Basque Country Gastro Guide

Chapter 2 of another bloody gastro guide in the Basque country, Spain!

Hello, beautiful people, and welcome to Chapter 2 of another bloody gastro guide today in the Basque country, Spain.

Today’s guide will be about the city of San Sebastian; the no need to introduce heaven on earth to the food-obsessed person. But I wanted to give more of an overall impression of what the Basque country has to offer. Although San Sebastian is a jolly, tasty affair, there is so much more to the Basque country than San Sebastian. 

The Basque country is luscious green landscapes rolling towards you through the car windscreen and pelting rain so fast that your windscreen wipers are full speed, and you still can’t see the road correctly. The Basque country is coming across a little shop on the side of the road selling local wine, cheeses, ciders, and honey that makes all that sketchy driving worth it. The Basque country just says road trip, so get on the road I say.

I will be posting editions of another bloody gastro guide fortnightly on Fridays. These guides are for people whose travel plans are provoked by their stomachs and whose adventures wouldn't be adventures without pursuing new and tasty foods. 

The idea is to give you ideas of foods to TRY in these destinations and why, less about where to go to eat them. The why is important! Restaurants and cities change, but the food traditions and unique things about places remain. 

So, here are my reasons why you should get your lips to the Basque country pretty sharpish, and not just to San Sebastian, but definitely to San Sebastian…..

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I met the Basque country as a fleeting part of a road trip with two close friends during the COVID-19 pandemic. The whole affair was a heroic attempt to run away from what was happening in the world in search of the good. We were living simply and simply living, camping, cooking on beaches, putting up tents in the rain, and breakfasting daily on a ginormous granola bar stash I made for the trip.

As you've probably gathered already, if you usually travel somewhere for the promise of good, hot weather, then the Basque country, in fact, the entire northern Spain, is probably not for you. But I encourage you to put the itch for the burning hot sun aside and embrace the rainy, wet, often cold, yet usually bright and lusciously green landscapes of the Basque country. If you think about it, the unpredictable weather is why the food is so great there; the rain feeds the rich and fertile lands. The Basque people may have rain, but the rain provides the conditions for deliciousness.

Since that road trip with my friends, I've been back to San Sebastian on solo eating escapades as many times as I needed to escape from a bad boy. I've eaten entire txuletas (massive steak chops) all by myself in celebration of being better by myself, and I've toasted many glasses of txakoli (Basque sparkling wine) to the air on my glorious ones. I've truly eaten my way around that city, and now it's about time I used all of that eating muscle and shared it with you.

Voy! (Here I go)…

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Pintxo Crawl in San Sebastian

How could I not start with pintxos? (pronounced pinchos) San Sebastian is all about pintxos; it is what people travel there to eat and keeps the city alive. Do you know what a pintxo is? Maybe you don't? Even if you think you do, the chances are that you don't. Because, in Spain, a pintxo can be entirely different depending on which part of Spain you are in. But from what I gather from my extensive experience ordering them, in the Basque country, a pintxo is a small and inventive thing to eat, designed to be able to eat many, and even though they are small, they are also often designed to share. I say things to eat because there is no actual format. Most traditionally, they are tasty things on a small slice of bread, but as you can see from the wide range of pintxos I have graced you with above, they can also be hot pintxos, mouthfuls on a spoon, or a few mouthfuls in a bowl, inventive creations designed to be the best!

A top tip is to keep yourself from only trying all the tasty things on the bread you will see already prepared lining the pintxo bars. Ask what pintxos they have special from the chef. The best pintxo bars would have won an award for theirs and said bar would usually have that award certificate on display. I've always found them this way, but you can find the entire list of award-winning pintxos with an app online (chosen by Michelin star chefs), including all its new editions here, should you be so inclined. No matter what your views are on the authority of Michelin star chefs, the list is a fun guide; as there are so many winners, the subjectivity doesn't bother me so much personally. I like to treat pintxo crawling like a make-believe video game, searching for edible jewels.

Some I have tried in the pictures above include (picture 3) Vieira a la plancha con ajoblanco from the bar Casa Urola (scallops in a cold soup of almonds, garlic, and oil, with fried seaweed, coffee vinaigrette, and sesame), and (picture 1) Alcachofa con praliné de almendras y jamón (Artichoke with almond praline and ham) also from bar Casa Urola.

The others, I believe, are specials of the day in spots such as Bar Sport (try the foie gras), Bar Antonio (specializes in anchovies and cava), and Ganbara bar (Anthony Bourdain's fave, not mine, though—I couldn't possibly choose a fave!).

Try Txistorra (chistorra) sausage

As you can probably tell from the picture, Txistorra is a glorious sausage, similar to chorizo. However, it is much juicer than chorizo because it has a much higher fat content and is thinner. This particular tapa was a freebie to go with my glorious glass of Estrella Galicia beer, so perhaps you’ll be lucky enough to get a free one, too. If not, you’ll see it on menus, in sandwiches, and in pintxos lining the bars. Juantxo Taberna is a great spot for cheap late-night sandwiches and cider. That particular day, I was also lucky enough to have accidentally been in San Sebastian on St Thomas’s Day (21st December), a massive celebration for agriculture in the town, where celebrating txistorra takes centre stage.

Make your own tomato and tinned-sardine pintxo (so oily that it drips on your jeans, optional)

You may have noticed that Spanish tinned fish is trendy outside of Spain, documented by fellow food-stacker Thea Everett for the Guardian here. Well, being the trendsetter I am, I ate my fair share of tinned sardines in San Sebastian before that trend. If you want to be trendy, you can follow my lead. You may not be as cool as me, but there is no harm in trying. Olive oil, tinned fish, quality tomatoes, bread, and Basque cider. What more joys could you want?

Try the tortilla de patatas at Bar Nestor

The Tortilla de Patatas in Bar Nestor is so adorned that you'll have to go there in person in the morning to put yourself on a list to try a slice. I almost considered not adding this, thinking, is it worth it? I have read countless blogs online that speak of having to queue to even put themselves on the list, but the truth is, I've never had this trouble. Granted, the first time I tried it was COVID-19; the second time, it was in the winter, so the secret is to go in the winter. But regardless of whether you must wait, I decided that the pilgrimage you'll have to make to get a slice of the tortilla is part of the fun. It is an excellent tortilla, gooey, caramelized to perfection, made with some Padron peppers inside, which makes it different. But the real reason that it is so special to me is simply because they only make two tortillas a day. He could make more, totally could make more, but this bar is so set in its wonderful ways that it will only make two. They say it's to keep the quality which is so badass in our capitalist society that this is a reason to go there alone. Bar Nestor sells only a few things, tortillas, txuletas (steak chops), tomato salad, and Padron peppers. Bar Nestor says; This is what we do; we do it well and will not change. So you should wait in that line for that fact alone, not only to taste the 'best tortilla ever' because that is silly. After all, you'll find a lot of good tortillas everywhere in Spain. 

Another tip. You should not attempt to try the whole menu during one visit. If you have time, do tortilla as brunch (aperitivo to the Spaniards), then return for the txuleta, tomato salad and Padron peppers. The tomato salad is a particular favourite of mine, and not just because I love tomatoes, as documented here. But the tomato salad at Nestor is seasonally made with whichever tomatoes are best at that moment. But it doesn't end there; seasonal tomatoes are not the only reason that salad is so delicious. I know the secret (because I guessed it myself one day to the guy at the bar). I could tell you, but it's not my secret to tell.

Drink a bottle of Basque cider on the beach at sunset

Here I am opening a bottle of Basque cider on Playa Gorlizeko Hondartza, near Bilbao. You should go there, but any old beach would do for this task. Basque country is beaches and cider, so do beaches and cider, correcto?

Try the chicken wings at Restaurant Narru

This dish of double-fried chicken wings, egg yolk, and potato puree, was one of the single most decadent things I have ever eaten. Just try it, if you’re not already rich enough.

Eat a Gilda with a glass of txakoli (pronounced hilda and shackoli)

Gildas are literally everywhere (all over London) these days. But there is a reason why they are so popular. This bite of anchovy, guindilla pepper, and olive on a stick is by far the tastiest salty thing you'll ever need to swallow. It was invented in Casa Valles, which is an undisputed fact from what I know. It is where I tried mine in the picture above, but honestly, do what you wish. There are lots of delicious gildas in San Sebastian. But considering the gilda's worldwide fame, trying it in its birthplace (a completely normal feeling bar) is a fun feeling in itself.

Eat a Basque Txuleta (ox meat chop)

I have mentioned txuletas (steak chops) a few times already (what can I say, I'm a meaty gal). They are popular all over Spain, but their emphasis on quality is unique in San Sebastian. These chops are often ox meat from the neighbouring region Galicia, reared on a strict diet of high-quality grass for around 15 years compared to 2 to 3 years for commercially reared cattle. So, if you are invested in eating ethically raised meat (as you should be), San Sebastian is a great place to indulge in a meaty treat whose flavour is as deep as its ethics. As I have already mentioned, the txuleta is great in Bar Nestor, but also, let me direct you to Casa Julián in the tiny village of Tolosa, just 25km south of San Sebastian.

Eat Basque Cheesecake at La Viña

Basque cheesecake. Another dish that has travelled far and wide, likely to a north London bakery near you. But this again, like many great things, was born in San Sebastian, in La Viña, you’ll thank me later.

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Do some Rowdy Road Trip Driving

That is enough food for one day, right? Thank you for making it this far.

I hope you are inspired to get your teeth into the Basque country, and not just to San Sebastian, but definitely to San Sebastian.

Lots and lots and lots of love from that bloody foody, who is, Lana.

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