Peruvian cebichería La Mar to take over Basque restaurant Elkano for one-night residency in Getaria

La Mar, the Lima cebichería founded by Peruvian chef Gastón Acurio, will take over the Elkano restaurant in Getaria, in the Spanish Basque Country, for one night on 8^th October. It’s a collaboration that brings together two kitchens built around fish and seafood from opposite sides of the Atlantic. Anthony Vásquez, head chef of La Mar Lima, will lead the kitchen with support from the Elkano team, and Acurio will be in attendance.

The team explain this will not be a conventional four-hands dinner. Instead, La Mar will bring its own cuisine and service style to the Getaria dining room for a few hours, with the kitchen and front-of-house teams playing central roles in the evening. The menu has been created specifically for the occasion, applying the identity of the Peruvian cebichería to produce available in Getaria and the surrounding area, while retaining the informal character associated with La Mar.

The Peruvian restaurant was established in 2005 in Miraflores, a district of Lima overlooking the Pacific. Acurio conceived the venue around the tradition of the cebichería, serving cebiches (raw, marinated fish or shellfish), tiraditos (a little like a Latin American take on sashimi) and Peruvian classic causas (spiced, mashed yellow potatoes layered with savory fillings), alongside anticuchos – marinated skewers cooked over charcoal that are a big part of Peru’s street-food culture. The kitchen’s dishes foreground ingredients including ají amarillo, ají panca, ají limo, choclo, quinua and huacatay, as well as fish and shellfish straight from the Pacific.

Led by Pepe Cárpena, the La Mar brand now operates ten restaurants in eight countries: four in South America, covering Chile, Colombia, Argentina and Peru, three in the US in San Francisco, Miami and Bellevue, one in Doha, one in Dubai, and, most recently, one in Madrid. Each retains signature Peruvian techniques while incorporating local fish, seafood and other regional produce. Vásquez, who joined the team in 2010, also oversees La Mar’s Latin American operations and received a Knife Award from The Best Chef Awards in 2025.

Meanwhile, host Elkano, founded by Pedro Arregi and Marijose Artano in 1964, is now run by their son, Aitor Arregi. The restaurant sits on the Cantabrian coast in the Bay of Biscay and bases its cooking on the grill, with sourcing decisions shaped by contact with fishermen and net makers at the harbour and by seasonal variation in the local catch. Its grilled turbot has become the restaurant’s best-known dish, reflecting an approach in which species, size, origin and time of year determine how each fish is cooked over fire.

The organisers explain, “La Mar’s arrival at Elkano will bring together two cuisines born in different latitudes and cultures yet connected by the same relationship with the sea and its produce.” It promises to be a memorable evening.

Food Desk

La Mar Cebichería’s one-night residency takes place on 8^th October 2026 at Elkano, Herrerieta Kalea 2, 20808 Getaria, Gipuzkoa, Spain. For further information or to book a table, visit the restaurant’s website here.