Azurmendi, the best restaurant in Europe

USPA NEWS - The Basque restaurant Azurmendi, directed by chef Eneko Atxa, is the best restaurant in Europe 2015, according the OAD (Opinionated About Dining) guide, one of the more prestigious index of catering establishments on the world.

The OAD guide qualifies restaurants around the world and this year, for first time, was published in Spain. Azurmendi have three Michelin stars and head the list of 100 better restaurants in Europe. Its based in the locality of Larrabetzu, in the Basque province of Bizkaia, in the North Coast of Spain. OAD guide includes restaurant Tickets, directed by the brothers Ferrán and Albert Adriá, at No. 38 on the list.

According Eneko Atxa, "the differentiating value of Azurmendi comes marked by a territory, a way of understanding and tranmitting values that everyone has and that have been picked up at home". Really, Azurmendi is a culinary identity linked to a territorio, as Eneko Atxa says, and this identity is based on the products and roots of traditional Basque recipes, applying a touch of modernity to the local cuisine, achieving a perfect balance between the avantgarde and a deep-rooted tradition.

After debuting at number 19, "Eneko Atxa has accomplished what would appear to be the impossible and shot straight to the number 1 position. Fifteen kilometers east of Bilbao, Atxa's family, the leading producers of the popular local white wine Txakoli, built a 25-million-euro facility that includes not only a spectacular dining room offering views of the Basque countryside, but a complex series of gardens and greenhouses where Atxa raises as much of his own produce as he can. Though he worked in the kitchens of both Martín Berasategui and Andoni Aduriz, the subtle flavor profiles and nuanced nature of his cuisine demonstrate that the former seems to be having more of an influence on his current cuisine," OAD said.