Salegi Restaurant, the gastronomic temple of Itziar.

Pilgrimage to Itziar, pilgrimage to Salegi Restaurant, our particular temple in Itziar, Deba.

On our way to the Basque Railway Museum in Azpeitia, we decided to make our particular pilgrimage to the gastronomic temple of Itziar, the restaurant Salegi. A temple that stands a few meters from another, in this case religious, the Sanctuary of Santa Maria de Itziar. Before going to Salegi Restaurant, we had heard that they had the best raw material of the zone, they elaborated all the products in house and they cooked with passion. These statements, if true, would confirm it as another of the restaurants to mark on our map. Do you want to know our opinion? Attention!

Salegi restaurant facade

We went to the restaurant with high expectations and with a very ambitious idea, to eat one of the best menus of the day in a long time, but the high expectations were not fulfilled.

Location: Next to the town hall, the sanctuary and the probaleku (square where Idi Probak, oxen test) of Itziar are held, we find a facade that hides a huge gastronomic temple of the Basque Country, the restaurant Salegi.

Attention: From the first moment we felt at home, another of the “sayings” that are promulgated on the Salegi restaurant’s website. Closet, choice of table and personalized attention at all times. One of us ordered salad as a first course and crispy bacon basetxerri with salad as a second course. They were kind enough to change the salad that accompanied the second course for another one, a detail that is appreciated and that is not easy to see, modification of the dishes according to each diner.

Dining room restaurant

Facilities: The photos on the internet showed facilities that seen the size could not be in the urban center of Itziar, photos that attested to the 5 large halls, gardens and a large parking lot, which, among many other facilities has this restaurant. We had entered the restaurant through a facade that could hardly accommodate all that, hesitant and puzzled we climbed the stairs that led us to a small hall from which you have access to all the facilities that we mentioned before, surprising. Facilities with a lot of history, in constant improvement and decorated with motifs of the culture of our people.

Salegi Restaurant Facilities

Tradition: Salegi Restaurant has seen more than 5 generations of this family from Gipuzkoa pass between its walls and stairs. A fact that gives this restaurant the title of the oldest restaurant in the Basque Country run by the same family.

Salegi Generations

They tell us that since it was opened to the public in 1881, all kinds of anecdotes have been lived inside, from celebrating the weddings of different generations of the same family (grandparents, parents, children and grandchildren) to witnessing marriages with powers of attorney.

Basque decoration, Salegi Restaurant

Menu of the day: We had heard very good things about this restaurant as a typical restaurant for weddings, communions, baptisms, business lunches and an endless number of events in which it is difficult to evaluate the quality of the dishes given the large number of diners. We decided to try their menu of the day, 6 starters, 6 main courses and 5 desserts that seemed traditional but with different, innovative touches.

Menu of the day, Salegi Restaurant

I opted for a pumpkin puree, potato foam, ham and egg for first course, chicken curry with prawns for second course and Goxua Salegi for dessert. The first course, pumpkin puree, potato foam, ham and egg, was hard to describe, I was about to change my choice of dishes, maybe I should have ordered:

• For starters: Pumpkin puree, potato foam, ham and egg.
• Second course: Pumpkin puree, potato foam, ham and egg.
• For dessert: Pumpkin puree, potato foam, ham and egg.
• To drink: Pumpkin puree, potato foam, ham and egg.

What a marvel, ladies and gentlemen, I’m still thinking about this great dish from Salegi restaurant, and it’s already been a couple of days!

Pumpkin puree, potato foam, ham and egg, Salegi

The second course, chicken curry with prawns, was very good, both the sauce and the chicken and prawns, good quantity and well cooked, but I was still thinking about my mashed potatoes.

Chicken curry with prawns, Restaurant Salegi

The dessert, Goxua Salegi, I must admit that the waitress told me that it was not a typical Goxua, I did not finish it, maybe because I am very traditional when looking for a typical dessert or maybe because I was still thinking about my mashed potatoes, who knows.

Goxua, Salegi

By the way, I was lucky enough to try the second course of my companion, crispy pancetta of basetxerri, incredible flavor and texture, undoubtedly one of the best pancetta I’ve ever tasted.

Crispy bacon

Price: The details of Salegi Restaurant made it clear that this was not a conventional menu and the price proved it, 20.90€ per person, a higher price than a conventional menu but certainly worth paying.

Invoice menu of the day, Salegi Restaurant

As you have been able to see the Salegi restaurant is a restaurant of all the life in continuous improvement that knows how to provide the diner what he demands, quality products, cooked to detail with passion without forgetting that the customer should feel at home, for all this, we decided to grant them our exclusive accreditation “TurismoVasco Tiketa”.

Tourism AccreditationVasco Tiketa

Note Salegi Restaurant.