Akelarre Restaurant | Pedro Subijana

Chef Pedro Subijana took over Akelarre in 1975, and along with a small circle of peers he helped invent New Basque Cuisine — the movement that turned this stretch of Spain into one of the world's great eating cities. His cooking still runs on that balance of deep tradition and restless creativity, and the room competes with it for your attention: an octagonal dining space on the slope of Mount Igueldo with the Cantabrian Sea filling the windows. He earned the first Michelin star in 1978, the second in 1982 and the third in 2007, and has held all three since. There's a hotel and spa attached now if you want to make a night of it. Time it for sunset and let the view do half the work.