Just seven months after three restaurants opened in Downtown Crossing (somaek, Temple RecordsAnd Sushi @ Temple Records), acclaimed Boston chef Jamie Bissonnette and new business partners Babak Bina and Andy Cartin hardly slow down. The trio is ready to introduce another brand new venue: ZuritoA lively Beacon Hill restaurant celebrating the Basque Country, opening to the public on Thursday, November 7.

The first Spanish restaurant Bissonnette was involved in, which was constantly booked toro in South End (currently owned solely by Bissonnette) former business partnerchef Ken Oringer) is a broader take on Spanish cuisine, including paella as well as Basque pintxos. origin In Valencia in the east of Spain and a wide variety of tapas origin The southern region of the country is in Andalusia. One of the restaurant’s most popular dishes, grilled corn topped with aioli and cheese, isn’t even Spanish; Mexican.

But in Zurito the Basque borders are clear. Located between mountainous northwestern Spain and southwestern France, the Basque Country has its own language and distinctive culture. Thousands of small-scale farms specializing in produce and livestock such as cattle, sheep and goats add to the region’s reputation as one of the world’s most popular culinary destinations. San Sebastián, one of the major cities in the region, is usually mentioned As one of the best places to eat in the world.

“I fell in love with the Basque country and San Sebastián when I first went there,” says Bissonnette. “Love was like a freight train, man, and it hit me.”

Brian Samuels/Zurito

Brian Samuels/Zurito

Brian Samuels/Zurito

The chef traveled extensively to the region until the emergence of the pandemic. When the opportunity came to open another restaurant with Bina and Cartin, where Bina and her sister previously owned the wine bar and restaurant Bin 26 Enoteca, Bissonnette knew she wanted to showcase Basque food.

The distinctive feature of the area is its pintxos bars. Diners here can order one or two bite-size pintxos between meals. The snack usually comes in the form of meat or fish piled on top of a sturdy slice of crusty bread and skewered with a toothpick to hold it all together. Pintxos rides are common in cities like San Sebastián or Bilbao; Diners here can visit various bars in the afternoon and sample their own pintxos.

Creating a pintxos bar in Beacon Hill looks a little different, Bissonnette says, because pintxos screening doesn’t work very well when you’re the only pintxos bar in the neighborhood. Zurito is a one-stop shop for dinner, but the front of the restaurant was designed with high ceilings and bar seating to evoke a more casual pintxos bar experience, with a more formal dining area at the back of the 60-seat restaurant.

Brian Samuels/Zurito

Brian Samuels/Zurito

The menu pays homage to some of Bissonnette’s best-loved dining experiences in the region. The selection of pintxos includes everything from the gilda, an iconic Basque pintxo consisting of Manzanilla olives, Cantabrian anchovies and Guindilla peppers, to more modern creations like a pintxo with toasted erizos de mar, Spanish uni, pickled mustard seeds, garlic, and olives. , uni butter, and miso layered on a crostini, aka hat tip. Bar Txepetxa Donostiafamous San Sebastián pintxos bar. Raciones, or larger plates, include braised beef cheek with scallion oil and mashed potatoes, chickpea and chorizo ​​stew, and grilled octopus or shrimp. There will also be occasional specials, such as whole grilled turbot, the iconic dish of Getaria, a small coastal fishing village between Bilbao and San Sebastián.

Brian Samuels/Zurito

Oscar Simosa Wig Shop, J. M. CurleyAnd Bogie’s Place (all courtesy of Bina and Cartin) While creating a cocktail list for Zurito showcasing low ABV creations, Cartin curated the rest of the drinks menu with Basque staples in mind like txakoli, a dry, slightly bubbly white wine, and several different varietals. vermouth. And of course, there will be zurito, or small beer, served.

Brian Samuels/Zurito

Bissonnette, who is not of Basque descent, has developed his career by drawing creative inspiration from many different cuisines. In partnership with Oringer in 2016 Little DonkeyThe “global tapas” restaurant in Central Square serving everything from Parker House rolls to pupusas. Earlier this year, she opened Korean restaurant Somaek with her Korean mother-in-law, Soon Han, who is heavily influenced by cooking.

Bissonnette has become more focused on showcasing this wide range of cuisines in appropriate contexts, especially since his whirlwind restaurant opening ceremony this year. At Zurito, the menu is labeled with pintxos and raciones rather than tapas — though that’s probably a more familiar term for many Boston diners — because that’s not contextually accurate for Basque food. Little hints, like noting on the menu that gildas are “OG” pintxos, help educate customers along the way.

“I don’t want to take someone else’s idea and change it to make it unrecognizable just to make money,” Bissonnette says. “I do this as a love letter to a city I feel connected to, in a place I truly wish I lived.”

Zurito It is located at 26 Charles Street in Beacon Hill. Opening hours are Tuesday through Thursday from 17:00 to 22:00 and Friday and Saturday from 17:00 to 23:00. Reservation available Here.