Azurmendi ***
by Chef Eneko Atxa Innovative cuisine in stunning surrounds with sustainability at the heart Unique selling point: Far from the straightforward sit-down restaurant experience, at Azurmendi the journey starts in the rooftop vegetable garden where guests inspect the home-grown produce before continuing to an indoor greenhouse for a selection of ‘snacks’. Diners are eventually seated in a section of the dining room, flanked by temporary fabric walls projecting different scenes for different courses. The chef: Basque cook Eneko Atxa was brought up with the kitchen at the heart of his home and says he’s committed to giving guests the same homely experience. Azurmendi is a family business that also houses a winery run by his cousin, Bertol Izagirre, specialising in Basque txakoli wine. New ventures: The chef opens Eneko at One Aldwych, a more relaxed version of Azurmendi, in London in the summer of 2016. On the menu: Highlights include Truffled egg, which is ‘cooked inside out’, with part of the yolk removed and replaced with truffle consommé, while Edible Cotton is a classic snack that guests eat in the greenhouse.
