Chloe Jade Meltzer dines on tasting menus regularly. She’s eaten at some of the most well-regarded restaurants in the world, including those known for being experimental. That’s why the travel blogger was so confused by her experience at two-star Michelin restaurant Mugaritz just outside San Sebastian, Spain.
“We sat down and they seemed to be doing everything right,” Meltzer said in posted to Instagram. At the time of reporting, the video — which teased an aside about a party who tried to leave without paying the bill, showcased soggy food and highlighted one course served in an edible but not-so-tasty belly button mold – had over 9 million views. Meltzer tells TODAY.
com in an exclusive interview she didn’t expect it to go so viral, but she hopes it will help prevent others from showing up to this 22- to 25-course dining experience with similar expectations. She says she had known about Mugaritz for a long time prior to visiting herself. It’s been on and many of her friends — who are chefs — recommended it.
Born and raised in Napa, California, Meltzer says tasting menus were part of her life long before she started reviewing them. Many people she grew up with went on to have careers in hospitality, so the Spain eatery landed on her radar largely by word of mouth from industry folks she has come to trust. “I just remember my friends always talking about it,” she says, adding that many of them called it “amazing” and said it was somewhere they had �.