Tastes Of San Sebastián

The north of Spain has many charms but few rival the gastronomic pleasures of this hip hub of Basque-style dining

- Kate Gibbs

Foodies rarely stumble upon San Sebastián by accident. Eating well in this city is not a challenge, but narrowing the choices and fitting it all in can be. This coastal gem of the north, about an hour’s drive east of Bilbao, is reputed for its turquoise water and deep sandy beaches, palmtree-lined streets ripe for promenading, and maze of narrow alleys in the Old Town. Also topping the bill is its enchanting array of world-class food. Packed in like sardines, revelling locals and tourists vie for prime real estate at bars heaving with elaborate snacks. San Sebastián (or Donostia, as it is known in the local Basque language) boasts scores of bars doing pintxos – the local word for Spanish tapas, usually given a refined epicurean small-plate upgrade here. In the Gros and Parte Vieja neighbourhoods, punters spill out onto the street with a glass of locally made cider or txakoli (an effervescent white or rosé) in one hand and palm-sized jamon bocadillos or perhaps anchovytopped crostini, laden with mayonnaise and picked spider crab wrapped in ham, then harpooned with a toothpick in the other.

In a town where Basque-style eats are ubiquitous, not all are created equal. Stumble into any pintxos bar and the endless premade spread can appear both daunting and dreadful. The best, usually three-people deep at the bar, excel at specific regional dishes and ingredients. At Ganbara it’s sautéed mushrooms topped with an egg yolk; at A Fuego Negro it’s mini hamburgers; at La Viña it’s a slice of legendary baked cheesecake, or tarta de queso, paired with a glass of sherry.