San Sebastian/Donostia (3 nights)

We got our little taste of Basque Country at the start of our trip in San Sebastian, or Donostia as the Basques call it. This town is famous for its pintxos, or tapas, and also has the second-highest number of Michelin-starred restaurants after Kyoto. But since our food budget doesn’t run to $250 per person tasting menus, we ate a lot of pintxos, and as fans of “snack supper” as we call it at home, this suited us just fine. Or it did - like pizza, you think you could eat pintxos for every meal for days but the reality is - perhaps not.

We were jet-lagged, of course, so didn’t scramble to get things done. Which isn’t how things work in Spain anyway. Bus from Bilbao airport was easy to navigate, and weather (which can be very rainy) cooperated enough that we could walk to the hotel from the bus station. Our hotel (Sarriegi Pension) was in old town, in Sarriegi Plaza. Walkable to everything, close to a grocery store, great location - but a bit noisy inside and outside (two bars across the street).

We spent part of a day walking along the San Sebastian waterfront and up Mt Urgull, which has great views of bay, ocean, and city. Definitely an uphill climb though! Highly recommend a rest at Urgulleko Polboriña, a tiny outdoor bar serving coffee, beer, wine and cocktails.

We also walked over to Gros, the neighborhood on the other side of the river, but it was raining so we got a late start and did not explore much there.

Where did we eat (that’s really why you’re reading this, right?)? Here we go:

Our favorite place was Tamboril, right off Plaza de la Constitucion. We went here twice.

Photos - Anchovies in oil; trout; fried anchovies; mushrooms in broth; beverages and menu; bar buddy, waiting for something to drop

We also went to Bar Betijai twice, although we didn’t like it as much as Tamboril.

Photos - warm goat cheese salad; goat cheese with jamon; anchovy with tuna; pintxos display; anchovy with crab salad and a shrimp skewer; more jamon

We thought we might go to dinner at Casa Urola, but they were booked, so we sat downstairs for a couple of pinxtos.

Photos - menu display; more anchovies; scallop in cold cream sauce; something with pine nuts!; daily menu behind the bar; yet another anchovy pintxo

Fast food mussels? Potatoes? Sure, why not. Cervecerias La Mejillonera is here to fill that niche.

Photos - menu board outside the restaurant (potatoes and mussels, that’s it); menu inside; mussels “tigre” (spicy sauce) and mussels “a la marinera” (kind of an Italian dressing); menu board; trough for shells and other pintxos debris.

And finally, Basque cheesecake. Yes. In all its creamy and gooey deliciousness.

Photos - crowd outside La Vina; slices of cheesecake; whole cakes; Bob is pleased with his cheesecake plate

Also-rans for food: Bartolo, La Cepa de Bernardo, Kofradia (highly rated for seafood - but Bob got food poisoning, so…)