Barbecue in Atxondo

Asador Etxebarri

Atxondo, Spain

Asador Etxebarri took a village grill and turned live fire into one of the most sought-after tables in the world. In the hamlet of Axpe, self-taught cook Bittor Arginzoniz burns oak and vine down to coals, then works ingredients most kitchens keep far from flame: prawns from Palamós barely kissed by heat, house-cured chorizo, milk reduced to an ember-smoked ice cream. The craft is in the equipment. Arginzoniz built his own grills — hung on pulleys, raised and lowered to the centimeter — and forged fine mesh pans so caviar, baby eels, and delicate fish can meet smoke without slipping through the grate. Each wood is chosen for what it's cooking; the fire is read, not set and forgotten. The result carries a Michelin star and, in 2025, second place on the World's 50 Best Restaurants — a menu where even dessert tastes of woodsmoke. It's a single unhurried lunch in a stone farmhouse, reached by a winding drive into the Atxondo valley, and worth every mile.