Restaurant in Irun, Spain
Old-school grill cooking, consistently Michelin-noted.
A Michelin Plate-recognised Basque asador in a 16th-century country house outside central Irun, Ana Mari delivers fire-cooked meats and fish with the kind of consistency that holds across visits. At €€€ with a 4.5 Google rating from over 600 reviews, it earns its price for a celebration dinner or a deliberate meal in the asador tradition. Easy to book, hard to fault for what it sets out to do.
Ana Mari is not a restaurant that reinvents itself between visits. The open grill that anchors the dining room at this 16th-century country house in Irun's Olaberria neighbourhood is doing exactly what it did last time: producing Basque asador cooking with the kind of quiet technical consistency that most grill restaurants in the region talk about but rarely deliver. If you came for the meats and fish, you'll find them as precisely handled as before. That reliability, in a cuisine tradition where flame control and sourcing make or break a meal, is itself a reason to rebook.
For a special occasion, Ana Mari's setting does real work before the food even arrives. The 16th-century country house framing isn't decorative — the building and its riverside position create a sense of occasion that urban restaurant rooms in San Sebastián or Bilbao can't replicate. It's formal enough for a celebration dinner, grounded enough not to feel performative. The dining room opens directly onto the grill, which means the cooking is visible throughout the meal, a detail that reinforces the kitchen's confidence in what it's doing rather than hiding the process behind a closed door.
The Michelin Plate in both 2024 and 2025 is a calibration tool, not just a credential. A Michelin Plate signals cooking worth a detour , technically sound, consistent, and worth the trip , without the theatrical ambition of a starred property. In Basque asador terms, that distinction matters. The tradition of wood-fire or charcoal grilling in the Basque Country is specific and demanding: timing over open fire is unforgiving, and the quality of the product has nowhere to hide. Ana Mari's continued recognition across two consecutive Michelin cycles confirms this isn't a kitchen that got lucky with a review year.
The Bereciartua family has run Ana Mari for long enough to develop the kind of institutional knowledge that makes a grill kitchen reliable rather than variable. Family-run asadors in the Basque region tend to either plateau or refine over time; the Michelin recognition and a 4.5 Google rating across 617 reviews suggests Ana Mari is doing the latter. A 4.5 average at that volume is harder to maintain than a high score on 50 reviews, and it's a more honest signal of consistency across different occasions, seasons, and party sizes.
Cheesecake deserves a specific mention: Michelin's own description of Ana Mari singles it out alongside the meats and fish, which is unusual. In a cuisine tradition that doesn't typically lead with dessert, that level of editorial attention to a single dish is worth taking seriously. Plan accordingly.
Ana Mari sits at €€€ pricing, which positions it as a considered spend rather than an impulse booking , appropriate for a celebration or a deliberate meal rather than a casual midweek dinner. Booking difficulty is rated easy, which is relatively rare for a Michelin-recognised property in the Basque Country. That means you don't need to plan months in advance, but for a special occasion dinner on a Friday or Saturday, booking at least one to two weeks out is sensible. The riverside country house location outside central Irun means you'll want to arrive by car or arrange transport; the setting rewards the journey.
If you're visiting the wider region, Ana Mari makes practical sense as part of a Irun-based stay. For full local context, see our full Irun restaurants guide, and if you need accommodation recommendations, our full Irun hotels guide covers the options. The Irun bars guide, wineries guide, and experiences guide round out the picture if you're spending more than a day in the area.
For a direct local comparison in the grill category, Asador Trinkete Borda is the other name worth knowing in Irun. The two restaurants occupy similar territory in Basque asador cooking, and your choice between them will come down to atmosphere and specific occasion , Ana Mari's country house setting gives it an edge for formal celebrations or longer, more considered meals.
If you're spending time in the wider Basque Country and want to understand where Ana Mari sits relative to the regional spectrum, the reference points are worth mapping. Arzak in San Sebastián and Azurmendi in Larrabetzu operate in a different register entirely , creative, multi-course, €€€€ territory , and aren't useful comparisons for what Ana Mari is doing. The more relevant question is whether you want the tradition-first, fire-led cooking that Ana Mari represents, or the progressive modernist approach of the region's starred houses. They are different experiences serving different needs, and Ana Mari is the correct choice if the grill is what you're there for.
Further afield in Spain's leading creative tier, El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, Martin Berasategui in Lasarte-Oria, and Mugaritz in Errenteria represent the ceiling of what the northern Spanish kitchen produces , but none of them are doing what Ana Mari does, which is direct Basque grilling done with technical seriousness. For international grill comparisons, Humo in London and República del Fuego in Buenos Aires are worth a look if the fire-cooking format is your primary interest across trips.
Book Ana Mari if you want Basque asador cooking in a setting that earns its price point, with a track record of consistency that two consecutive Michelin Plates and 617 Google reviews substantiate. It's an easy booking, a clear proposition, and a restaurant that knows exactly what it is. For a celebration dinner outside the noise of San Sebastián's more tourist-facing restaurant circuit, this is where to go.
| Detail | Ana Mari | Asador Trinkete Borda (Irun) |
|---|---|---|
| Price range | €€€ | Not listed |
| Cuisine | Basque Grills / Asador | Asador / Steak |
| Recognition | Michelin Plate 2024, 2025 | , |
| Google rating | 4.5 (617 reviews) | , |
| Booking difficulty | Easy | , |
| Setting | 16C country house, riverside | , |
| Leading for | Special occasions, celebration dinners | Local grill comparison |
At €€€, Ana Mari sits in the mid-to-upper range for Irun dining, and the value holds if Basque asador cooking is what you're specifically after. Two consecutive Michelin Plates and a 4.5 Google rating across 617 reviews indicate a kitchen that consistently delivers on the promise. Compared to the €€€€ creative restaurants in the region , Arzak or Azurmendi , you're getting a more focused, tradition-led experience at a lower price point. If fire-cooked meat and fish in a proper asador setting is the goal, the price is justified.
Yes, and the setting is a large part of why. The 16th-century country house with a riverside position creates a sense of occasion that a city restaurant room rarely matches. The visible open grill adds energy without noise. At €€€, it's a considered spend that fits a birthday, anniversary, or celebration dinner without requiring the full commitment of a €€€€ tasting menu evening at one of the region's starred houses. Book a weekend evening and give yourself time over the meal.
Smart casual is the working assumption for a Basque asador at this price level and setting. A 16th-century country house with Michelin recognition skews toward a more composed dress code than a casual pintxos bar, but it's not a black-tie environment. If you're arriving directly from a day of travel in Irun or the surrounding area, something neat and considered rather than beachwear or overly casual clothing is appropriate. When in doubt, err toward smart rather than relaxed.
The open grill is the centre of the experience , the kitchen is visible from the dining room, so the cooking is part of what you're watching throughout the meal. Michelin's own write-up specifically calls out the cheesecake alongside the meats and fish, which is unusual for a grill house: save room for it. The restaurant is in the Olaberria neighbourhood of Irun, not central , plan transport. Booking is rated easy, but for a weekend dinner, secure a table at least one to two weeks out. For broader context on what to do in the area, see our full Irun restaurants guide.
The kitchen's identity is built around an open grill with a menu centred on meats and fish, which means the format is not naturally suited to strict vegetarian or vegan diets. For specific dietary requirements, contact the restaurant directly before booking , phone and website details are not currently listed in our database, so reaching out via the reservation platform you use to book is the practical approach. If you have serious restrictions, confirm in advance rather than on arrival.
Whether Ana Mari offers a formal tasting menu is not confirmed in current data. What Michelin's recognition and the restaurant's asador format suggest is that the kitchen's strength lies in individually ordered grilled meats and fish rather than a curated multi-course sequence. For that style of experience , a structured progression of small courses building to a narrative , Arzak, Azurmendi, or El Celler de Can Roca are the correct choices. At Ana Mari, order à la carte and let the grill be the point.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ana Mari | Grills | €€€ | Easy |
| Quique Dacosta | Creative | €€€€ | Unknown |
| El Celler de Can Roca | Progressive Spanish, Creative | €€€€ | Unknown |
| Arzak | Modern Basque, Creative | €€€€ | Unknown |
| Azurmendi | Progressive, Creative | €€€€ | Unknown |
| Aponiente | Progressive - Seafood, Creative | €€€€ | Unknown |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
At €€€, Ana Mari sits at a considered price point for a Basque asador — and the two consecutive Michelin Plates (2024 and 2025) suggest the kitchen earns it. You are paying for open-grill technique, a historic setting, and cooking that Michelin has found worth a detour two years running. If you want the same Basque grill tradition at a lower spend, simpler local asadors exist, but they won't match Ana Mari's consistency or setting.
Yes. The 16th-century country house in a riverside location, family-run operation, and €€€ pricing make this a natural fit for a celebration dinner. It works particularly well for two people or a small group who want a proper sit-down meal around grilled meats and fish rather than a tasting-menu format. Book ahead — this is not a walk-in occasion dinner.
Ana Mari is a country house asador in rural Gipuzkoa, not a city fine-dining room. The setting calls for neat, relaxed clothing rather than formal dress — think a step above casual but nowhere near black tie. The open grill at the centre of the dining room sets the tone: this is a place built around serious cooking in a comfortable, unfussy environment.
The open grill is the kitchen — it is fully visible from the dining room, so the cooking is part of the experience from the moment you sit down. Michelin specifically flags both the meats and fish as strong suits, and the cheesecake is called out as a reason to save room for dessert. Ana Mari is located at Bo. Olaberria, 49 in Irun, in the Basque Country near the French border — factor in travel time if you are coming from San Sebastián or Bilbao.
The kitchen is built around an open grill and Basque asador tradition, meaning meat and fish are the core of the menu. There is no documented flexibility for dietary restrictions in the available venue data. If you have specific requirements, check the venue's official channels before booking — a grill-focused kitchen has structural limits that a more modular menu format does not.
Ana Mari's format is a traditional Basque asador, not a tasting-menu destination. The draw is ordering from a grill-led menu of meats and fish rather than a fixed sequence of courses. If a tasting menu is the format you want in the Basque Country, Azurmendi or Arzak are the reference points. Ana Mari is the choice when you want to eat well without that structure.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
