Donostia: San Sebastian Foodie Fantasy realised

Standard ceiling view in any bar in San Seb

Racion Jamon Iberico

 

For years I have raved on about tapas culture and loving the Spanish way of life: the art of spending time over food, friends and conversation. Many people I know, have recommended that I go to San Sebastian as a foodie destination to experience the best tapas in Northern Spain. People from this region or those who have been lucky enough to visit the area, go misty eyed and look far off into the distant horizon whilst drooling and sighing as they try and explain the delights of the food there.

Coming back to London this year, I have noticed the rise of many Spanish restaurants, delis, tapas or pintxos bars & it has taken off like no other. I realised I was now hankering for a taste of the real deal on our doorstep. The old world of wines and the food of the European sun. So this year I finally got round to going to this fabled city of the Basque country.

I warn you - it's not the easiest place to get to due to lack of direct flights and it's tricky trying to coordinate coaches/trains from the nearest big cities like Bilbao. However once you get there, it's a haven for beach lovers [La Concha is one of the most beautiful in the World] and for those who love nothing more than eating and drinking the night away! I recommend that you fly direct from Gatwick to Biarritz airport in the South of France. Then you take a coach into Spain or take a bus to the train station and then take the train to Donostia with one change over - both routes are about the same length in time and a fun adventure and quite cheap.

Once you get there [coach station/train station] you can walk everywhere - its not a massive city. The old town of Donostia [Basque name for San Seb] has cobbled streets lined with little restaurants/pubs that have an enormous array of pintxos [Basque name for Tapas; pronounced Pinch-os] laid out on the bars. Its a stones throw from the old port and La Concha beach and really fun to wonder around and get lost in.

The idea is that you graze from bar to bar sampling different morsels of food and wine - my idea of heaven! Once you stop at one, you choose a small plate and one or two different items displayed on the bar and order a drink. You then collect the cocktail sticks that hold the canapes together and hand them in at the end to your bar man or just indicate as to what you have consumed and they will rely on your honesty to get you the correct bill.

This slow nibbling on different dishes at each bar means you don't get drunk too quickly and you can try different beverages. Cider is very popular as is a hideous concoction of red wine and coca-cola called Kalimotxo [pronounced Kali-mocho]. Better to try the local wines - this region is where Rioja hails from and is the best I have ever tasted. The best white wine was Aura Verdejo Rueda which met with local approval when chosen by a tourist like me!

The food is good local ingredients put together simply and without fuss. Nothing too spicy and not a vegetable in sight [other than for decoration]. Lots of the pintxos are bread based or deep fried - so you really have to look around for healthy options i.e. grilled seafood and skewers, salads, etc. Half the fun is to find out what the locals are going for and then hang around till you can squeeze up to the bar and choose the same!

Pickled Anchovies

Pimentos Padron : Deep fried salted mild peppers

 

A glass of vino plus a few plates of pintxos in each bar is about 10 euros or under depending on how much you drink/eat. It is such a sociable way of wondering the streets in the warm summer nights. The whole town was busy and bustling and very family friendly! People tended to go from bar to bar until 11 or midnight then head off to various late night venues to carry on or home to sleep it off before hitting the beach again the next day! Every bar specialised in their own signature pinxtos. My favourite was Bar Egosari serving a huge variety of skewers that were grilled for you as you waited!

Skewers ready for the grill

 

 

Grilled Squid

One bar [Ganbara] provided a display of huge tomatoes straight out of someones garden that tasted of sunshine and heaven on a plate. I have never tasted tomatoes so good! Just with a drizzle of Spanish olive oil and a crunch of sea salt, it was simple and sublime. All the juices were eagerly mopped up with bread and the customers munching on this ensalada de tomata were all nodding approval at each other without being able to speak. Divine! Why is it that tomatoes on holiday have that flavour like no other? Nothing back in the UK tastes anything like my memories - so simple yet delicious, just a bit of bread and tomato - thats it! I went back for it practically everynight!

Tomatoes with Olive oil = BEST PINTXOS!

Another favourite that had to be searched for was Albondigas ie meatballs. Most bars do a spread of cold pintxos on bread out the front but some hidden gems have these simmering terracota pots at the end of the bar/kitchen - you really have to elbow the oldies out of the way to get to them and demand your portion! Any bar that has hoards of elderly local Spainards is bound to have a speciality that the tourists are missing out on!

Albondigas = Meatballs

Skewers of Pickled chillies,prawns,peppers, anochovies and pickled onions and gerkins

Octopus and peppers and onions


 

All these pintxos can in my opinion be put together very easily for a party at home. Nothing really requires that much cooking - just skewers/cocktail sticks, good ingredients & the imagination to put them together. I missed green stuff though. There was none on the menus. Not a cucumber in sight. No green beans or peas. Don't get me wrong I am very much the carnivore but I think veg can make dishes more ineteresting and give variety in textures. By the end of the week I was craving veg and I wanted to sit down for a meal rather than standing around in bars. So we found some amazing restaurants to go to on the port. Lots of fresh seafood cooked just in a little olive oil and garlic - it was delightful and just what you want from a seaside holiday. However again no veg in sight or on the menu [even though the markets in town did have loads of veg stall - I wonder where they all go?].

I also found the fact that they serve bread with everything made me feel a little too bloated by the end of the week - freshly made bread is hard to resist at the best of times let alone on holiday! Breakfast was also tricky as they tend to do none at all, very sugary pastries or again bread based options. The best one I found and had everyday [and now won't need to have again for a year] was Potato Tortillas. Every bar had a fresh one laid out by 10am in the morning so coffee and a slice of this savoury delight kept me going till pintxos time!

Overall I highly recommend Donostia for a long weekend of bar hopping and eating delicious tapas and lying on the beach. And in terms of things to do there is plenty of art and culture like the Guggenheim Museum and Gallery in Bilbao which is only 40min away on a coach as well as plenty of night life and music! You may then want to come home and go on a carb free diet of spicy vegetarian food - Just kidding !!!