"High in the foothills of the western Pyrenees, close to the seethingly-busy city of Biarritz, lies the village of Sare, its typically Basques architecture, surrounded by granite-topped, steeply-sloping grass peaks, which give the place its special charm. The small Hotel Arraya, is situated in the village centre, close to the church. On this particular Sunday, we had driven 57 km for our lunchtime meal, booked in advance, so expectations were high. Despite the beautiful June sunshine, we opted for a corner table inside the dark oak-beamed, cool interior of the restaurant, in a room spacious enough for the four of us not to feel confined, but sufficiently small to retain its ambience. The other clientele were all French; the group of about ten people sitting outside were clearly enjoying their special family occasion.Monsieur explained that the menu was only in French, but we considered this a plus. When taking our order, he did ensure that we had fully understood some of the more obscure terms on the menu. He was most helpful, without undermining our wish to use the French language wherever possible.Two of us opted for the €27 three-course plat-du-jour, the others à la carte. Our starters included: exquisitely-rolled mini squid; an attractive plate of crimson king-prawns with stuffed red peppers; goats’ cheese tart served with ewes’ milk ice cream. The main course choices were equally as mouthwatering: breaded monkfish with a mélange of fresh, local vegetables; succulent lamb with pimiento-pepper sauce; red-wined fillet of beef.The portions were substantial enough for dessert to be an unnecessary luxury. Nonetheless the plat-du-jour included the most scrumptious warm, choux pastry-covered prunes, served with an almond/vanilla sauce - delicious.Our waitress was attentive and well-mannered throughout, always with a constant smile on her face. Our drinks were reasonably priced, expresso coffees twice the size we are often served. An excellent experience which I'd recommend to all."
