Misura : San Sebastián, Spain

You would never find Misura if you weren’t looking for it.

In Miramon, the neighborhood that only the most scientific of visitors to San Sebastián ever steps foot in, Misura is the house restaurant of the city’s greenest hotel, Arima. The two make quite a pair. Arima’s high tech commitment to sustainability includes a façade that opens and closes depending on the temperature and the position of the sun. Misura is the restaurant version —the most veggie-forward menu in town.

The menu is divided in a way that feels revolutionary in ham, fish and meat-centric San Sebastián. There is meat and seafood (like this above mixture of vegetables and octopus in an escabeche-like vinegar sauce). The headlines on the menu, however, are vegetables (Tomato, Leek, etc) and each has a few entries below it, different sets that give the title vegetable a starring role while making the dish unique enough to warrant ordering the whole category.

Leeks get confit until they are silky, and dressed or dotted with citronella olive oil or salty almond crunch. This dish was one of our favorites—it’s not often you get to enjoy leeks on their own, and their silky soft texture stole the show.

There are few fumbles of the vegetable football, mostly to do with plating or weak combinations of sauces. The gnocchi above were delicious enough, but the snap peas and red sauce just didn’t work together. On the other hand, the Jerusalem artichoke was served so nakedly it was shocking, browned and drizzled at the table with just enough sauce to merit the title of “dish”. But you’d be hard-pressed to find these items on a menu anywhere else in town, which does incline a diner to be a bit more forgiving than, say, when eating a piece of hake.

I’m also 99.9% sure that it’s the only place with a vegan tasting menu (not one, actually, but two).

Unexpectedly, the meat dishes were a highlight. The chicken confit was beautifully crispy, and it was a refreshing change of pace to have a set with the same amount of thought put into it as the protein. In the chicken’s case, a grilled fennel and a well-dressed side salad.

And the tender rabbit royale was dressed in a rich jus, topped with pan choi and some tomato and shallots confit-ed to the point of yummy, caramelized no return.

The wine list also prioritizes the sustainable, with emphasis on biodynamic and organic wines. If your eco-politics are important enough for you to filter down to what you put on your fine dining plate, then Misura is a must-visit.

Misura Restaurant
www.misurarestaurant.com
Paseo de Miramón, 162
943 56 66 38