Everything We Ate In San Sebastián
We’ve just got back from an insane food trip to San Sebastián and we ate so well! So, we had to put together a list of everywhere we went and the spots we genuinely think are worth your time.
San Sebastián is famously known for pintxos. They’re small appetisers, usually a slice of bread topped with anything from seafood to cured meats or vegetables, lined up across the bar ready to eat. It’s a huge part of the city’s food culture and people often spend the evening hopping between bars on pintxos crawls. We’ll be honest though, they’re not really our thing. Cold fish and cold veg isn’t exactly our go-to. That being said, there’s so much more to the food scene than pintxos. Some seriously incredible restaurants are scattered across the surrounding countryside and dotted along the coast, and we fully took advantage of that! If you don’t mind skipping the wine for the day, hiring a car is easily the best way to get around and try them. Then head back into the city in the evening and make up for it with plenty of Txakoli, that’s exactly what we did for 4 nights!
CASA JULIAN
First up, Casa Julian is named the 7th best steak restaurant in the world so naturally it had to make the itinerary. Actually, we booked flights around the restaurant availability. We had steak tartare and charcuterie to start, followed by steak, peppers and salad for mains. This place is honestly insane and the peppers need a special shout out! Try to get a booking in the back room where they cook the steak over the open fire, it’s pretty special.
AGUIRRE PASTELERIA
For a sweet pastry, head to Aguirre Pasteleria. We picked up this insane croissant, iced bun, glazed top, pastry situation which they literally wrap up like a present with paper and ribbon. We took it down to the beach to enjoy and it was SO good! One thing to note, they don’t serve coffee, so you’ll have to pop across the road if you fancy one.
KAIA KAIPE
We made a pitstop at Kaia Kaipe on the way to the hotel from the airport. We had a tight schedule but managed to make it just in time. We’d highly recommend doing a lunch stop like this, it’s such a great way to start a trip.
This was our first time trying the local wine, txakoli, a light, slightly sparkling wine, it was so good! Kaia Kaipe is a fish restaurant where they grill the fish literally on the side of the street, right in front of the port. The interiors are great, the fish was some of the freshest we’ve ever had, and we finished it all off with the perfect post fish dessert - a mille-feuille.
GANBARA
We were really excited to try Ganbara after seeing so much hype about it online. You can’t book, but we only ended up queuing for about 20 minutes. It’s pretty small inside, but definitely worth the wait. The tuna belly was a huge highlight. We also tried one of the prawns but €35 for a single prawn is a little steep. It was incredible, but would we order two? Probably not. Ps. The ham croquettes were the best we tried all trip. Oh and the monkfish pintxos!
One of the traditional Basque cocktails is a Kalimotxo, which is equal parts red wine and Coke. It wasn’t really up our street, but it felt wrong not to try it. We finished with warm strawberries, peppercorns and yoghurt ice cream, which was a deliciously unexpected combo.
LA VIŃA
For the iconic Basque cheesecake, La Viña is the spot. Two slices for €6. It’s not a particularly sweet cheesecake, which surprised us, but it’s still a must try if you’re in the Basque Country.
ANTONIO BAR
Skip your hotel breakfast, San Sebastián has so many little cafés worth popping into instead. We ended up going back to Antonio Bar twice just for the tortilla. It’s packed with caramelised onions, potatoes and peppers, sweet, salty, crispy and chewy in all the best ways. It’s €4 for a thick slab, and it really is worth the hype.
CASA CAMARA
Casa Cámara is one of the oldest fish restaurants in the area. It’s not technically in San Sebastián, it’s about a 20 minute drive away. You can’t drive directly to the restaurant either, so you’ll need to park in a nearby car park and walk about 10 minutes, or park at the port and take the small fishing boat across. It’s also the restaurant with the live lobster tanks inside, if you’re into that kind of thing.
We started with carabinero prawns with saffron rice, followed by a lobster that we chose ourselves (eek). For mains we had the local sea bass with peppers and potatoes, and finished with a raspberry, fig and almond tart. Honestly, this lunch was divine. The fishing village itself is very sweet, although there’s not a huge amount to do around there.
LA CUCHARA DE SAN TELMO
This spot is famous for its beef cheeks and suckling pig, and it absolutely lives up to the hype! It ended up being one of the busiest places we visited, and we actually arrived 30 minutes before opening, along with a lot of other people who had the same idea! There’s no seating here, so it’s very much a stand and eat situation around the counters. It’s organised chaos, but it works, and it’s completely worth it. The beef cheeks literally melt in your mouth, and the suckling pig is so good, perfectly crispy on the outside and insanely juicy inside.
DESY VEGAS
This spot was such a great dinner find. Full of locals and chaotic in the best way. We went for their famous burger with cheese sauce, but pretty much ended up ordering half the menu - gambon bacon (prawns wrapped in bacon), Desy potatoes (garlic oil fries topped with crispy ham), fried pork belly, ham croquettes, and lots of txakoli. There’s a real vibe in this place. No bookings, and we ended up standing at the bar to eat, but it just worked.
THE ONES THAT GOT AWAY
There were still quite a few spots on our list that we didn’t get the chance to visit, which basically means we’ll have to plan another trip, right?
Borda Berri was high on the list for their fall off the bone ribs. Bar Sport was closed for their holidays, but we were dying to try the sea urchin! We also missed Bar Nestor for their famous tortilla. We’re big fans of Nobu so had that on the list too, just to see the location and hotel. And we discovered Saltxipi while we were there, but just couldn’t squeeze it in.
A lot of places in San Sebastián close on Sundays and Mondays, which definitely threw a spanner in the works because we hadn’t realised beforehand. And quite a few spots also only offer a lunch sitting, so it’s one of those cities where you really do need to plan ahead and book wherever you can. Another place we missed was Gerald’s Bar but that’s just the perfect excuse to go back!
