The story
In the quiet town of Cambo-les-Bains, Ama has quickly established itself as a destination for modern cuisine in the Basque Country. The restaurant’s name – meaning “mother” in Basque – hints at the warmth and care that defines the experience. The dining room is deliberately inviting, a space that feels both refined and unpretentious, redecorated to reflect the team’s own taste.
Chef Adrien leads the kitchen. After training in southeastern France with renowned chefs, he moved to the Basque Country, where he spent years working alongside local cooks. That time allowed him to build close relationships with a network of passionate producers, ensuring the freshness and quality of everything that arrives on the plate. His cooking draws on those experiences, the flavours he discovered during his travels, and a deep love for the craft of sharing food.
The menu at Ama changes regularly, but the approach is consistent: source locally, cook with precision, and let the ingredients speak. Dishes such as Foie gras / Coings / Poivre de Sichuan and Raviole de Tourteau / Betteraves / Bouillon Thaï show a kitchen that balances technique with bold, clean flavours. Seafood appears often – Merlu / Fenouil / Cerises / Patxaran or Merlu marbé à l’encre de seiche / Brocolis et Choux-fleurs – and desserts like Poire / Fève de Tonka / Chocolat Ivoire round out the meal with subtle sweetness.
The restaurant also maintains a thoughtfully curated wine cellar, with bottles chosen to complement the seasonal menu.
Ama’s commitment to quality has not gone unnoticed. It holds a Michelin Recommended distinction, a testament to the consistent, high-level cooking and the genuine hospitality that guests encounter. For anyone seeking a taste of the modern Basque Country, Ama is a welcome addition.
Recognition
Ambience
Details
History
After working for the Ducasse machine (Bastide de Moustier and Hôtel de Paris in Monaco), in Aïnoha (Ithuria) and Bidarray (Auberge Ostapé), chefs Manon Grasset and Adrien Layssac found themselves on Edmond Rostand’s home turf, in their restaurant with whitewashed wooden rafters and teal walls. There, they cook up precise meals, like the day we went for lunch: a truly perfect oeuf parfait slow-cooked at 64°C, covered in a root vegetable velouté (parsley and chervil); a beautiful and perfectly grilled Navarre trout steak titillated by fish fumet and served with broccoli prepared a few different ways, grown at L’Orangerie in Anglet; before a really good chocolate-caramel sphere with cacao crumble topping. At night, things get a little fancier: line-caught hake from Saint-Jean-de-Luz with broccoli and Timut pepper; Ibaïama pork tenderloin with sunchokes, chestnuts and black garlic; pineapple, passionfruit and Java pepper… // Gérard Roubeix
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