San Sebastian, Spain, Pintxos Bars, Basque Country, Lidia Sanchez, Despana, Juan Mari Arzak, Elena Arzak, Kavin Patricio, Maite Montenegro, Terry Zarikian, Andre Tamers, San Sebastian Film Festival, Where to eat in San Sebastian, Pintxos Bars Recommendations, Chef Recommendations

As if beautiful beaches, Belle Époque architecture, and a prominent film festival isn’t enough, San Sebastian holds the bragging rights to more Michelin stars per person than any other city.

But there is no need to spend your time or money at these temples of haute cuisine to enjoy great food in San Sebastian. Twice a day, you can amble from tapas bar to tapas bar enjoying creative and delicious pintxos (small snacks, pronounced “pin-choss” ). The ritual is called txikiteo, which is basically a bar-hopping, canape-driven cocktail party.

The tradition started in the 1800s, when San Sebastian had the custom of txokos, gastronomic societies. Men would gather in private clubs to cook, sing, and drink. Today the men still gather, now often joined by women, and in public bars where the pintxos have been raised to an art form. There are even competitions to determine the best.

The pintxos are displayed on the bar and rarely is there a menu to order from. You can either point (depending on your language skills) and be served, or just grab what you want to eat. Everything is on the honor system and you pay when you are done, based on what you drank and how much you ate. Don’t worry about throwing your napkin on the ground. It’s the local way. The portions are bite-sized and range from the simple:

- cod croquetas,

- fried anchovies,

- shrimp brochette,

- jamon on a croissant;

to more elaborate:

- salmon mousse,

- jamon, soft cheese and sundried tomato,

- vegetable terrine;

to the grandiose:

- baby squid stuffed with spring onion

- duck, apple, pine nuts and Calvados

- percebes (goose barnacles).

The majority of the bars are in the Parte Vieja (old quarter), which makes it easy to wander from place to place. The pintxos are served in the early afternoon and evening. Generally, people either sip a beer or have a glass wine (Txakoli, being the local wine of choice).

Narrowing down the choices for pintxo bars can be overwhelming. So here is a list, culled from food industry people who either live or spend lots of time in San Sebastian.

Our sources:

- Chefs Juan Mari and Elena Arzak, San Sebastian locals

- Chef Kevin Patricio, living and working in San Sebastian

- Maite Montenegro, the former maître d’ of Restaurant Daniel and a San Sebastian native

- Terry Zarikian, owner of Bar Basque in New York City

- André Tamers, founder De Maison Selections, an importer of wines from the Basque region

- Lidia Sanchez, manager at Despana Brand Foods in New York City.

Based on these recommendations and our experience, we share our list for some outstanding bares de pintxos. We also include what each place is known for, but we encourage you to sample whatever looks good to you.

PARTE VIEJA

A Fuego Negro

Contemporary style pintxos.

Bernardo Jatetxea

Guindillas (fried salted peppers), morcilla (blood sausage), antxoas (anchovies), and calamares en su tinta (squid in their own ink).

Cuchara de San Telmo

Carrillerras de ternera (braised veal cheeks).

Ganbara

Txangurro (Basque-style stuffed crabs), hongos a la plancha con un yema de huevo (seasonal grilled mushrooms with an egg yoke), pulpo (braised octopus), percebes (goose barnacles).

Goiz Argi

Specialities include brocheta de gambas (shrimp on a skewer), morcilla (blood sausage).

La Vina

They make look like dessert, but they are savory and delicious: patitas de cordere y cucurucho de queso (lamb and cheese cone), canutillo de queso y anchoa (anchovy and cheese cone). Other notable specialties include morcilla (blood sausage), balon de carne (fried croquette of beef and piquillo bound loosely with a béchamel) and a glass of Txakoli.

Bar Martinez

Specializing in pintxos frios (fried pintxos).

Txepetxa

A great place for delicious antxoas (anchovies). They have quite a few variations, like white anchovies, served on a thick slice of baguette with accompaniments of black olive, piquillo or aioli. We had anchovy paired on toast with a sliver of some of the best salmon I have ever tasted.

ZONA GROS

Alona Berri

Modern and inventive pintxos and a consistent winner of the pintxos championships.

Bergara

Specialty Bacalao a la Vizcaina (cod).

Patio de Ramuntxo

Some say they serve some of the region’s best pintxos.

CENTRO

Hikimika

Very contemporary tapas/pintxos place.

Slide Show

For more about San Sebastian Pintxos Bars, watch the slide show.

Travel Guide

Download the Spanish Basque Country guide.