A grill house on the Getaria seafront, where the day's catch meets oak charcoal and very little else.
Good fish needs an honest fire and almost nothing else.
We let the catch lead, we read the charcoal by hand, and we serve the fish whole so the table can share it the way the coast always has.
The boats come in at dawn, and what they land is what we cook. We choose the fish, we salt it, and we lay it whole over oak charcoal until the skin crackles and the flesh comes away clean. There is no foam and no smoke for show.
The catch
Every morning we walk down to the harbour and choose by hand. Turbot, hake, sea bream, and whatever else the boats have landed worth grilling. If the sea gives little, the menu is short. We would rather serve five honest fish than thirty tired ones.
The grill
Our grills sit out in the open air, fed only with oak charcoal. We build the heat in the morning and read it through the day with a hand held close to the bars. The whole fish goes on in a wire basket, turned once, basted with a little of its own juices and nothing more.
The tide
The coast keeps its own clock and we follow it. Some fish are at their best in the cold months, others when the water warms. We do not fight the calendar. We cook what the tide brings in, and we tell you plainly what is good on the day you sit down.
Oak charcoal, an open grill, and a hand held close to the bars
The grills sit out in the open air. We build the heat in the morning and read it all day by feel, turning each fish once and basting it with a little of its own juices. That is the whole method, and it is the work of a lifetime to do it well.
What the boats bring in, and roughly when you will find it.
Our cornerstone fish, grilled whole and served off the bone for the table.
All yearThroat, cheeks, and loin, each cooked to the point the flakes just part.
Cold monthsLine caught and grilled crisp on the skin, dressed simply at the table.
Spring to autumnA moment on the hot bars with sea salt, no more handling than that.
When the boats land themScored and seared fast over a hot patch of coals, ink served alongside.
SummerFrom the harbour to the bars
A whole turbot off these grills is one of those plates you measure other fish against for years afterward.
A table by the window is held, whenever the tide brings you to Getaria.