That one place in: Pasaia, Spain
Where
Casa Camara
Why
It’s worth looking up at Casa Camara, even when your attention is being drawn so inexorably to the absolute feast of grilled seafood on the table in front of you. It’s even worth turning your attention away from the middle of the room, where there’s a large void and a rope pulley, a system for raising and lowering the net basket filled with live lobsters and crabs that rests in the water below. Because every now and then a ship enters or leaves the port of Pasaia nearby, and to do so it has to navigate the narrow passage that separates Donibane from San Pedro. When that happens, diners at riverside Casa Camara can reach out the window and almost touch the hull of the huge vessel chugging past. It’s a real attention-grabber, though it wasn’t such a spectacle when Casa Camara first opened, because that was in 1884, when the shipping traffic here all had wooden hulls. For more than 140 years, Casa Camara has existed in this tiny Basque village, grilling local seafood, pouring local wine, treating guests to warm hospitality and gorgeous views. It’s only about 15 minutes away from busy San Sebastian, but it feels like another world.
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Order this
Casa Camara specialises in seafood, and it’s impossible to go past the mixed grill, a hulking platter of lobster, prawns, scallops, clams and crab served drenched in garlic butter. Of the starters, the fish and seafood soup is a classic, and the “txangurro a la Donostiarra”, brown crab meat mixed with butter and sofrito and served au gratin, is spectacular.
Eat it here
We’re talking high-quality seafood with a view here, so in Sydney opt for Catalina in Rose Bay (catalinarosebay.com.au), in Melbourne head to Cerberus Beach House in Half Moon Bay (cerberusbeachhouse.com.au), and in Brisbane try Fosh Bar & Restaurant in Hamilton (foshportside.com.au).
More
Getting to Casa Camara is half the fun: from San Sebastian, take a bus or taxi (or walk) to Pasaia San Pedro, and then catch the tiny ferry across to Pasaia Donibane. The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner from Tuesday to Saturday (June to September), and lunch Wednesday to Sunday, and dinner Friday and Saturday (September to June). Expect to pay about $200 per person for a large meal. Bookings essential and can be done online. See casacamara.com
Ben Groundwater is a Sydney-based travel writer, columnist, broadcaster, author and occasional tour guide with more than 25 years’ experience in media, and a lifetime of experience traversing the globe. He specialises in food and wine – writing about it, as well as consuming it – and at any given moment in time Ben is probably thinking about either ramen in Tokyo, pintxos in San Sebastian, or carbonara in Rome. Follow him on Instagram @bengroundwaterConnect via email.From our partners
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
