An Ode to San Sebastian: the Pintxo Capital of Spain
I have wanted to come to San Sebastian since I had my first gilda at a hole in the wall restaurant that used to be in Vancouver, Sardine Can. A simple bar snack comprised of anchovies, guindilla chillies, pickled green pitted olives and extra virgin olive oil. A salty, little bit spicy, little tangy morsel on a stick, enjoyed with a glass of wine or a vermut.
This classic pintxo was created in the Bar Casa Vallés, an old wine bar located in the Reyes Católicos street of San Sebastián over 60 years ago. Full disclaimer; Unfortunately I’m only learning this factoid now and didn’t go to such establishment - next time.
Delicious things on sticks is kind of a thing in San Sebastian.
A pintxo; pronounced pincho, which translates to “spike” is seen at just about every restaurant you go into in Basque Country.
Sometimes the “spike” is there to keep track of what you had, most of the time it’s just there to keep it all together. Most commonly a slice of baguette topped with fish, peppers or the crown jewel Jamón ibérico. If you don’t know what this is, please acquaint yourself as soon as possible. To be honest, they will put pretty much anything on those tasty bites, some more successfully than others.
Eating In San Sebastian is an experience like no other, in Spain as well but San Sebastian does it a bit differently. Breakfast is light, lunch is usually the biggest meal and people eat a light dinner of pintxos and tapas from around 8-11pm.
So it’s dinner time, you show up at a bar and the place is packed. There is sometimes table service outside if that’s what you’re into, but you get charged a premium for having less fun. So make your way in, politely and strategically make your way up to the bar (or as close to it as you can), always on the lookout for a space opening up. Once your in there, claim your spot at the bar or at the counter that runs around the perimeter and post up. The bar staff is pretty on top of their game, so if you make eye contact, be ready to order. We usually started with a few Gildas, stuffed piquante peppers, and a few glasses of wine or beer to get things going. They will either ask for your name, or in some places ask you to pay upfront. It’s a remarkable way of doing things that relies heavily on the honour system.
Pro tip: The stuff on display looks awesome and some of it is, but you’re better off finding the Tapas menu or hot dishes they have on a chalkboard. These items come from the kitchen made fresh and are absolute dynamite. Do your best to read off the Spanish menus but everyone we met was happy to accommodate our friendly yet terrible Spanish and guided us along the way.
The plan was always to eat 2-4 things, have a beer or Txakoli (an incredible & must-try Basque sparkling, very dry white wine) & then move on to the next spot. Sometimes we ate more, sometimes we ate less, but the good ones we always came back to.
It’s hard to pick favourites with so many good spots. With 16 Michelin star restaurants with a population of under 200,000, food culture is the real deal here.
From seared foie gras on baquette or crab stuffed squid at BAR SPORT to the octopus at La Cuchara de san Telmo, or the seared scallops with seaweed in a light cream sauce at Casa Urola, which was mind-blowing.
Another couple of favourite dishes were at Atari Gastroleku where we had beef cheek - a classic served with creamed potatoes and a rich gravy, & a braised pork belly dish served with hazelnuts in a light vinaigrette from that was probably my favourite bite of the 3-week trip.
On average the plates are around 4-7 euros each and rival some of the best fine dining dishes I’ve ever had. Just amazing quality of ingredients and flavour combinations, really something for everybody. Unless you’re a vegetarian, have a gluten intolerance or don’t like anchovies, then maybe this isn’t your spot.
A written list of food we ate in three days would be comically long, and yes, I did eat Basque cheesecake with a glass of manzanilla sherry 3 days in a row. An unforgettable experience that I will talk about until the next time I go. Which is going to be sooner than later.
