San Sebastian: A Feast by the Sea

“You could make the argument that there is no better place to eat in Europe than the city of San Sebastian.” – Anthony Bourdain

San Sebastian has been on my travel radar for literally decades. Having finally spent a few days there this summer, I can now confidently add it to the short list for a return visit asap. It’s a scenic, historic, delicious, authentic, seaside gem with a warren of streets through the charming old town, gorgeous hills to scale for epic views, and La Concha, the luxuriously broad strand of protected beach for unlimited lounging. Michelin-starred restaurants complement a treasure trove of pintxos bars, fresh seafood spots, hearty Basque tavernas, specialty food shops, and lovely patisseries for Gateaux Basque or epic local cheesecake.

Renowned worldwide, Basque cuisine is first and foremost about the ingredients, the freshest of raw products: just-caught seafood; excellent meat and game; produce; oils; sheep’s milk cheese; hard cider; and wine.” – Marti Buckley, Basque Country: A Culinary Journey Through a Food Lover’s Paradise

DINING

A meandering culinary expedition is definitely core fun here, and restaurant recommendations vary far and wide from gourmet to rustic. It’s not a huge city, but you still must accept that you will not have time (or room) to eat it all! So, subjectively here are a few of our favorite bites from this visit:

La Rampa – Fresh seafood (crab!) is the main event in the small port of San Sebastian.
Gandarias – Pintxos are fun, but for the real feast book yourself dinner in the back room or downstairs at one of the super traditional places like Gandarias and order seriously the best steak of your life. Be advised in this part of the world, beef arrives MOOING! “Medium” = RARE (which I love, but is maybe a lot of rareness for some people).
La Viña – Another classic especially famous for the burnt cheesecake. It was sadly closed for vaca when we were there but it’s a foodie destination! See the Food 52 recipe too.
Pasteleria Otaegui – Upscale traditional pastries so pretty.
La Oveja Latxa – Gorgeous gourmet Basque food products and a very friendly proprietor.

SIGHTS

Explore town with its meandering streets and sweet little shops to discover. There are museums and cathedrals and galleries and vistas and parks galore. I won’t list them all, but try not to miss:

San Telmo Museum – Pry yourself off the beach or your barstool for a minute to visit this fascinating museum of Basque history . It’s a beautiful space and culture housed in a former convent, with special exhibitions and an incredible chapel converted to a gallery of murals.
Take the little blue ferry across the harbor to Santa Clara island for a little hike, up close seagull encounters, and a surprising art installation in the lighthouse by artist Cristina Iglesias called Hondalea.
Skirt the beach around the bay from the old town and take the funicular up the hill to Monte Igualdo for beautiful views, historic buildings and hair-raising amusement park rides along the ridge.

SIDE TRIPS

Of course you have the beautiful world of the Basque country all around to explore. I added a few notes for restaurants, sights and day trips on the French side of the border in my article: Côte des Basques. From San Sebastian I recommend:

Hondarribia – visit this sweet port town just across the river from France with its green shuttered houses, peaceful pedestrian streets, little shops and port side restaurants.
Go for the full “Gastronomic Experience” with an orchard tour, hearty lunch and bottomless cider tasting at Petritegi Cidreria in the mountains above town.
Visit a winery that makes the delicously light and crisp local txakoli wine, such as Hiruzta outside of Hondarribia or Txomin Etxaniz in Getaria. If you catch the txakoli bug as we did (breakfast wine anyone?) there’s actually a Txakoli Museum near Bilbao devoted to the grape.
If you make it to Getaria, check out this list of seafood restaurants An Eater’s Guide to Getaria, the Tiny Spanish Capital of Grilled Fish
On my next visit I’m making some short field trips to:
- Albaola Itsas Kultur Faktoria – Traditional wooden ship building museum and apprenticeship center.
- Museo Cristóbal Balenciaga – Honoring the Basque fashion icon

BILBAO

At least a couple of days in Bilbao are a must, not just for the undulating Guggenheim Museum that dominates the tourist lit (although it is truly magnificent).

The river is charming and the old town is a lovely place to get lose yourself in a marathon pintxos crawl around the Plaza Nueva.
After ten days, we needed a break from delicious but hearty Basque food, so we turned to Moroccan of course! Restaurante Assafir near the Guggenheim Museum was DELICIOUS and exactly what we were craving!
If you NEED a fantastic club sandwich (as every good traveler does sooner or later) they serve them on the patio at the Artist Grand Hotel‘s cafe across the street from the Guggenheim.