It seems obligatory to start blog posts about
“pintxos” in
San Sebastián (or Donostia to give the town’s Basque name) with a
definition, so I’ll do just that. If you already know this, I suggest you skip
the opening ramble and jump to the best bit… the pictures of the food!
Named after the wooden
stick on which ingredients are traditionally skewered, in Basque parlance,
“pintxo” now refers to any small bar snack.
Those with a little familiarity
with the Spanish language may initially get thrown by some of the Basque
spellings but you can use the knowledge that “pintxo” is pronounced “pincho” as
a cipher to crack many Basque words… a simple, helpful rule being that the ‘tx’
replaces ‘ch’ so anchovies often appear on menu as ‘antxoa’ as opposed to the
Spanish ‘anchoa’, ‘chuleta’ steaks are regularly called ‘txuleta’ & ‘chimichurri’ is ‘tximitxurri’.
Armed with this information & the list of places below, you
are now ready to head out on your first “txikiteo” – a food fuelled
“pub crawl” involving gamboling from bar to bar, eating pintxos & drinking
the local txakoli wine.
Based mainly on food quality & but with service &
atmosphere also influencing my rankings, I’ve compiled this list in my order of
preference with my favourites coming first. Many of the best places can be
found in the Parte Vieja (Old Quarter) but there are some worth checking out in
the Gros neighbourhood and south of Boulevard Zumardia.
It
was a hard call deciding whether to give my “Number 1” spot to Borda Berri or La Cuchara de San Telmo - Borda Berri’s Chef / proprietor Iñaki Gulín formerly worked at La Cuchara &
the similarities remain apparent – both places serve a small selection of
around a dozen hot dishes chalked daily on a blackboard. Serving the likes of
veal cheeks, pig’s ears, trotters & foie gras, many ingredients &
dishes are similar.
Borda Berri (Calle Fermin
Calbeton, 12) – for me, Borda Berri
had the edge for one simple reason… the ‘tximitxurri’ that dressed the pig’s ear. This was one
of the finest things I’ve ever eaten. I went back & had it on three
occasions; one time eating two on the trot!
Terrina de foie con ciruela (Foie terrine with plums)
Risotto de puntalette con Idiazábel
(Risotto of puntalette pasta with Idiazábel cheese)
Oreja de cerdo con tximitxurri (Pig’s ear with chimichurri)
Canelon cremoso de morcilla
(Black pudding cannelloni)
Ravioli de txangurro a la
Donostiarra (Raviolo of spider crab)
Pulpo a la plantxa con membrillo
(Grilled octopus with quince jelly)
Kallos de bakalao al
pil-pil (Codfish swim bladders)
La Cuchara de San Telmo (Calle del Treinta y Uno de Agosto, 28)
– unlike most places in San
Sebastián, neither Borda Berri or La Cuchara display pre prepared pintxos – I prefer this as I like
to eat at the bar. With smoky paprika, garlic, parsley and peanuts, their pig’s
ear was another fabulous dish – the perfect combination of mint and apple and zing
of lime taking it to another level!
Carrillera de ternera al
vino con hummus garbanzo
(Braised
veal cheeks with chickpea puree)
Manita de Urdangarín asada
con romesco
(Pig’s
trotters with romesco sauce)
Cochinillo de Segovia asado
compota de manzana
(Roasted Segovia
suckling pig with apple sauce)
Vieira “toro” envuelta con tocino de bellota
(Scallops wrapped in acorn fed belotta ham)
Risotto de sepia del Mediterraneo (Risotto with squid ink)
Oreja de cerdo iberico cachuetes (Pig’s ear with peanuts)
Foie de Montfort salteado con mostaza y miel de naranjo
(Foie gras sautéed with honey, mustard & orange
peel)
Pulpo “roca” plancha con hojas de
berzas asadas
(Octopus with roasted cabbage leaves)
Bacalao de Islas Faroe confit
asado con tzatziki
(Roasted Faroe Island salt cod with tzatziki)
A Fuego Negro (Calle 31 de Agosto 31) – oozing cool, A Fuego Negro is the pintxos bar I’d want to open if I were to open
a pintxos bar. Whilst Borda Berri or La Cuchara are great places to
eat and move on, “the black fire” is the kind of place I could spend an
evening. Listed in the Michelin guide, they offer a couple
of tasting menus & many dishes showcase molecular gastronomy. I’d order
everything again but if I had to pick a star dish, it’d be the ‘Helado
de Txangurro Donostiarra’ (local spider crab ice cream) for its uniqueness.
Platiko de encurtidos de
kasa (Home made pickles)
Helado de Txangurro
Donostiarra (Local spider crab ice cream)
Tartar de bonito & sandía con yema rallada
(Tartar
of tuna & watermelon with grated yolk)
Pajarito frito, cebolla
& zanahoria (“Little bird”, onion & carrot)
Mollejas de merluza
salteadas (Sautéed hake sweetbreads)
Ortiguillas Donostiarras con letxe
de tigre
(Local
sea anemones with tiger’s milk)
Makcobe with txips
(Kobe burger with chips)
Brandada bakailu, gel de naranja, cebolla roja & azeituna beltza
(Cod
brandade, gel of orange, red onion, black olive)
Bar Sport (Fermin Calbeton, 10) – in general, the food at Bar Sport may not be quite as good as
some of the other places on this list but there are other qualities in its
favour. As well as showing sport on their TVs, one big bonus is that they
seemingly never close – they are amongst the first to open in the morning &,
unlike many others, stay open during “siesta” time. They serve a wide range of
pintxos - both set out on the counter & a chalk board of hot specials. Their
‘Foie a la plancha’ takes some beating.
Foie a la plancha
(Grilled foie)
Manitas de cerdo con hongos (Pig’s feet with mushrooms)
Lecheritas de cordero
(Lamb sweetbreads)
Carrilleras (Beef
cheeks)
Txangurro al horno (Baked
crab)
Ganbarra (San Jeronimo Kalea, 19) – listed in the Michelin guide, with a ‘proper
restaurant’ as well as the bar area, Ganbarra
do not serve a huge range of pintxos but the ‘quality not quantity’ selection
make visiting a must. Although much pricier than the typical pintxo, their
mushroom dishes are worth stretching your budget. From the pintxos menu, the
Basque sausage rolls seemed to be everyone’s must have dish.
Ostras (Oysters)
Huevas de merluza (Hake
roe)
Espárrago rebozado
(Battered white asparagus)
Tartaleta de txangurro
(Spider crab tartlet)
Hojaldre con txistorra
(Basque sausage roll)
Alcachhofas con foie gras (Artichokes with foie gras)
Surtido de setas con yema (Assorted mushrooms with egg yolk)
Bar Antonio (Bergara Kalea, 3) – this place came recommended by Gabriella Ranelli (who runs @tenedor tours)
after I took to Twitter to get suggestions for places open on Sunday evenings &
Mondays. We liked Antonio’s so much that we went back
again twice during the week; although not in the Old Town, it would make a
worthwhile inclusion on any txikiteo itinerary. The crispy oxtail ravioli & the foie with crisp
coated black pudding were my faves.
Foie a la Plancha con puré de manzana (Grilled foie gras
with apple purée)
Morcilla rebozada con foie (Black pudding with foie)
Ravioli crujiente con rabo de buey (Crispy oxtail ravioli)
Mini hamburguesa de mejillón (Mini mussel burger)
Txangurro con guidilla, antxoa y yema rallada
(Crab
with pickled pepper, anchovy & grated egg yolk)
Gilda (Guindilla peppers,
olives & salted Cantabrian anchovies)
Hidalgo 56 (Paseo Colón
15) – a short walk over the river in the Gros, Hidalgo
56 is owned an operated
by a chef who once held a Michelin star. This quality was evident in the oxtail
& foie gras dishes. With a little theatre, my favourite dish was the
‘Kokotxas de merluza a la llama’. As instructed, I left the hake cheeks to take
on the smoke for a couple of minutes before lifting the cloche.
Meta de rabo (“Goal
of oxtail”)
Rebozuelos con yema (Chanterelles
with egg yolk)
Escalope de foie gras con torrija de melon (Foie gras with toasted melon)
Kokotxas de merluza a la llama (Flamed hake cheeks)
Trufa de queso azul y sésamo tostado
(Blue cheese truffle with sesame
seeds)
Bergara Bar (Calle del General Artetxe, 8) – listed
in the Michelin guide, Bergara Bar is another highly rated place in the Gros
neighbourhood that has
won several awards for their pintxos. Presentations are imaginative but not all
the food hit the spot with me. The ‘Falsa lasaña’, which consisted of a square
toast topped with ‘pisto’ (the Spanish version of ratatouille), anchovies &
balsamic vinegar suffered from a soggy bottom; this is one of the reasons I
preferred to order from chalk boards as opposed to the pintxos on the enticing
looking displays.
Fudeuá con ali-oli (Noodles
with garlic mayonnaise)
Txapeldun (Seafood
cocktail)
Falsa lasaña con anchoas (False lasagne - anchovy)
Foie Gras con uvas al Oporto (Foie gras with port braised grapes)
Hamburguesa de tomate
(Tomato hamburger)
Ibai (Calle de Getaria, 15) – according to many trusted sources, Ibai is not only one of the best & most underrated restaurants
in San Sebastian but also the world. The hottest ticket in town, the small dining
room located in the basement of the equi-small bar is only open for weekday
lunches. After popping in on Monday for a few pintxos I was offered a table for
the Friday, which sadly I could not accept due to our flights; so it remains at
the the top of our list for next time. A friendly bar with a small quality
selection of pintxos set out on the counter, it’s a good place to start your txikiteo whilst en route to the Old Town.
Bocadito de antxoas con huevo cocido y queso
(Anchovy with boiled egg & cheese)
Gamba con mayonesa, yema rallada y aceituna
(Prawn, mayonnaise, grated egg olk & olive)
Tortilla de hongos (Mushroom
omelette)
Atari Gastroteka (Calle Mayor,
18) – listed in the Michelin guide, Atari Gastroteka is a more vibey &
swanky space than many of the pintxos
bars in the Old Quarter. Their version of the Gilda showcased some of the region’s finest
produce with guindillas from Ibarra
and anchovies from Geteria – they came
served with the stunning white tuna known as Bonito del Norte (aka White Beauty) from the port of Bermeo.
Huevo a baja temperatura (Slow cooked egg)
Platillo de bonito, guidilla,
antxoas y acientunas
(White tuna, green peppers, anchovies & olives)
Queso cabra, tomate deshidratado
y jamón
(Goats cheese, sundried tomato & jamón)
La Txuleta (Plaza
de la Trinidad, 2) – in the more formal restaurant that adjoins the bar the
specialties of the house include the Basque Txuleta steaks that give the restaurant its name. at
just €3 the Txuleta Pintxos was great value but the local chorizo like
Txistorra sausages at €1.90 were the biggest delight.
Pintxos Txuleta
(Skewered ‘chuleta’ steak)
Txistorra (Chistorra – Basque sausage)
Foie a la plancha
(Grilled foie)
Brotxeta de pulpo y langostino (Skewered prawn & octopus)
La Viña (Calle 31 de Agosto 3) – not
having much of a sweet tooth, eating plate after plate or stick after stick of
pintxos is perfect for me but for the ‘goloso’ (sweet toothed), La Viña is the place to go for the perfect
Basque cheesecake, Torta de queso.
The cheesecake is great with a Pedro Ximénez sherry but do order the txakoli, as they pour it with particular flair.
Pulpo vinagreta (Octopus in vinaigrette)
Canutillo de queso y anchoa (‘Little pipe’ of cheese & anchovy)
Torta de queso (Cheesecake)
Zeruko (Calle Pescaderia, 10) – you’ll
find Zeruko at the top of many
people’s lists but it was just too busy for me to fully enjoy (& we visited
out of peak season!) I’d go back again to try more of the dishes as the ones I
selected did not impress enough to warrant the bustle.
Kallos a la Donostiarra
(Codfish swim bladders)
Alcachofas dorada con vieira (Globe artichoke with
scallop)
Rollito de primavera con cebolleta y jamón
(Spring
roll with spring onion & jamón)
Boquerones en vinagre y
aceituna (Anchovies in vinegar with an olive)
Bar Txepetxa (Calle Pescaderia, 5) – the chilly
waters around San Sebastián produce
some of the best anchovies the world has to offer. Bar
Txepetxa specialises in these
Cantabrian beauties where generations of the same family have been
serving them for over 100 years. The pick of the bunch for me was the anchovy
topped with sea urchin roe. (Let’s
just pretend the blueberry one never happened, eh?)
Antxoa con foie y compota
de manzana (Anchovy
with foie & apple)
Antxoa con erizos de mar (Anchovy with sea urchin roe)
Antxoa con mermelada de
arándanos (Anchovy
with blueberries jam)
Paco Bueno (Mayor Kalea, 6) – still run by his family, the bar is
decorated with boxing memorabilia belonging to its founder, Paco Bueno. A little research tells me,
the Spanish champion’s career highlights include unsuccessfully challenging
“Fearless Freddie” Mills for the European Light Middleweight Title &
beating Richard Grupe in the first International bout staged in Germany after
the war (3rd July 1949). We went at the tail end of a txikiteo &
only had room for their famous for its ‘Gamba gabardina’. Translating as as ‘prawns in a raincoat’ these
battered beauties where indeed a knockout! (see what I did there?)
Gamba gabardina
(Battered prawns)
Gandarias (31 de Agosto Kalea, 23) –
although for some reason (perhaps their indifferent attitude) I didn’t warm to Gandarias as a place and did not
return. Service aside, I found the scallop with honey to be cooked beautifully
and the honey vinaigrette to be
judged perfectly.
Brocheta de chipirón
(Skewered squid with its ink)
Brocheta vieira con vinagreta miel (Scallop with a honey vinaigrette)
Foie a la plancha
(Grilled foie)
La Cepa (31 de Agosto Kalea, 7) – one of the fist to open, I
visited La Cepa before they had
completed their impressive array of pintxos. As such, I ordered a couple of hot
pintxos from the printed menu. Classic dishes served with a smile.
Morcilla de arroz con pimientos
del piquillo
(Black pudding made with rice & red peppers)
Bocadito de chorizo cocido (Boiled chorizo sandwich)
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OMG....Just how much Foie gras can a man plough through ? Looks absolutely mouth watering.
ReplyDeleteAs for the rest of the food....Jeez man , you are one hell of an eating machine. Superb cuisine....All of it.