Un recorrido gastronómico de siete platos por el primer restaurante español con tres estrellas Michelin

We are also eaters of memories, of daydreams, of readings and desires. I had the good fortune to interview Benjamín Urdiain Mendoza (Ziordia, 1939-2023) in his village, on the border between Navarre and Álava. He was the first Spanish chef to achieve three Michelin stars (in 1987), and although you couldn't get a secret out of him even with a corkscrew handled by his friend, the legendary sommelier Custodio Zamarra, Urdiain instilled in me the desire to one day dine at one of the tables where the Rolling Stones sat after their 'end of the world' concert at the Vicente Calderón, Camilo José Cela (tables 3 and 6 were his favorites), Salvador Dalí, Zubin Meta, Vargas Llosa, Grace of Monaco, Farah Diva, Alain Delon or even Monsignor Tarancón himself in the years when, at those tables, we (all) were gambling with our common future without knowing it.

I was able to do so a few days ago. I had a splendid dinner, truly. Because the satisfaction comes from what's on the plate (a journey through the restaurant's historic dishes), but also from having been able to contemplate, for a few hours, a living legend of Spanish gastronomy, like someone peering into the Parthenon or pausing to admire the Mona Lisa in the Louvre in good company. The fact that former President Aznar dined in one of the private rooms that same evening helps to understand the place. One of those places where "the big shots" hang out, as the father of my admired Luis Landero would say.

Basque-Navarrese cuisine accents

If you ask, maître d' Luis Miguel Polo will open the small cupboard where about twenty black jackets (sizes 44 to 64) hang, available for diners who need one. There are also a few red ties in case a gentleman decides at the last minute not to clash with his table's dress code. This custom, by the way, came from Bilbao, from the years when Urdiain ran the kitchens at Artagan (the luxurious Palacio del Pino, opposite the Basilica of Begoña, designed by Alberto Erhardt). "It was the best in Bilbao; but we didn't let anyone in without a jacket. Imagine, in Bilbao, the fashion is to go to dinner with a sweater draped over your shoulders. In August, at Artagan, as many customers came in as came out. And no, we didn't have any jackets to lend," Urdiain, a master of sauces who prepared fifteen different sauces daily at Zalacaín, explained to me.

The restaurant, managed by the Urrechu Group, bases its cuisine on Urdiain's historical recipes. "It's not a French restaurant, nor does it serve French food. It's an international restaurant with French cuisine, obviously, since that's the 'core' of gastronomy, but also with modern Spanish cuisine," wrote Rafael Ansón in the fiftieth-anniversary book. A cuisine that draws heavily on Basque-Navarrese gastronomy and uses the work of Pío Baroja as a guiding thread in the dining room.

Zalacaín now employs a team of 50 people, many of whom have been with the staff for the past few years, including head chef Jorge Losa, who has lent his name to a signature tripe dish, as well as maîtres d'hôtel Roberto Jiménez and Luis Miguel Polo, and sommelier Raúl Revilla. They offer a "gastronomic journey through our menu" for €165.

The historical tour must include the Don Pío vase, the steak tartare of sirloin prepared on the spot with the famous soufflé potatoes, the Tellagorri cod (in the style of the founders Jesús Oyarbide and Chelo Apalategui), the sea bass with pink peppercorn sauce and scallop relish, those mushroom, truffle and foie gras ravioli that provide the sublime moment of the raising of the silver bells in unison, the mallard duck à la Royal or the Zalacaín crepes.

Three private rooms, named Rosita, Linda, and Catalina (the names of the three women who left three roses, black, red, and white, on the tomb of Zalacaín, the adventurer), were formerly Urbasa, Vajilla, and Imperio. From Catalina's ceiling hangs a chandelier from the Royal Glass Factory of La Granja, a twin of the one illuminating the Linda room. In Rosita, the walls are covered in silk, as are the Samarkanda lamps by Fortuny, the Venetian factory that carries on the creative legacy of the painter Mariano Fortuny. Today, Zalacaín offers a delightful experience for discerning palates who appreciate beauty and appreciate our culinary history.