Pinxtos Bar Crawl
- San Sebastian, Spain
- Jul 21, 2017
- 4 min read
San Sebastian
This would have easily been the highlight of my trip were it not for my meal at Arzak. I echo Anthony Bourdain's plea for none of you to ever go there selfishly because I want the city to stay how it is. I repeat, do not go to this little city in northern Spain where the weather is perfect and not unbearably hot as in Madrid. Do not enjoy the beach with soft sand directly in the middle of the city. Do not learn how to surf at the neighboring beach. Do not go explore the countryside on hikes easily accessible outside of the city center. And particularly DO NOT eat your weight in pinxtos at all the bars that dot the streets of the old city. Think dimsum, but with Spanish food and a city where each bar has its specialty and it literally a block away. No wonder this city has more michellin stars per capita than any in the world because even the bar food is essentially fine dining. Do your research beforehand because not all pinxto bars are created equal and try to get to your top places before 8pm (or for lunch) as the places are tiny and the service favors the aggressive (and Spanish speaking). But I promise you, your fight through the crowd will be 100% worth it because these little bites will blow. your. mind. There are also pinxtos bars which display all the pinxtos offered and you kind of just pick them out buffet style and pay at the end which is a bit more convenient for more people.
Bar Nestor: Get the steak (bistec) and the roasted padron peppers (pimientos de padron) and a glass of rioja or txakoli (local lightly sparkling white wine served at all pinxto bars in town). The tomatoes are also unreasonably delicious (it's like I had never tasted a tomato before). Portions are large and everything is simple but the large flakes of salt liberally put on everything complement it all well. This is some of the best steak I've ever had at such a reasonable price point and the big guys behind the counter move with the grace of ballerinas. Be aggressive and get yourself put on the list and then wait your turn to order while enjoying a drink. Although I wasn't able to try it, people get here 30 minutes early to order a slice of tortilla that only comes out twice a day and always sells out.
La Mejillonera: This bar specializes in seafood. The service is very fast and the papas here are good as well as the calamari. The star of the show though is really the mussels which come in plates of 8. We ordered the tigres but we saw many tables also order "a la marinera" which looks delicious. The mussels are incredibly flavorful and cooked perfectly so that they aren't rubber-y.
La Cuchara de San Telmo: Although crowded, touristy, and close to the museum (which you should also certainly check out but does take more than 2 hours), this was my favorite pinxto bar that I ate at. We went back twice because the food was so stunningly good and sophisticated (like would easily cost $20 a small plate in new York but was 5 euros instead). We tried the suckling pig, the foie gras, a white fish, and the pig year which was my clear favorite across all the pinxtos bars. Each dish is plated beautifully and comes with delicious sauces. You must be very very aggressive in terms of ordering at this place but it is well worth it.
Borda Berri: We came here to try the veal cheek cooked in red wine but in my opinion the duck was better. If we hadn't just eaten at La Cuchara we would have ordered more.
Gandalaria: Although there were also plenty of tourists, there were plenty of delicious pinxtos to choose from displayed on top of the bar including some that I would never have expected such as uni with caviar and blood sausage. This place is great for choosing your own thing and getting fed quickly. Essentially everything (even down to the simple jamon montadito) was delicious.
Txuletera: Don't feel like an American cop-out and just order the tiny hamburgers. They are delicious and the deal even includes a tiny beer. You will wish all hamburgers in the US were as good as these little suckers.
Zeruko: The "modern" pinxto bar with a lot of experimental pinxtos to try that are all presented as if they were going to be served in a restaurant in Soho. This place is rather hit or miss (do not get the giant white pastry ball with nuts which we thought was a delicious desert pinxto but we quickly discovered was just a baby's fist sized glob of cream cheese) so definitely ask what something is before you pick it.
La Vina: We were so full when we reached this point so the only thing we ordered was the famous cheesecake (one portion comes with two slices) which is a much lighter and less sweet version of an American cheesecake with a cake crust rather than graham cracker. If I had a larger stomach, I would've tried the olives because they looked delicious.