Mugaritz

Aldura Gunea Aldea, 20, 20100 Errenteria, Gipuzkoa, Spain

There are some eating experiences you will never forget. It could be something as simple as grandma’s go-to sandwich, the first taste of street food or, as the case may be, 32 courses of challenging Basque cuisine.

Chef Andoni Luis Aduriz is the rightful heir to Ferran Adrià’s molecular gastronomy throne. It’s a weighty mantle, representing a part of Spain that prides itself as being the world leader in boundary-shattering food. At first glance the restaurant looks normal: pine plays glass, there’s a reception area, tables are spaced as you’d expect for two-star Michelin. Though look a little closer and the mind starts to trip. Where’s the cutlery? Why is there a broken plate on the table? Where are the staff? It all hints at the experience to come. All courses are eaten with bare hands. From the signature ‘baguette’ (a baked sweet potato that looks, feels and smells like bread) to glazed lamb with salted leaves, chilled crab threads and the two best desserts this writer has tried in toasted soup of oxidised wine (a marshmallow-shaped Michelin Man) and kombucha mother and strawberries, whichis so pure it verges on a religious experience.