Arzak, Mugaritz, Extebarri....How far in advance to book?

[Heeney]

So, for Extebarri, Arzak, Mugaritz, and Martin Berastegui: they don't say how far in advance they take reservations? 1,2,3 months?
Any idea? When is the best time to reserve?

Also, if you had to chose between MB and Akelare...which one?

[PBSF]

None of the restaurants on your list has any policy regarding how far they will take reservations. When you know your dates, make them. It also depends on the season, day of the week, how flexible you are and how much dining at a particular restaurant means to you. "When is the best time to reserve?" if you are referring to when is the best time to reach them for reservations: phone calls are the best around 5pm to 8pm their time on days that they are open. Email works also.
My two meals at MB in 2006 and 2007 were so so, no reason to return since. Had an excellent lunch at at Akelare last year but two previous visits weren't so lucky; granted it was years ago before they received their third star. Three star places, like all restaurants, go through up and downs. And then, there is our individual preferences. So many of our opinions are based on one or two visits, therefore, it is always difficult to put too much faith in them. Read some high-end dining food blogs then go with your instinct. There is no guarantee.

[magiesmom]

extebarri told me they take reservations 6 months in advance and not before.

[shekamoo]

Any particular blogs you would suggest?

[PBSF]

The following blogs are not Spain specific but have good write ups on it's mainly high-end restaurants. I don't always share of their opinions but their writing are insightful. What I look for is not if they like the establishment or not but if they convey what the particular restaurant is about in terms of food, service and ambience.
Andy Hayler
Chuck Eats
Highend Food
Lux Eat
Hungry Hedonist
Opinionated about dining
Gastromodiale
There are many others.

[shekamoo]

Thank you, I was exactly interested to see whose views you would think more insightful

[PhilD]

With these guys you need to work out whose opinion is similar to your own. Hopefully you have been to a few places they have reviewed and can benchmark to see where you agree. They each have their foibles so each is insightful but from their individual perspectives.

[shekamoo]

You are quite right, I always have to do a lot of between-the-line reading and self-experience calibrating. What could be potentially truly helpful is that rare critic who has a knack for capturing what I would experience in her own words. when you find yourself on that wavelength with a critic, they become an extension of your senses. I have such "relationships" with some film and literature critics, but I am yet to find a true extension of my taste buds, hence the endless search for new bloggers and reviewers. but then again maybe the realm of gustation is so fundamentally different from these other fields that my search is futile, if not paradoxical. oh well