What is a pintxo?
pintxo (language: Basque)
/ ˈpintʃo / peen-cho
noun
a small snack, typically eaten in bars, traditional in northern Spain and especially popular in the Cantabria, Asturias, the Basque country and Navarre.
Top pintxo bars in San Sebastian
We just spent two weeks in heaven, I mean, San Sebastian. This hidden gem of a city is in the northern tip of Spain sitting on the Atlantic ocean, 12 miles from France, otherwise known as Basque country.
San Sebastian has it all: beach, city, mountains, night-life, old cobblestone alleyways, bars, top-notch food and deep rooted tradition. I could go on and on about this place. Please, just visit already. Send me photos. Mail me a postcard.
The place is covered in pintxo bars. A favorite, daily activity in San Sebastian is to go pintxo-hopping. It goes like this: hop into to a pintxo bar, grab a drink (preferably a cup of sidra or a glass of txakoli) and 1-2 pintxos, hop to another bar and repeat.
Repeat until you physically cannot repeat any longer.
I mean, there are over 1,000 pintxo bars to choose from in San Sebastian. After spending two weeks there, I have written down our curated list of favorites. Some were given to us as recommendations by fellow foodies who ran through this city before us and some we discovered on our own. I ate at all of them. Enjoy.
Neighborhood: Old Town
Bar Nestor
There’s no menu; only four items to choose from at Bar Nestor: tomato salad topped with sea salt and drizzled with olive oil, blistered peppers also topped with sea salt and drizzled with olive oil, a fresh, melt-in-your-mouth steak of your choice topped with sea salt (it’s all it needs) and Señor Nestor’s famous tortilla.
They’re only two tortillas that Señor Nestor makes per day: one for 1:00 lunch and one for 20:00 dinner. If you crane your neck over the bar, you can see him or his wife in the kitchen making it. There are only 12 pieces in each tortilla and you literally have to call ahead to reserve a piece of the cake…or you have to murder someone for theirs.
Keith and I didn’t call ahead and we also decided that it wasn’t our day to murder people, but don’t get me wrong, we watched with green jealousy as the people next to us inhaled their beloved tortilla like ravenous barbarians. It’s piping hot, gooey and rich in the center. Everyone wants what they can’t have.
Zeruko
Zeruko is extremely fresh and innovative. A lot of their beautiful pintxos are sitting at the bar for you to choose from, but they cook it right there for you, and I don’t mean they heat it up in a microwave. They literally cook each individual pintxo fresh to order.
Try the Hoguera de Bacalao, raw fish smoked at the table on a mini BBQ and washed down with sauce from a test tube.
Atari
Atari is a favorite of mine and the first pintxo bar I fell in love with when I studied abroad in San Sebastian years ago. All of their hot pintxos (pintxos that are cooked, not cold) are fabulous, and their gin and tonics are famous.
It’s on a corner of Old Town, sitting pretty next to a tall, ancient church. Consider eating and drinking outside on the church steps.
La Cuchara
La Cuchara was arguably our favorite pintxo bar of the trip. All their pintxos are written on a chalkboard in Spanish, so you might need to get out Google translate. We did.
You can’t go wrong here, but I recommend the orzo mushroom risotto and the ‘taco de bacalo’, otherwise known as a small cut of steak. It’s drizzled in pepper purée and sea salt. I will never forget this pintxo.
Paco Bueno
This is a more traditional, old school pintxo bar. The atmosphere at Paco Bueno is lively and local. We got some fresh fried shrimp straight out of the oven. They came out on a big plate and were grabbed by everyone within seconds. The place was filled with locals, glasses of wine and beer and good energy.
La Mejillonera
Go here for really tasty mejillonera’s, the Spanish word for mussels. ‘Los tigres’ is their mussel plate with spicy red sauce; a requirement if you’re here. The fried calamari with fresh lime and the patatas bravas are also a must. La Mejillonera is a classic pintxo stop while in Old Town.
A Fuego Negro
Disclaimer – we didn’t get to go here. A Fuego Negro is only open in the evenings and we prioritized some other spots over this pintxo bar, but I had to add it to my list. I have only heard great things and plan to get myself in there someday. They have very innovative and fresh pintxos and it’s always busy, which is always a good sign.
Goiz Argi
Come to Goiz Argi for the fresh shrimp skewer drizzled in their homemade vinaigrette. So. Tasty.
Neighborhood: Gros
Bodega Donostiarra
This pintxo bar is an original spot in the area. Bodega Donostiarra was across the street from our apartment in Gros (our favorite neighborhood) and always packed to the brim.
Get one of their large skewers – you’ll know what I mean when you see the menu. It’s a giant skewer hanging from a weight speared with grilled veggies and fresh seafood. Since it’s hanging from the weight, the drippings from the skewer fall into a garlic baked potato on the plate. It’s unbelievable.
Lobo
This spot is a few doors down from Bodega Donostiarra. Lobo is new, trendy and also packed to the brim. People are spilling out of the door drinking beer and sidra outside. Their tortilla and mussels are to die for.
Casa Senra
This was the first pintxo bar we wandered into on our first night in San Sebastian. Casa Senra is another old school, original, local gem. Their tortilla is hot, fresh and gooey in the center – get it.
Also get the peppers stuffed with beef (sitting on puréed potato), the solomillo (mini steak pintxo), and the grilled shrimp and bacon skewer.
That’s the list. Comment below if you have other top pintxo bars in San Sebastian that we should know about. We’ll try them next time.