The best places to eat and drink in San Sebastián [2024]
We spent the majority of our time in San Sebastián eating pintxos. It was a theme for our week in Basque Country – which is why five to six days here is plenty!
But be warned: pintxos are not designed to be enjoyed like a sit-down meal. You will be eating your tapas standing on the streets, crammed into the corners of packed cafes, or – if you’re lucky – perched on bar stools surrounded by people trying to order.
Don’t let that put you off, though. It’s a fun and friendly atmosphere that just adds to the authentic pintxos experience. These are (in our opinion) the best places to eat in San Sebastián.
Txepetxa Taberna
Best known for its anchovy dishes, this small but busy spot is very popular with both tourists and locals. Txepetxa Taberna’s pintxos selection is smaller than other restaurants, but it’s consistently excellent.
They even have little plastic models of each of their pintxos as well as a regular paper menu. We went mid-afternoon and were able to get served quite easily but in high season there are often queues out the door.
La Vina
This bar is well regarded as the one and only place to go for the best ever Basque cheesecake. Throughout the week we sampled a lot of different cheesecakes, and La Vina’s was by far the best.
Walking down the street towards La Vina it seems like everyone is carrying a paper plate or take away box with a huge slice of their speciality dish. So if you’re nearby, it’s worth queuing to try it.
Sidreria Beharri
I love cider. So one of the things I was most looking forward to in Basque Country was trying their famous traditional sidra. It’s dry and flat – not something I’m usually into with English cider. But here it’s sold in smaller quantities and usually free-poured straight from a hole in a barrel which adds to the experience.
We spent quite a lot of time at Sidreria Beharri. In part because their lowest card limit was €10 and their sidra was only €1.10. So it took a while to make up our bill! They offer a full tasting menu with their Sidra tasting experience but as a veggie there weren’t many options for me.
There are a number of siderias in San Sebastián that offer tours and tasting menus. But for a relaxed evening drink with pintxos, we loved this bar.
Bar Nestor
I love fruit and veg, but I have never been so excited about a plate of tomatoes as I was about the one at Bar Nestor. It’s just a plate of heritage tomatoes with olive oil and salt but omg. They are so good and I still think about them. This might have been my favourite thing to eat in San Sebastián.
We also had a huge plate of juicy, salty padron peppers. And, if meat is more your thing, they serve up huge cuts of fresh meat that arrive still sizzling at your table.
Other pintxos places in San Sebastián
We also enjoyed plenty of sidra and pintxos plates at
Bar Martinez
Bar Sport
Bar Bixigarri (probably one of our favourite places to eat in San Sebastián)
Cortazar Donostia (which was a little more fancy)
Ganbara was highly recommended (and is featured in an Anthony Bordain episode). But it was sadly closed during the week we visited due to public holidays.
Dinner in San Sebastián
As much as we loved a week on the pintxos diet, there comes a time when you just feel like you need a proper meal. These were our favourite spots for sit-down dinners.
La Cuchara de San Telmo
For hot, fresh food served pintxos style, La Cuchara de San Telmo was so good we went twice in the same day. It’s not really a sit-down place. You do still need to eat standing up inside or outside. But the dishes are more substantial hot plates. And they’re all available in pintxos, small, or larger sizes.
You order at the bar then have to listen out for the staff shouting your name over the crowd. We overheard people saying they hadn’t been able to get a spot here. So we were lucky to be able to visit twice. But be prepared to queue!
Kai Sushi
We went to Kai Sushi for lunch and had a lovely – if expensive – selection of hot food and sushi. We ordered the seafood tasting menu. And they made a fresh veggie sushi selection and one of their veggie dinner plates – a delicious roasted aubergine – for me. It wasn’t the cheapest food we at in Basque Country, but it was some of the best.
Topa Sukladera
The crossover you didn’t know you needed: Topa Sukladera combines Basque cuisine with Mexican dishes. We had tacos, tostadas, enchiladas, and Basque mojito. All of which had a slightly Spanish pintxos vibe combined with fiery Mexican flavour.
It feels like a ‘proper’ restaurant but is still very relaxed. So it was ideal for the evening when we just wanted to sit down and eat without fighting for a spot in a bar.
Planning a holiday in Basque Country? Check out our blog: Things to do in San Sebastián.