Most people go to Zezilionea either because someone has recommended it or because they live or work locally. This restaurant and hotel is not on a major transit point, except for ramblers taking the diversion on the A1 motorway towards Olaberria, a prosperous village in Goierri (Gipuzkoa) with beautiful views of the Aralar mountains and scenic hiking routes including a stretch of the Camino de Santiago.
The location was not a problem for Ugutz and Izaro Rubio when they set up their business in a large traditional farmhouse on the main square of Olaberria 19 years ago. Foreign customers flock to Zezilionea, particularly during the week. Most of them are business people visiting one of the large metal and transport factories based nearby who go to Zezilionea to enjoy its traditional Basque food paired with some of the 300 national and international wines on the list.
The food has a certain level of sophistication but is unpretentious and is focused on ingredients. The roasted wild mushrooms, the house’s speciality, are simple yet delicious as is the warm cod salad, the foie micuit or the sautéed vegetables with ham, which are the three starters served on the weekend menu (€35 +VAT plus drinks) which finishes with the main dish to choose from seven options —all of them served in generous portions— and a dessert.
As well as the weekend offer, Zezilionea serves daily and à la carte menus and has a charming agreement with the local ikastola (school) to provide weekly meals to 20 students, who eat their greens at the dining room tables next to the cellar.
Izaro takes very good care of the front of house and her brother Ugutz, a real wine enthusiast, manages the kitchen and the cellar. The wine list includes famous Rioja brands like Tondonia, Roda, La Rioja Alta or Muga Prado Enea —local clients are very loyal to this wine region— and txakoli from the three Basque DOs —a rather unusual choice in restaurants across the Basque Country— but Ugutz dares to stock natural, biodynamic or little intervention wines from regions such as Jura, Loire, Mosel or Tenerife, seen as exotic by the most traditional palates.
“Our food doesn’t really ask for powerful reds, so it is easier for people to understand them once they try them”, explains Ugutz, who hosts occasional tastings at Zezilionea for clients and friends who want to learn and have a good time. “It’s really exciting for me to see clients in the restaurant who are interested in wine,” says Ugutz. Y.O.A.
