Life

A new Basque restaurant called Donostia will target to be a flag bearer for the Basque cuisine when it opens in central London this February after several months of hard work and preparations.

"The decision to open Donostia is a reflection of our passion for Basque gastronomy. We finally 'pulled the trigger' at the start of the year having found our premises in London, W1. Since then the starry eyed daydreams of serving pintxo, txakoli, bacalao, steak… have been replaced by the real life challenges of opening a restaurant", the owners says on the restaurant's website.

Donostia, the Basque name of the coastal city of San Sebastian, is one of the most famous tourist destinations in the Basque Country. It is home to several Michelin-starred restaurants as well as lots of bars that offer the traditional pintxos on a daily basis.

Former Barrafina head chef Tomasz Baranski, who has also worked at restaurants Fino and Brindisa for a number of years, will be heading up the kitchen. The new Donostia head chef has been recently adding to his experience by staging in two restaurants in San Sebastian in order to specialize in Basque cuisine.

The 40-seat bar, surrounding an open kitchen, is located at 10 Seymour Place in Marylebone.

"I was very excited when I heard about the development of Donostia as it is hard to find in London the wonderful food I have been treated to in the Basque Country", says Tiffany Hore, a Londoner with a passion for the Basque Country and writer of the Basque pelota blog Dos Paredes.

"More people here should know about the superb cuisine that the region offers and I hope this new restaurant will be a flag bearer for it. I certainly can't wait to experience a taste of the Basque Country here in my home city" she adds.