Eneko Atxa is a chef who is deeply rooted in the regional traditions of classic Basque cookery. His culinary inspiration were the dishes of his mother and grandmother, yet his current dishes reveal an inventiveness and imagination that go well beyond any constraints of regional or even national gastronomy.
The three Michelin stars garnered by his main restaurant Azurmendi, and the single star given to his less formal one called ENEKO in the same location, are given for a very good reason: they both deliver exceptional cuisine that is well worth a special journey. His restaurant in Lisbon, also called ENEKO, earned a Michelin star as well.
The restaurants in Spain, located atop a hill in Larrabetzu just 10 minutes outside Bilbao, are in a standalone glass-walled building with a garden on the upper level. This is where most of their vegetables and aromatics used in the kitchens are grown, surrounded by plants and grapevines. There is also a txakoli (white Basque wine) winery on the premises.
The experience begins the moment you enter the spacious indoor garden. The food at Azurmendi is honest, unique, and sublime. It’s an experience offering cutting-edge creativity in a unique bioclimatic building. Sustainability seems to be as important to this chef as quality ingredients and seasonal/regional specialties.
I have dined at Elkano, Berasategui, Can Roca, 11 Madison-Park, Noma, Ciel Bleu, and many other 3-Michelin starred restaurants and have never experienced a meal quite like what I have experienced at Azurmendi. The kitchen is ENEKO’s laboratory, and the results prove to me that gastronomy can be spirit-elevating as well as nutritional. At Azurmendi, eating well is no trivial matter.
Each plate becomes an empty canvas where tasty and visually inventive masterpieces are created. As far as I’m concerned, Azurmendi is at the top of the European restaurant firmament and certainly one among the very best in the world. And Chef Atxa is the Willem de Kooning or Joan Miró of the Spanish culinary world.
I usually met Chef Atxa during the annual Gastronomika conferences in San Sebastián, where all of the top Spanish chefs participate. He always had new dishes to offer, as well as informed opinions and ideas as to where Spanish gastronomy is headed and why. But eating in his restaurant reveals much more about his thinking, knowledge, and passion for food and great ingredients than a short interview would ever reveal.
If I seem to be gushing – yes, I am! Every meal at Azurmendi has turned out to be an exploration of unchartered culinary territory – a journey in time to tomorrow.
Chef Atxa’s tasting menus revealed to me an authentic conviction that there can be a better, more sustainable world, teaching us to differentiate the natural from the absurd and be appreciative of the fact that science doesn’t have to be at odds with common sense.
Manos Angelakis was one of the founders, the former Managing Editor for 25 years, the former Managing Editor Emeritus, and former Senior Food & Wine Writer of LuxuryWeb Magazine. He passed away in 2025 as an accomplished travel writer, photographer, and food and wine critic based in Hackensack, New Jersey. As a travel writer, he wrote extensively about numerous cities and countries. Manos was also certified as a Tuscan Wine Master and traveled to wine-producing areas in order to evaluate firsthand the product of top-rated vineyards. His articles in other publications include Vision Times and Epoch Times.
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