Imagine strolling down the tiny lanes of San Sebastian, nipping in and out of local eateries and bars to taste bite after bite of molecular gastronomy. If only I could spend every waking hour of the day doing this, life would be blissful.
San Sebastian, a beautiful coastal town in the Basque region, is often known as a Foodies Paradise, one of the top culinary capitals of the world. It has the second most Michelin stars per capita and its endless list of Michelin starred restaurants will make your mouth water.
Amongst the stars within its hidden alleyways, lie many Pintxos bars - the true culinary playground of Michelin starred chefs. Boasting some of the most creative and delectable bites, allow yourself time to wander these streets and just taste. Chalk board after chalk board filled with many delicious temptations.
Given the many culinary delights awaiting to be discovered, sitting down only at one place would simply be a crime. Why commit when you can attempt to try them all? And hence why I embarked on my very own Pintxos crawl through the lively streets of San Sebastian devouring anything to my fancy. A feast for the senses.
As there are probably too many places to list, I will share with you some of my favourite bites and highlights of places to eat. I must warn you though, my list is long though hopefully worth the read.
One of my favourites is Bar Zeruko, an experimental Pintxos bar with a modern take and creative flair to its presentation and taste of the classic pintxo.
The Hoguera de Bacalao is a must try, a charcoal smoked cod served on a tiny robata grill. Once served, you will need to finish cooking the cod with the wooden tweezers provided and place it on the herb baguette to devour. Following that, wash it all down with the Cucumber & lettuce test tube chaser which accompanies the dish. The Vieira a la plancha, a bed of thinly sliced grilled scallops and the Foie Gras are also must tries.
In a small lane beside the San Telmo Museoa, you will find, La Cuchara De San Telmo, which translates to ‘The Spoon of San Telmo’. It says it all in its name and is quite hard to miss with generally a large queue of people out the door eagerly awaiting their prized pintxos. Each pintxo is made to order, and worth the queue. Try to get there around opening time if you want a chance to taste some of their more popular dishes before it sells out for the evening.
The Cochinillo a Leiza Asado (Roast Suckling Pig) is a must try. Layers of succulent roast pig underneath a perfectly crispy pork skin drizzled with Quince jelly. Make sure you order this one first as it is bound to run out within a blink of an eye. Though it does set the bar high for the many other pintxos to follow.
The Foie de Monfort con Compota de Manzana is simply divine. Seared foie gras on a bed of stewed apple, sprinkled with Maldon salt. I am licking my lips just thinking about it.
The Navajas Gallegas Esparragos Navarros is also one not to be missed. Fresh Razor Clams tossed in garlic topped with White Asparagus. My favourite type of clams next to the Queen's and Geoduck clams. I could have easily eaten another plate of these wonderfully succulent and juicy clams.
The Lomo Atun (seared tuna) y Ponzu, Guacamole is from Almadrava, a tiny seaside village renowned for its calm sandy beaches and its fiery red tuna. The tuna was nicely seared with a crunchy texture on top and a sashimi style on the inside.
At Borda Berri, Chefs Iñaki Gulín and Marc Clua create modern Basque-style dishes. This is where I first discovered Kokotxas de Bacalao Pil Pil, Cod cheeks soaked in this glorious traditional Basque sauce made from olive oil, garlic and chili peppers. Kokotxas in Baque are usually made from either Cod or Hake. Pil Pil is mainly used in fish and seafood dishes though I may not be able to just limit myself to using it for these dishes only. Such rich and intense garlic flavours completely envelope your mouth as you savour each bite of the luscious cod cheeks.
Bordi Berri is managed by the same owners as La Cuchara De San Telmo though offers more traditional but equally tasty and high quality pintxos on their menu. The grilled langoustines and squid are classics, and of course how could you not order the seared foie gras.
If Seafood is what you are after, you must pop into Bare Bare which is laden with fresh seafood dishes on its menu. From fresh Txipirones (squid) to Txangurro (Spider Crab), Almejas (Clams) and Navajas (Razor Clams), there is plenty of seafood to choose from.
We came here for the Percebes, goose barnacles, a traditional Galician delicacy that I came across and fell in love with a few years ago in Spain. I have previously written about Percebes in an earlier Taste Experience at Cunini in Granada. These odd-looking creatures still remain a highly sought after crustacean in Northern Spain and are absolutely delicious, they taste like the sea.
Part of this Pintxos crawl was to also sample as much of the Foie gras a la plancha as humanly possible from each wonderful pintxos bar. And that we did. The foie gras at Bar Sport was a generous portion of two of large pieces of foie layered atop each other. Other two highlights were the Txangurro (Spider Crab) Crepe and the Sea Urchin bisque.
Gandarias is often referred to as the "Aladdin's cave of Pintxos" with its vast selection of traditional meat, seafood and vegetarian pintxos. One not to be missed dish is the Fisherman's Style Clams, Littleneck Clams in a simple yet fragrant sauce of white wine, clam juice, olive oil and parsley - often called "green sauce."
Gandarias also does a lovely version of the Txangurro and Sea Urchin bisque, topped with Salmon roe.
Ganbara, one of the most popular Pintxos bars in the city, is a good place to start your Pintxos crawl if this is your first time in San Sebastian. It is located in the Old town and offers a wide assortment of traditional Pinxtos to whet your appetite. The founders, Jose and Amaia wanted to create a restaurant offering quality ingredients with a large variety of pintxos.
Try the Baby Squid cooked in ink sauce or the Angulas pintxos, a local Basque delicacy. Angulas are baby eels from the Sargasso Sea and commonly used in Basque cuisine. I quite like the texture of this dish though my husband is not so much a fan.
If you are after a more fun and lively vibe, head over to A Fuego Negro for their quirky take on pintxos. A few favourites to try; MacKobe - a mini kobe beef burger, Roast quail and the Potato tortilla.
For a more Cocktails & Pintxos sit-down experience, pop into Sirimiri Atari Akademy. Atari offers both a pintxos bar and a restaurant which takes reservations. A few noteworthy dishes to try; Foie gras terrine and Grilled Octopus.
If you are craving for Pintxos for breakfast, head to Bar Azkena inside the Mercato la Brexta in Old Town San Sebastian. You will soon find yourself wandering through the many seafood and Iberico jamon market stalls.
Make sure you look for Bar Azkena, a tiny pintxos bar at the corner of the Mercado. Pintxos con leche, a breakfast dining concept I can certainly get used to. Bar Azkena is open throughout the day serving creative pintxos offerings from breakfast through to evening cocktails and dinner.
And for the final recommendation, Txuleta Bar & Restaurant. The birthplace of the txuleton steak is in the heart of the Basque region, in a small village called Astigarraga, just outside San Sebastian. Txuleta Bar & Restaurant is one of the best places to try this Basque region specialty. It's Txuleta charcoal grilled T-bone steak is nothing like I have ever tasted. Just the right amount of marbled fattiness and flavour.
The salt is essential in the preparation of the steaks, they are coated with a thick layer or coarse salt that is scraped off before serving. The salt gives the meat a charred exterior when grilled, leaving the centre just slightly above rare creating that perfect level of juiciness.
We were in San Sebastian for a long weekend and I think I went back twice a day just to have a skewer of this wonderful Txuleta....and well of course the foie. Why not? It's a pinxtos crawl weekend right? And that neatly sums up one the most delicious and memorable Taste Experiences I have had to date....a Pintxos Crawl in San Sebastian. I highly recommend it, it's food for the soul.
LOCATIONS
Bar Zeruko (currently closed)
Arrandegi Kalea, 10, 20003
Donostia-San Sebastián
Taste: Hoguera de Bacalao
Vieira a la plancha
Foie gras a la plancha
La Cuchara De San Telmo
Santa Korda Kalea, 4, 20003
Donostia, Gipuzkoa, Spain
+34 943 44 16 55
Taste: Seared Foie Gras with Stewed Apple and Maldon salt
Roast Suckling Pig
Grilled Razor Clams
Seared Tuna with Ponzu and Guacamole
Borda Berri
Fermin Calbeton Kalea, 12, 20003
Donostia, Gipuzkoa, Spain
+34 943 43 03 42
Taste: Kokotxas de Bacalao Pil Pil
Seared Foie Gras
Bare Bare
Portu Kalea, 7, 20003
Donostia, Gipuzkoa, Spain
+34 943 42 07 03
Taste: Percebes (seasonal) and seafood
Bar Sport
Fermin Calbeton Kalea, 10, 20003
Donostia, Gipuzkoa, Spain
+34 943 42 68 88
Taste: Foie gras a la plancha
Txangurro crepe
Sea urchin bisque
Gandarias
C/ 31 de agosto, nº 23. Parte Vieja,
Donostia-San Sebastián (Gipuzkoa)
+34 943 426 362
gandarias@restaurantegandarias.com
Taste: Fisherman's Style Clams
Ganbara
San Jeronimo Kalea, 21, 20003
Donostia, Gipuzkoa, Spain
+34 943 42 25 75
info@ganbarajatetxea.com
Taste: Baby Squid in ink sauce
Angulas (Baby Eel)
A Fuego Negro (currently closed)
31 de Agosto Kalea, 31, 20003
Donostia, Gipuzkoa, Spain
+34 650 13 53 73
Taste: MacKobe mini burger
Roasted Quail
Sirimiri Atari Akademy
Calle Mayor 18, 20003
Donostia, San Sebastián
+34 943 44 03 14
Taste: Grilled Octopus
Foie gras terrine
Bar Azkena
Mercado la Brexta
Boulevard Zumardia, 3, 20003
Donostia, Gipuzkoa, Spain
+34 615 79 26 55
Taste: Pintxos con leche (seasonal and changes daily)
Txuleta Bar & Restaurant
Calle 31 de Agosto, 40 (Plaza de la Trinidad)
Donostia/San Sebastián
+34 943 44 10 07
txuleta@txuletarestaurante.com
Taste: Txuleta (obviously!) and Foie Gras a la plancha
P.S. You may have noticed that Foie gras is pretty much on every recommended list of pintxos to taste. A life motto....when in doubt, eat the foie gras!