Zurito, a Basque Restaurant From Chef Jamie Bissonnette, Opens in Beacon Hill | Eater Boston
"Opened to the public on Thursday, November 7 by acclaimed Boston chef Jamie Bissonnette and his business partners Babak Bina and Andy Cartin, this lively Beacon Hill restaurant is a deliberate celebration of the Basque Country. The Basque region is described as being “located across mountainous north central Spain and southwestern France” with “its own language and its own distinct culture,” fueled by “thousands of small-scale farms specializing in produce and livestock such as cattle, sheep, and goats,” and with San Sebastián often called one of the best places in the world to eat—experiences that Bissonnette says impacted him deeply: “The first time I went to the Basque region, and I went to San Sebastián, I fell in love,” Bissonnette says. “The love was like a freight train, man, and I got hit by it.” Housed in the former Bin 26 Enoteca space, the 60-seat restaurant is arranged to evoke pintxos culture while functioning as a one-stop dinner spot: the front has high tops and bar seating “to evoke a more casual pintxos bar experience,” and a more formal dining area sits in the back, acknowledging that a pintxos crawl doesn’t translate when you’re the neighborhood’s only pintxos bar. The menu is explicitly labeled with pintxos and raciones (not tapas) and includes faithful and modern takes: the gilda is listed with its classic components—Manzanilla olive, Cantabrian anchovy, and Guindilla pepper—while a modern tosta erizos de mar features Spanish uni, pickled mustard seed, garlic, uni butter, and miso layered on a crostini, a hat‑tip to Bar Txepetxa Donostia. Raciones include braised beef cheek with scallion oil and a potato purée, chickpea and chorizo stew, and griddled octopus or shrimp, with occasional specials such as a whole grilled turbot—“an iconic dish of Getaria.” Drinks were curated with regional fidelity: Oscar Simoza created a cocktail list that “showcases low-ABV creations,” and Andy Cartin assembled the rest of the drink menu with Basque staples in mind like txakoli (a dry, slightly bubbly white wine) and several kinds of vermouth, and, of course, a zurito (a small pour of beer) is on offer. Emphasizing contextual authenticity, Bissonnette—who is not Basque and has drawn inspiration from many cuisines—says, “I don’t want to take somebody else’s idea and change it to make it unrecognizable just for the sake of making money,” and adds, “I’m doing this as a love letter to a city that I feel that I connect with, in a place that I really wish I lived.” Opening hours to start are Tuesday through Thursday, 5 to 10 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 5 to 11 p.m.; reservations are available." - Erika Adams
