Mugaritz

Mugaritz is located in an old agricultural Basque house ('baserri)' in a rural setting near Donostia. A large haritza ('oak' in Basque) is strategically situated beside the line (the fontier 'muga' in Basque) dividing Errenteria and Astigarraga. 'Muga eta haritza'. Mugaritz. The restaurant started in 1998 and today is unanimously considered one of the best in the world. On 15-02-2010 a fire destroyed the kitchen and left much of the dining area unusable. A full renovation of both rooms was needed. A line of light crosses the dining area, revealing the border. The ceramic flooring is also aligned with this border instead of following the traditional geometry of a 'baserri' where they face east. Flexible spotlights in the wooden ceiling light a system of tables that can be modified to accommodate up to 7 configurations. The resulting combination of light and dark areas generates a sense of space between tables, a sort of shaded area that must be crossed to go from one table to another.