Txitxipapa - Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port

St. Jean Pied-de-Port is a charming town and this restaurant reflects the vibe; quaint yet sophisticated and delightful. The menu was varied, the bread was delicious, the service excellent even though they were very busy. We ate outside - good choice. I had a mixed seafood dish with fish and octopus (size of a serving bowl) expertly cooked. Hubby had a casserole of beans and sausage served with frites. All our food was wonderful - but portions huge - we should have split! You cannot go wrong here. Every dish that came out of the kitchen looked and smelled fantastic.

Small restaurant in old building along Road to the old fort run by a couple We had booked and were shown to our table by a friendly waitress Who was happy for our two dogs to sit under the table. Brief but interesting menu of three courses for 30 euros. Generous portions at a fair price in such a destination. A couple Who had not booked were told complet despite empty tables so best to book first. All in all a pleasant family run restaurant in à lovely old building and enough variety on the menu to have an enjoyable meal.

You won't find typical basque food here but inventive and great World food cooked By a chef who loves his work. Justand get pleasure.

Like most things my host Arnaud at Tartasenia got this recommendation right. The menu was small - which is good - but diverse - which is also good. Inventive and clever food ideas. I started with a foccacia and charcuterie type thing with an interesting pesto accompaniment and shared this with my friend who shared her cerviche of trout with me. Both were very good but my foccacia starter was preferred by myself. My main was a lovely piece of beef steak cooked 'cuban' style. It came with sweet potato fries and a spicy bean ragout thing. For me the beef was cooked perfectly. When I ask for rare I rarely get it rare. This was rare. One of the obvious first signs of whether a chef knows what he's doing is how well he can perform simple tasks like cooking a steak properly. He ticked that box. For my friend it was a little too rare so he, without complaint or offence, stuck back on the heat for a bit. Ticked that box too. The 2nd sign of a good chef in my book is if he looks like he eats well of his own food. Chef ticked that box too. Very good chef and a top bloke. The millefois desert was excellent too. The local wine was good. We ordered the more expensive bottle first. When we finished that we asked the lady serving us (the co-owner too I guess) about the cheaper variety of the local wine. She said it was practically as good. Telling. Service before profit is to be highly praised - and it will ensure repeat business so is a smart thing too. The service itself was brilliant. At 26 Euro for three courses this was excellent value. I rarely give 5 stars but this place deserves it. The cherry on the cake was sitting with the staff after service and after the rest of my party had left sipping a Ricard and chatting. When I asked to pay for the Ricard those sweet words 'no charge' came back and graced my ears. Brilliant. Probably the best restaurant in town.

Lunch with Girlfriend was very enjoyable, had a Magrette de Canard Asian salad that was delicious, super good, nice to get some Asian food in the Basque Country.