of San Sebastian that we were able to tour showed it to be a pretty town. The pedestrian area had lots of trees that were starting to blossom, and the wet grey skies quickly dissolved to sparkling blue as a glorious morning made itself known to this part of the planet. We went to the new Cathedral and shopped our way back through the old town to the old cathedral before walking back to the hotel along the boardwalk around the east half of the bay. 

There's a charm about San Sebastian. Nestling at the gateway to the Bay of Biscay, there is some serious wealth here alongside the occasional poverty of the street sleepers, though none seem to sit in judgement of the other.  It is. Permitted.  Live and let me live. The occasional police presence felt professional and firm, though as a visitor it is difficult to imagine how this feels to the native Basques with their continuing history of relations with the mainland Spain. But it felt safe and comfortable and people went about their business seemingly oblivious to the little white boy taking photos of his Lenglui in the warm Cantabrican sun.

We ambled back to the hotel to unload the booty and grab a quick change before boarding the bus for a ten minute barrel ride up the hill to the west of the bay for our lunch at Rekondo. 

Our lunch, ageing nicely

Rekondo had been built up on the foodie websites as the stuff of steak legend, with a wine cellar containing 150,000 bottles to pair with it. We saw the hand written wine list parked on the table as we walked in, looking like some Basque version of a Gutenburg Bible - all leather bound and priceless. So expectations were running high as we took our seats in the roomy and airy restaurant. They were heightened even further when we saw our lunch sitting on a wooden chopping board as we entered. This thick wedge of Basque Beef looked magnificent. As with our other food gatherings, we were seated lengthways which made for good converation and ease of sharing the food. Nice light and easy breezy ambience of rustic wood windows and brown marble flagstone floor with good natural lunchtime light showing off the brilliant white heavy cotton tablecloths on which pristine serviettes and flawless glasses waited to do their duty. 

The excellent Iberico Jamon

We started off with a Brut Rose NV Champagne by Jacques Selosse. Nice bead and bubble, with a slight blood orange tinge in the glass, this was a real tongue cutter of a champagne full of sharply acidic tingling lime. Just the ticket with the lightly fluffy yet nicely crunchy croquettes that had made their way to the table. 

The Iberico Jamon soon followed and this was belter - all light, sweet and dreamy good with fat and salt and meat mixing together in a taste of porcine heaven. The white 2006 Vincent Dauvissat Chablis Grand Cru "Les Clos" chosen to match proved an excellent choice - clean and light with apples and sweet nectarines that cut  the salt and fat to let the meat shine nicely. 

Next out was something totally unexpected. Never had an emotional experience with food before, but this was amazing.

The Crab that rolled back the years

Remember that scene at the end of the movie "Ratatouille" where the rat prepares a dish for the food critic and the taste takes him back to his childhood? It was like that for me with the Spider Crab. It had been scooped out and mixed with tomato, salt, pepper and sugar and ladled back into the shell. The combo of sweet stringy crab mush of flakes and texture took me right back to days when we would buy little glass jars of Shipham's Crab Paste from the Bateman's Supermarket and have them spread on buttered toast for breakfast or tea. Forty years plus I haven't tasted this, but here it was and it was like I was right back there. For the first time, I realised the power of taste and the emotional attachments it can trigger. It was incredible. A total flood of memories, times and impressions got released by this long forgotten taste. Even more so when it got spread with butter on the baguette. The salty butter and crusty bread took the whole thing to another level. The years totally rolled back. A real emotional impact with this one. Never had anything like this before. So, so powerful. 

The crab seemed to go better with the Champagne than the Chablis. The butter and bread brought out the yeast whilst the low acidity of the Chablis didn't quite seem to have the necessary cut.

The rest of the food got pretty much forgotten in this time machine of a dish. 

Sommelier circumcising the bottles

We ended up doing a vertical of the Lopez Vina Tondonia 1991, 1981, 1976 and 1968. All Riojas, the 1991 and 1981 were white with the others being red. The wine master had an unusual way of ensuring that none of the wines would be corked - he had an iron neck cutter that was heated over an open fire and then clasped around the neck of the bottle for a while. He would then remove it and splash some cold water across the cut, instantly and cleanly snapping the glass with the wine ready for pouring. 

The 1991 was clean and full and still with enough acidity to pair well with the crab and turbot.  

In comparison, the 1981 Tondonia was thicker with the smell of sherry and texture of a medium white burgundy. Full of oil and fire with a slightly sourish note of old lemons on the back end, it made for a great partner with the somewhat oily flakes of the turbot.  The crab had gone by this time.

Rekondo Steak and Chips

The ribeye came out with chips and sauted red pepper and tasted nice. That's all I have - nice. The meat was well done and seasoned well. Perhaps the memory of Extebarri was still too fresh, perhaps that Crab destroyed any thought I might have for the remainder of the food, perhaps I was just having too much of a good time. But it was nice, especially with the 1976 Tondonia Rioja that had been decapitated to pair with it - having that aged garnet brick red tinge, but coming over like a fine burgundy with subtle sour cherries in the mouth and finish. Still so much power and life in this one - amazing for a wine nearly forty years old.

The best was yet to come. The 1968 got opened and proved even more robust whilst retaining a subtlety and class that the 1976. Fruit, smoky cherry. Amazing power and finesse. Wow wow wow wow wow.

1976 Vina Tondonia

Someone got chatting to the table next to us and found winemaker Mariano Santos Puisa of Bodegas Mariano Santos presumably on a marketing trip. We being who we are, we managed to blag him into opening a few bottles of his best for us to try. And very nice it was too. Check him out - www.bodegasmarianosantos.es

We had a 1975 Dow's Port to finish. Very fine. Oak. balance, raisins and figs, smoke. Bit like top end cough medicine.

Rekondo has a wine cellar that is the stuff of legend. 150,000 bottles, many available for sale at silly prices. Everyone trotted off to oooh and aaaaah at the cellar. Myself and lenglui figured 20 people down there would be a bit claustrophobic so we lazed and finished off the remains of the wines on the table. 

1968 Vina Tondonia

2006 Chablis "Les Clos"

And that was it. A pleasant afternoon and an amazing experience with the crab. Great food and great wines and another place to return to with friends and an appetite. Some got back on the bus to head off into town in search of Pintxos whilst others took the opportunity to walk off lunch down the hill and along the promenade back to the hotel. There was another monster wine dinner ahead of us at the Mugaritz and we figured the more space we could create ahead of it the better we would cope. We would be right.

IWFS Kuala Lumpur at the Rekondo

Rekondo

Pasao de Igueldo, 57

20008 Donostia - San SXebastian

Tel: 943 21 29 07

www.rekondo.com

REKONDO MENU as at April 2013

STARTERS
CLAMS WITH LEMON

CHOWDER
IBERIAN HAM AND LOIN
MEDALLIONS OF FOIE, TANGERINE ICE CREAM CONE AND CHERRY JAM AND RED PLUM
SALMOREJO, FLOWERS AND SPROUTS

NICE SALAD WITH ANCHOVY AND CHILLI VINAIGRETTE

URT WARM SAUSAGE, PINEAPPLE JAM AND POTATO PURÉDE
SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH MUSHROOMS
GRILLED VEGETABLES WITH HAM POWDER

CARPACCIO OF CRAYFISH, PISTACHIO VINAIGRETTE AND GUACAMOLE

SCALLOPS GRILLED IN CILANTRO AND GINGER JUICE

CHOPPED LOBSTER, PRAWNS AND SCALLOPS, BLACK OLIVE VINAIGRETTE

PIQUILLO PEPPERS STUFFED LODOSA OXTAIL
WHITE GAMBA HUELVA

FISH
CLAMS IN GREEN SAUCE
QUEUE GRILLED HAKE
RICE WITH CLAMS
GRILLED SOLE
FILLETS OF HAKE IN GREEN SAUCE
HAKE KOKOTXAS
BAKED CRAB
GRILLED COD, PIL-PIL SAUCE AND ASPARAGUS
NICE TO PIPERRADA
SQUID IN INK
GRILLED TURBOT
LOBSTER (KG)
LOBSTER (KG)
COGOTE GRILLED HAKE

MEAT
DEER ROAST WITH APRICOTS AND MANGO JAM
SUCKLING PIG CONFIT WITH APPLE COMPOTE
SIRLOIN GRILLED WITH GARNISH
GRILLED SIRLOIN
BEEF CUTLET (KG)

DESSERTS
HOMEMADE CURD
CHEESEBOARD
PINA COLADA
CREAM JELLY ROLL WITH CUBAN MOJITO
BACON CHOCOLATE BROWNIE SKY
CHEESE ICE CREAM WITH RASPBERRY COULIS
VALENCIAN
STRUDEL WHITE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE AND ORANGE SAUCESTICKS OF CINNAMON CREAM

DESSERTS WE RECOMMEND ORDERING IN ADVANCE
CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH RASPBERRY SORBET
WARM APPLE TART