Typically when one thinks of Spain, the famous cities of Barcellona and Madrid come to mind. But I can almost guarantee if you ask a foodie, they will tell you about the small city of Donastia, most commonly known as San Sebastián.

A charming coastal city in Northwest Spain nestled in the heart of Basque country, San Sebastián is known for its incredible food with pure and fresh ingredients, adding an attention to quality that packs a real punch in the overall flavor of the cuisine.

It’s no wonder that there are claims that this little big city has the second most Michelin stars per capita in the world which is quite the feat for a city with a population less than 300,000 people.

Until I researched cities close to the border of France, I honestly had never heard of San Sebastián. With a quick Google search, one thing I did know upon arriving was to go straight to Historic San Sebastian to try some world-famous tapas, better known as pintxos!

A bit frustratingly, when I visited in late August I had some dietary restrictions since I was in the process of healing a bad case of leaky gut. Not the most fun ailment to have when visiting one of the best foodie cities in the world. Luckily I went with my husband, so I could share a few tastes of the dishes and get his take on the things I couldn’t eat at the time!

When completing some quick research on restaurants to try while visiting San Sebastian, there were some places that popped up quite frequently on lists of the “go-to places” to eat pintxos.

After visiting, at least from what I discovered, you really can’t go wrong because everything we tried was delicious! This is no surprise while in a city famous for its food and vast amount of Michelin stars.

Casa Gandarias Bar - San Sebastián, Spain

First up we went to Casa Gandarias Bar. There was a great variety of pintxos already prepared and in a spread on the bar to just choose from.

One thing I did notice was that it wasn’t very consitently labeled, so I didn’t get the exact name of the dish we tried. This dish had anchovies, famous in the region, with what appeared to be onions, cilantro, and a drizzle of olive oil on the bread.

Being unable to consume gluten at the time, I had my husband do the honors of tasting the pintxos as a whole while I snagged one of the anchovies.

The fish tasted very fresh and flavorful. The bread’s crust was a bit more on the chewy side while the center of the bread was soft, melting beautifully in the mouth.

My husband loved the combination of the ingredients and thought the bread was delicious, a big compliment coming from a Frenchman! Of all the pintxos we tried, this one was my husband’s favorite.

Next up we headed over to Casa Vergara. Of all of the restaurants we went to, the staff here were by far the most considerate and accommodating towards tourists! Don’t get me wrong, none of the personnel at the restaurants were overtly rude and they did their duty of providing us with the food we ordered. However, in my personal experience, my most pleasant interaction was with the kind people at this establishment.

Here there was another amazing spread of a variety of pintxos which were not only very well organized and labeled, but also listed in 4 languages! The main languages used were obviously Spanish and Basque, but they also had the menu in English and French due to the border of France being very close by.

With all of the choices, my husband and I decided on trying ceviche de vieira y encurtidos (scallop ceviche and pickles) and the erizo de mar relleno al horno (baked stuffed sea urchin).

I do have to say, I was very excited for the scallop because I was able to eat more of it with my food sensitivities at the time. But the little taste I had of the sea urchin was the most memorable!

I have had sea urchin once at a sushi restaurant in San Francisco and was honestly not much of a fan. This dish was a whole other story! With the mix of flavors they added to the sea urchin, it was delectable!

Inside was a mix of spices stirred with the sea urchin and what I believe was a bit of cheese to make a consistency similar to a pâté. It was then topped with an abundance of delicious melted cheese that made the flavors come together very nicely. It was my personal favorite of all of the pintxos.

To help wash these delicious dishes down, my husband and I ordered a sangria to share which was very refreshing!

This restaurant was my favorite spot for pintxos due to the ease of ordering, plentiful and well-labeled variety of choices, as well as the amazing customer service.

Next up was Eibartarra Bar which honestly lured us in with the sign advertising pintxos/tapas for 2,50 euros. Sold!!

This place could be described as more of a hole in the wall, but sometimes I have discovered that those could be some of the best places!

Here we tried the pollo (chicken on a stick) and another pintxo with fish (I believe mackerel) on bread sprinkled with a light salsa.

They gave us a picante sauce to go with the chicken which I personally loved! My husband, not big on spicy food, stayed away from the hot sauce.

I had a bit of the fish, but had most of the chicken which had a great moist texture (sorry to those of you who hate the “m” word, but I don’t know how else I could describe it) that was even more tasty when paired with the mildly spiced hot sauce.

For the flavor and value for your money, my husband and I agreed that we really enjoyed this spot during our pintxos excursion!

La Vina Restaurante - San Sebastián, Spain

Feeling like we had a good variety of pintxos, it was time for the ultimate item on my food list… the famous tarta de queso (cheesecake) from La Vina!

And let me tell you, this is not your average cheesecake. This is the famous Basque cheesecake special to San Sebastián. Although there are a variety of places within the city we saw advertising the tarta de queso, definitely go for a slice at La Vina Restaurante, the original creators of this recipe.

Inside of La Vina and even before walking in, it was obvious that this is a popular hot spot. It took us a while to make our way to the bar to order a slice of the delicious cake. After a bit of patience, we were up next.

I do have to say, even when ordering in Spanish, the older gentleman helping us still seemed to be a bit annoyed with tourists. I personally found this very funny and entertaining. I can only imagine how much they have to interact with tourists due to their famous cheesecake.

When coming to this famous spot, my advice is to go in with a good sense of humor and not take things personally. We were still helped and got our cheesecake just the same!

And this cheesecake! I am a huge cheesecake lover and have had a good variety all around the world, and I have never tasted anything like it!

This is not like the sugary sweet cheesecake you find in the famous New York variety. The Basque cheesecake has a less sweet taste with a thicker, almost firm custard-like, consistency.

My husband always swears off cheesecake, but after one bite of this slice of heaven, he was a convert! I had one good bite since at the time I was sensitive to milk (which was completely worth the risk), but he happily devoured the rest of the generous portion!

For the huge slice it was 6 euros, and I will confidently tell you that it is worth every cent! A must-have when in San Sebastián!

Our first food experience in San Sebastián was a perfect sampler platter of the wonderful tastes to discover. Even just exploring a tip of the iceburg, I fell in love with the flavors that this lovely city has to offer!

One thing I know for sure is that I will definitely go back to more throughly explore and indulge in the deliciousness that is Basque cuisine.

San Sebastián is a must-go for any foodie looking to have a great food experience in Basque country. Don’t hesitate to plan your trip!

Discovering Basque Bites of San Sebastián, Spain - Pintxos, Cheesecake, and more!