Restaurant Kaia Kaipe, Getaria – Grilled Turbot worship

The Basque country is like a land of milk and honey for gourmet travellers. Not only are there plenty of Michelin-starred restaurants, but also many much more casual places where great ingredients and honest cooking are being celebrated.

For example, when visiting San Sebastian, drive about 20 minutes South and discover the fishermen village Getaria in order to enjoy some delicious grilled fish. There are probably a dozen such restaurants to be found in the small town. Among em, Elkano and its sister restaurant Kaipa Kaipe are without a doubt the most famous. We visited the latter without a reservation for an early sunday lunch and were lucky to get the last small table without a reservation.

The 2 important things to know as a summary of Kaia Kaipe: 1) they grill your ordered fish to perfection on a giant barbecue grid located just outside of the restaurant 2) they have a brilliant wine list both when it comes to choice and price. Bottles of wines start as low as 16 Euro.

Our own goal that day was clear. We wanted that grilled Turbot everyone is raving about! And to make a long story short: the hype is totally justified. It probably is no sorcery to grill a fish, but still, there are a few things required to achieve this like great fresh fish, a wood-flamed grill and probably a big chunk of experience!

The restaurant front.

Simple starters – some white tuna with olive oil

Some great anchovies.

And then the magnificent Rodaballo, also known as Turbot. The only thing added here, besides salt and olive oil is a drop of vinegar (I assume). It somehow balances out the great gelatinous richness of the fish. I truly loved it. Besides the flesh (that you eat with the equally delicious skin), you can suck off the bones of the fin. Each tiny bit of this fish is delicious.