Everywhere we ate in San Sebastian

Where do two foodies go on their honeymoon? San Sebastian, of course!

It’s been a while hasn’t it? I feel like I’ve neglected my blog over the last 18 months. A few years ago, I was posting once or twice a week, and sometimes a few months can pass without an update. With social media playing such a big role in my online content, and demands on my time so high, my blog can feel like a bit of an afterthought. But now I have one less thing to focus on (I’m now a wife!) I thought I’d dip my toe back into writing long-form content because I find myself missing it a lot. Instagram is so much about visuals and being concise. I often want to lose myself in the words I’m writing, with less thought about who they might end up in front of.

So what better way to get back to the blogging business than with a foodie guide to San Sebastian? I know it’s not a Milton Keynes guide, but I’ve got the fire in my belly to write!

TL:DR – You can just click here for the map. But for photos and deets on the food, keep reading.

Where is San Sebastian?

We visited San Sebastian for five days in the last week of August 2024 for our honeymoon. It was somewhere that has been on our list for some time. When I told people where we were going, they either said: “Oh that’s perfect for you two!” or “Where on earth is that?”

If you fall into the latter category, San Sebastian (or ‘Donosti’ as it’s known in Basque) is on the North coast of Spain, around 30 minutes drive from the French-Spanish border. It is the heart of the Basque country, which also encompasses cities like Bilbao. We flew to Bilbao from London Gatwick, though you can also fly to Biarritz in France. Both are equidistant, but bear in mind you will need to cross boarders again if you fly to Biarritz.

San Sebastian is known for its culinary scene, particularly its Pintxos which are essentially tapas, or the Basque answer to Venice’s Ciccetti (Read: A Guide to Eating Your Way Around Venice) We were very lucky to enlist the help of Juan, the owner of Olé Tapas Bar, who is actually from the Basque region! He grew up in Irun, around 20 minutes from San Sebastian, and went to school there. He gave us plenty of recommendations for the city so I will pass these all on to you.

Where we stayed in San Sebastian

As it was our honeymoon, we pushed the boat out and got a really nice hotel. We stayed in Hotel Catalonia Donosti, which was about a 15-minute walk from the Old Town and around five minutes to the beach (La Concha)! It had a rooftop terrace, bar and small swimming pool, with incredible views of the city. It also had a spa, which we really enjoyed, and you could get treatments there too. The breakfast was also incredible with about eight different stations so you could fuel up for the day.

We hired a car to get around, as this was much cheaper than taxis. A transfer to and from Bilbao would have been around €80-100 each way, whereas hiring a car cost us around £135 for five days, plus about £100 in parking charges. We also planned to go outside of San Sebastian for the day to Hondarribia.

Where we ate in San Sebastian

And now for the good part! Here is a list of everywhere we ate and drank in San Sebastian.

Atari, Old Town

Atari is a pretty traditional Pintxos bar with a few seated tables but for the most part, it’s a stand and the bar kind of deal! We did book a table here, but time difference issues with Google Calendar meant we missed it. We managed to get in anyway and we stood at the bar and enjoyed our food. Our favourite dish was the Pork Belly which came with hummus and lemon. It was so delicious. The fish dishes were really tasty too. Don’t ask me to remember what they all were – It’s so fast paced in these places and descriptions are limited! Dan tried the Foie Gras, but we’ve both decided it’s not for us!

Arraun Cocktail Bar, Old Town

We stumbled across this place on Google Maps, and it is tucked away just on the outskirts of Old Town. If you love quirky cocktails and mixology then this is a great spot. All the cocktails here are very different and unique. They can also go off-piste for you as well, so tell them what you like and they will surprise you! Dan had a few smokey whisky cocktails, and I had a really cool Negroni made with Pimento Pepper Liqueur.

Borda Berri

Borda Berri is hailed as one of the best in San Sebastian. Again, very traditional with no tables, so you have to stand at the bar or spill out into the street. You can’t book for this place. We had some of our favourite Pintxos here including a mozzarella stuffed tomato and a sesame swordfish dish. We also had an incredible pork rib. The menu is all in Basque/Spanish so you might have to use Google Lens to translate!

Cuchélon, Gros

If you love wine, Cuchélon is a great little spot in the Gros neighbourhood. It’s a bit cooler than the Old Town and there’s a distinctly youthful, trendy feel about it. It’s home to a lot of surfers as the Zurriola Beach is famous for its waves! Anyway, I digress. We liked this wine bar. The owner was Argentinian and gave us some great wines based on our requests including a beautiful crisp local white. They serve basic food like cheeseboards here, but let’s face it, this is the place for wine!

Elosta, Gros

By our final night in San Sebastian, we were starting to tire a little of the rich food so we wanted to switch up the flavours. Elosta is in the Gros neighbourhood and describes itself as a Japanese-Peruvian fusion restaurant also inspired by Basque. This was a more expensive meal than most (We averaged £30-50 for each meal, this was £100) but it was really good. We had Ceviche and the best thing we ate was Salmon, Mango and Satay sushi. I know! It might have been my favourite sushi I’ve ever eaten!

La Cuchara De San Telmo, Old Town

This was the first Pintxos bar we landed in and was Juan’s number one favourite in San Sebastian. We were tired from a 6am flight and the stress of driving an hour from Bilbao, so in hindsight we should have gone back here for more. The food was delicious. We had a beef cheek, goats cheese with roasted vegetable and Pulpo (Octopus) it was all delicious and had such a nice vibe about it inside. We arrived around 12pm and it was quiet, but it does get really busy later on!

Gandarias

We stopped here for lunch on our beach day, and I waited around 30 minutes to even place an order, but if you go for pintxos at a good place at 1pm that’s the price you pay! The food here was nice. We stood outside and ate. The T-bone skewer was my favourite. The pork cheek was really tasty too. I recommend getting there early! You can grab some cold pintxos from the bar to keep you going until the hot food arrives.

Gerald’s Bar, Gros

We ate at Gerald’s Bar on our first night, and this recommendation came from @foodie.ford on Instagram. This was in Gros. We should have booked here, as it was busy but as it was Sunday night we managed to get a table. The Chefs change the menu every day, and even switch things up for lunch and dinner so you will always get something different here. Was had the best anchovies (boquerones) of our trip here, and a really delicious grilled leek and nectarine salad. We shared a main course of Tagliatelle with a rabbit ragout which was incredible and unlike anything I’ve ever eaten before!

Gran Sol, Hondaribbia

One of Juan’s recommendations was Gran Sol, in Hondaribbia. This was a 30 minute drive from San Sebastian and it was so worth the trip! Not only was the town really beautiful but the food at Gran Sol was the best meal we ate all week. Hondaribbia is right on the French border (the river IS the border!) so it has a very different vibe to San Sebastian. Anyway, Gran Sol was incredible. It’s Michelin-recommended and easy to see why. The best thing we ate were the Zimburñas (baby scallops) and the crab brioche. We also ordered the smoked cod and tuna taco. Oh, and anchovies but make sure you order marinated, not brined if you don’t like them salty!

Narru

We loved eating Pintxos but we also wanted to experience a tasting menu. About 5 minutes around the corner from our hotel was Narru, a Michelin-recommended restaurant. They had a tasting menu for €100 per person so we booked last minute for lunch on our final day and had no regrets. The food here was incredible, specifically the beautiful tuna belly that was more like beef than tuna! We also had the most succulently cooked sirloin steak here. They were great at catering for my random egg intolerance as well and subbed out the beef ravioli with egg yolk for a spider crab dish. In total, this meal came to £191 for seven courses and 3 glasses of wine each, plus 10% service. I forget how cheap wine on the continent is!!

Sirimiri Gastroleku, Old Town

And last but by no means least, Sirimiri (which is part of the Gastroleku group, same as Atari). This was a great spot, and I had my favourite glass of Sangria here. Our favourite Pintxos was the duck breast with an orange sauce. This is on one of the main streets in San Sebastian, so a great place to stand and people watch over lunch!

As you can see, we managed to pack SO much into our five days in San Sebastian, including a day where we just lazed on the beach. You can’t really go wrong with the food here, even our ‘average meals’ were great. We visited about 3 or 4 more Pintxos bars which I’ve not listed here because I couldn’t find them again on Google Maps or can’t remember the name. It’s one of those places where you can discover your own gems which is half of the fun!

Click here to check out my map of San Sebastian, featuring all of the places we visited, plus more that were recommended to us!

Let me know if you visit San Sebastian and use these recommendations!