Ametsa with Arzak Instruction

A wave-like ceiling of thousands of glass receptacles filled with spices set the visual tone at Ametsa with Arzak Instruction — a detail that signalled, from the moment of arrival, that this was not a conventional hotel restaurant. Positioned inside COMO The Halkin in Belgravia, the room combined oak floors, bright walls, and garden-facing sightlines with a dining philosophy rooted in the New Basque tradition of San Sebastián. The restaurant operated as the first overseas project connected to the Arzak family, whose three-Michelin-star restaurant in San Sebastián has been central to modern Spanish cooking for decades. Juan Mari Arzak and Elena Arzak served in a consulting capacity, with kitchen leadership in London held by a succession of Basque-trained chefs. Ametsa earned a Michelin star within its first year of operation, a recognition it held for several years before losing it in the 2019 Michelin Guide. The cooking drew on contemporary Basque technique applied to locally sourced British ingredients, with tasting menus as the primary format. Reviews pointed to dishes such as tomato and raspberry soup, prawns with hemp, and red pork on bamboo as representative of the kitchen's approach: painterly plating, edible flowers, and flavour combinations that prioritised invention. Pricing reflected the fine-dining setting, with set lunch menus reported in the £29–£78 range depending on format and wine pairing. Critical reception was mixed across the restaurant's lifespan. Creativity drew consistent praise; value and consistency drew more scrutiny. That tension is not unusual for ambitious hotel dining in central London, where the overhead structure and tourist-adjacent location create pressures that neighbourhood restaurants rarely face. Ametsa occupied a specific and genuinely rare position: a serious Basque kitchen operating at tasting-menu level outside Spain, in a hotel that otherwise kept a low culinary profile.