The Epicurean's Atlas: Kaia-Kaipe

O n the rocky Biscay coast of northern Spain, a comfortable day trip from the gastronomic treats of San Sebastián, lies the fishing village of Getaria, where the fish is served so fresh it practically swims onto the plate and the surrounding hills are covered in vines for Txakoli, the distinctive, lightly sparkling local white wine. The finest expression of this Basque speciality, which is traditionally poured from a height to aerate it – like decanting in mid-air – is Getariako Txakolina, from those vineyards that surround Getaria. Arguably, the best place to drink it is at Kaia-Kaipe, right on the port, accompanied by fish brought in from the boats or plucked from a tank of live seafood and cooked on the open-air charcoal grills. Except drinking this simple white here can feel like a missed opportunity, given the quantity and quality of wines in Kaia-Kaipe’s capacious cellar, where owner Igor Arregi is also the sommelier.

The Arregi-Larrañaga family has been in this business for some time. Igor’s grandmother started the restaurant in 1962 and Igor’s cousin owns Elkano, the town’s other celebrated restaurant, which is named after explorer Juan Sebastián Elcano, the native son who was among the first to circumnavigate the globe and who, unlike his captain, Magellan, made it home to port at the end of the journey. Elcano is one of two famous men born here: the other, more unlikely given the sophistication of the world he conquered, was the great fashion designer Cristóbal Balenciaga, who travelled far from his roots as the son of a fisherman.

It is a quirk of Getaria that most restaurants, including Kaia-Kaipe, have a parrilla, or grill, built into their outside wall, on which to cook all that fresh seafood – a set-up that dates from the days when the town’s bars didn’t serve food and the customers were all fishermen anyway, happy to line their stomachs from their own day’s haul. But in any case, while this is Spain’s cooler northern coast, it is a shame to eat inside unless the weather demands it because the views are spectacular. Fishing boats in the port, beaches either side, the green and rocky headland of Mount San Anton, an outcrop that is now a park and is known to the locals as the “mouse of Getaria” on account of its shape. Surrounding the village are the rolling hills with their Hondarribi Zuri vines, the variety that is used for 85% of the local Txakoli. Kaia-Kaipe does have a nautical-themed indoor dining room upstairs – this is Kaia, which is the Basque word for port, while the open-air terrace downstairs is Kaipe, or “under the port” – but it is very much the option reserved for inclement weather: people are here for the views, the fish and the wine, not necessarily in that order.

The vast cellar contains 40,000 bottles, including multiple vintages at remarkably good prices, of some of the world’s most sought-after wines: Domaine Coche-Dury, Château Haut-Brion, Vega Sicilia. The Champagne selection alone is longer than many restaurants’ entire wine list. Given the local specialities – turbot, lobster, sardines and monkfish – a preponderance of white wines would be understandable, but Arregi is clearly partial to reds as well. And not just reds from Rioja, although the restaurant does have a great collection of those, helped no doubt by the fact that the wine region is around 100 miles to the south by car and inhabited by producers happy to drive that distance for an excellent dinner. Igor has said that enjoying the finest wines in his collection with “the people who appreciate these jewels” is one of his greatest pleasures, and the country’s best winemakers surely qualify. In any case, there is meat on the menu, including a grilled sirloin that is almost worth forgoing the fish, even if it can’t quite compete for freshness: the fish tank doesn’t have room for premium cows.

The most renowned dishes here are the simplest, especially the meaty, flavourful turbot, grilled whole then filleted in front of the customer, accessorised only with olive oil, salt and light fumes of smoke from the grill. There is baby eel, cuttlefish, giant spider crabs and langoustines, plucked from the tank when the customer orders, then pressed to the grill or rolled in breadcrumbs. (The wine critic Robert Parker said these were the best langoustines he had ever had.) Entrées include fish soup, anchovies in oil and hake tongues done several ways. Desserts are not forgotten – in fact, the ice-cream, like the bread, is made in-house. This is simplicity – but simplicity of the most sophisticated kind, executed with elaborate care in order to achieve exquisite results. Perhaps it isn’t so surprising that this was the birthplace of Balenciaga, after all.

Photos by Alamy/Jorge Tutor, Alamy/Hemis, Alamy/Peter Horree

The Epicurean's Atlas