"Atmosphere spoiled by flies, bees and wasps. Cook has very limited understanding of taste. Tried fish, meet, seafood and desert("
High in the foothills of the western Pyrenees, close to the seethingly-busy city of Biarritz, lies the village of Sare, its typically Basques architecture, surrounded by granite-topped, steeply-sloping grass peaks, which give the place its special charm. The small Hotel Arraya, is situated in the village centre, close to the church. On this particular Sunday, we had driven 57 km for our lunchtime meal, booked in advance, so expectations were high. Despite the beautiful June sunshine, we opted for a corner table inside the dark oak-beamed, cool interior of the restaurant, in a room spacious enough for the four of us not to feel confined, but sufficiently small to retain its ambience. The othe...
It was a beautiful September day. On our way from St Jean Pied de Port to San Sebastián, we fit in Basque village sightseeing and a lunch at Hotel Arraya, Sare. We decided to sit outside under the hotel's trees--a good spot for people watching with traditional red, green and white Basque houses in the background.Service was nice, our waiter was attentive with our drinks and we got yummy cantaloupe soup amuse bouches. As seen in my pictures, the food is beautifully delicious and made from great ingredients. We were pleased with the lunch experience.Gateaux Basque souvenirs are on my list, so after ordering lunch, I jumped out to their gateau Basque stall and got few to go. It was a brilliant...
Our usual friendly restaurant in Sare (Lastiry) was closed and we had no choice but to go opposite the main square to the Arraya Restaurant. We were extremely disappointed. The atmosphere was cold, the waiters very slow to respond - then somewhat reluctantly and rather unwilling to explain a few things on the menu to us. When the food finally arrived, it was in minute portions, in my view very poorly cooked, presented and minute portions. We left feeling uncomfortable, rather a nuisance and still hungry. It was an unpleasant experience I will never repeat. At least the pizza van man in the square outside was smiling. Never again!
The Hotel Arraya is situated in the heart of Sare - a beautiful Basque village. We have visited it several times over the past 25 years and it's fair to say we have never been disappointed. You can eat outside on the terrace or inside in the beautifully furnished dining room. Classic table settings - white linen and silver. The staff are attentive and all runs smoothly under the watchful eye of Jean-Baptiste Fagoaga. This is exactly how a country inn should be operated.
Reserva una mesa ahora
We stayed here for five nights and ate in the hotel restaurant for three of them. We loved the elegant table settings, the charming service and, of course, the excellent food. Do try the fillet de boef - perfectly cooked, well seasoned and with lovely accompaniments. When I read a couple of negative reviews I had to check that we were talking about the same place! Contrary to one review I think the food here is much better than the Lastiry opposite.
This quaint hotel has a restaurant on the street level. Lovely setting with attentive service and above average food choices. Easy going pace and tasty local plates. French specialty sweet breads done to perfection. I wish for more vegetable choices but realize that most people do not care for this. I'm not sure if any of the food was really Basque, or just good southwest French. Overall nice experience.
We had a great three course meal with a bottle of wine at this lovely restaurant. The staff was very nice and attentive. The dishes were delicious: Foie gras and veal kidneys with mushrooms (ris de veau) for starters, haddock and duck for main course (the duck was a little chewy, though) and creme brulee and traditional basque cake for dessert. The wine recommended by the waiter was very good.
I been there a couple of time before and always is a pleasure. The place is so calm, the terrace invite you to enjoy the flavours of the food, so quiet and the summer breeze is just delicious. This time like always de food was amazing, but the service was a little bit slow. I attached some pics from the last year too.
Reserva una mesa ahora
We had dinner at the Restaurant Arraya when we were unexpectedly told that the restaurant in our hotel would not be open that evening. The room is very nice -- a fairly formal space, appropriately lit, filled with antiques. Food was pretty good, as was the service. Overall, a very pleasant evening.
Atmosphere spoiled by flies, bees and wasps. Cook has very limited understanding of taste. Tried fish, meet, seafood and desert(
