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London, UK.  Melody Adams and Nemanja Borjanovic aren’t Basque but they are the new ambassadors of Basque gastronomy in London thanks to the Donostia, a small restaurant with 40 seats located at 10 Seymour Place in the Marylebone neighborhood. She is English and he is Serbian and they discovered Basque gastronomy through wine.  This happened three years ago when they traveled to Laguardia in search of new wines for their import business (www.mountainvalleywines.co.uk). 

“After 18 hours on the road, non-stop, we decided to take a break and since Melody had read about the gastronomy of Donostia, we decided to spend the night there,” Nemanja explained to EuskalKultura.com.  “We were really impressed by how closely the culture and gastronomy were related, its quality and how it tasted better than anything we had had before.”

The name has a hook

They fell immediately in love and in the following months the couple returned to Euskal Herria several times, making friends and contacts in the gastronomic circuit in Donostia, Bilbao, Hondarribia… Finally they decided to make real the idea they had joked about from the beginning: bring that cooking concept to London, Basque style cuisine, with quality ingredients prepared with care.

The idea came to life in Donostia restaurant, a name that “brings together everything that we like and that we want to be”. Donostia as a restaurant name also has a hook, they assured: “everyone doesn’t know what it means, but those who do come intrigued,” Nemanja says.

[The open kitchen allows diners to watch the dishes being prepared (photo Donostia)]

Success of Bacalao Pil-pil

Choosing the cook was one of the most delicate matters in the project but that was settled when Tomasz Baranski arrived.  He had been working in the London restaurant Barrafina and he perfected his knowledge with a six-week stay in the Urepel and Fuego Negro restaurants in Donostia. 

Among the specialties of the Donostia are Bacalao al Pil-pil, which is very popular according to Nemanja, and pintxos like Octopus in Basque marinade, Shrimp Tempura wrapped in ham, or the simple but always effective croquetas. 

Imported Basque Products

The restaurant uses top quality Basque products like Idiazabal cheese, Txakoli Agerre from Getaria, Bereziartua cider and wine from the bodegas of Landaluce, precisely those that the couple got to know on their first visit.

The restaurant is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays at noon.  “We still have a small kitchen team and we need more chefs,” Nemanja says.

-For more information, go to the restaurant’s website: www.donostia.co.uk