Where to stay

Apartamentos Arrizul Spotlessly clean and slick, modern selfcatering apartments, sleeping up to five people, in the central Gros district. Flatscreen TVs, free wi-fi and a 24-hour reception. Great for families. From £108. (Their sister hotel nearby offers very well priced rooms too, with doubles from £59.) Calle Iparraguirre 3, 00 34 943 29 81 49, http://arrizul.com

Astoria 7 A little way from the bustle of the Parte Vieja, this hotel faces the bus station and is not far from the railway station either. Rooms in this swanky four-star are chic and spacious and themed around famous movies and stars of the silver screen. Expect it to be packed during the film festival in September. Doubles from £102. Sagrada Familia 1, 00 34 943 445 000, http://astoria7hotel.com

Hotel de Londres This huge edifice, built in 1865, harks back to the glory days of the belle époque with some spectacular architectural features including a marvellous central lift. Rooms are comfortable rather than luxurious, and some have seen better days, but the location at the end of La Concha is the best in town, and the bar is a treat. Doubles from £129; splash out on a sea view for about £176. Zubieta 2, 00 34 943 44 07 70, http://hlondres.com

Hotel Maria Cristina The grandest hotel in town, recently refurbished and restored to all its wedding cake glory. Designed by Charles Mewès, the French architect who created the Ritz hotels in Paris, London and Madrid, it drips with opulence and boasts everything you’d expect from its five-star rating. If you can’t stretch to a room, treat yourself to a drink in the Martini bar. Doubles from £205. Paseo República Argentina 4, 00 34 943 43 76 00, http://hotel-mariacristina.com

Villa Soro Twenty five very pretty rooms in an elegantly restored 19th-century villa which has a genteel elegance and some very fine antiques. No restaurant but it’s very handy for Arzak, should you be feeling flush. Doubles from £165. Avenida de Ategorrieta 61, 00 34 943 29 79 70, http://villasoro.com

Travel Information

The climate of San Sebastián is moderate all year round, with highs of 35˚C in the summer months between June and September. January is the coolest month, with an average temperature of 10˚C. Currency is the euro (£1 = €1.16). Spain is one hour ahead of GMT.

GETTING THERE
Iberia (http://iberia.com) flies to San Sebastián via Madrid from London Heathrow, Gatwick and City airports.
Easyjet (http://easyjet.com) flies to Biarritz, France, from London Gatwick airport. San Sebastián is a 45-minute bus ride away.

RESOURCES
Pintxos: and Other Small Plates in the Basque Tradition by Gerald Hirigoyen with Lisa Weiss (Ten Speed Press, £24). The celebrated chef of San Francisco restaurants Bocadillos and Piperade goes back to his roots and a childhood spent in San Sebastián pintxos bars. He takes a nostalgic look at the small plates that have set the standard for Spanish cooking in his adopted Californian hometown.

Where to eat

Away from the three-Michelin-star super-kitchens, here we pick out lesser-known dining spots worth seeking out. Prices are for three courses, excluding wine, unless otherwise stated. Expect to pay about 85p to £2.50 for simple pintxo plates, sometimes up to £4. For more of our favourite pintxo bars, turn to page 38.

Asador Portuetxe Tucked away behind an unprepossessing estate of car showrooms and builders’ merchants on the outskirts of town, this is in fact one of San Sebastián’s oldest buildings. A 400-year-old farm and cider house converted into a restaurant 30 years ago, this is famous for fabulous traditional food, much coming from the grill, from a menu that’s heavy with fish. From £70. Calle Portuetxe 43, 00 34 943 21 50 18, http://asadorportuetxe.com

Bar Gorriti Situated by La Bretxa market, this opens early to feed the market traders and early shoppers, and it’s always packed. Their speciality is pintxos in the form of mini bocadillos – piled high upon the bar. Wash them down with txakoli sparkling wine or the local cider. Great fun. Calle San Juan 3, 00 34 943 42 83 53.

Ganbara Voted the best bar in Spain in 2012, this family run business turns out classic pintxos as well as larger dishes, and uses its charcoal grill to great effect. Look out for the pan-fried elvers and a gorgeous dish of cod cheeks with clams. Lovers of classic Riojas will be thrilled with the wine list. Calle San Jeronimo 21, 00 34 943 42 25 75, http://ganbarajatetxea.com

Kokotxa Kokotxa is the only Michelin-starred restaurant in the old town, a lovely corner building with a beautiful dining room and views onto the street. Daniel López’s dishes dazzle with playful flourishes and a nod to exotic ingredients but at their heart is a passionate commitment to local produce. From £85. Campanario 11, 00 34 943 42 19 04, http://restaurantekokotxa.com

Itzalian One of a string of low-key restaurants in the old port, this is perfect for a long and lazy lunch in the sun. Spanking fresh fish grilled over coals need nothing more than bread, salad and a bottle of chilled txakoli. Go for the menú del día at £17, including wine. Paseo del Muelle 12, 00 34 943 43 12 66.

Food Glossary

Anchoa

Anchovy: fresh, pickled, cured and salazón (salted).

Bacalao

Salt cod prepared in many cuts, including kokotxas (cheeks).

Bonito del Norte

A pale-fleshed tuna, popular fresh and preserved.

Carrilleras

Cheeks, usually beef or pork

Chuleta

Chop.

Conjeo

Rabbit

Corazones

Hearts, as in corazones de pollo (chicken hearts).

Chipirón

Baby squid or cuttlefish

Empanadilla

Small pastry turnover

Espuma

Foam or mousse

Gambas

Large prawn

Gatzetako antxoak

Salted anchovies, a common component of pintxos.

Gilda

Pintxo of plump green olive skewered with salty anchovy and hot guindilla pepper. Named after a Rita Hayworth movie.

Guindilla

Slender green pepper grown in the Basque region

Idiazábal

The famous local sheep’s cheese, traditionally made by shepherds tending their flocks near the town of the same name.

Igueldo

Bar Antonio’s tribute to the hill overlooking La Concha

Kafe itzotzagaz

Sweetened espresso served with ice, good for long summer sobremesas

Legatz kokotxak pil-pil

Hake cheeks cooked with garlic and olive oil. ‘Pil-pil’ refers to the noise the oil makes as the garlic and fish are very gently fried.

Pantxineta

Puff pastry filled with a thick custard and topped with almonds.

Patates al ajillo

Sautéed potatoes with oil, garlic and herbs – speciality of Ciaboga.

Patxaran

A local liqueur flavoured with sloes and aniseed, usually drunk during the sobremesa – time spent chatting at the table after a meal.

Pimentón de la Vera

Smoked paprika

Queso

Cheese. Two of the best Basques are Roncal and Idiazábal.

Talo

Pancake made from cornflour and cooked on a griddle

Tocino

Bacon

Txistorra

Basque take on the chorizo sausage

Food and Travel Review

‘People here are obsessed with food,’ says Gabriella Ranelli, a gastronomic guide who has lived in the Basque city of San Sebastián for more than 20 years. ‘Apartment blocks in other parts of the country have tennis courts and gyms; here they have communal kitchens. Kids in the rest of Spain want to be footballers; here, they want to be chefs.’ Home to a dynamic food culture that fuses an honouring of tradition with innovation from chefs young and old, San Sebastián is well documented as having the highest concentration of Michelin stars, per capita, of any city in the world. Thanks to Mugaritz and Arzak, it is also the only one to occupy two positions in the top ten of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants. It is these accolades that focus the eyes of the world’s gastronomic tourists on this small, elegant city on the north coast of Spain, just 20km from the French border. But while San Sebastián’s impressive cluster of 15 Michelin stars, held between eight restaurants in the city and its surroundings, draws well-heeled gastronomes from around the world, gourmet travellers with tastes for less stylised food – as well as tighter purse strings – will also find plenty to please.

Donostia, as San Sebastián is called in the Basque language, is set on a stunning, almost circular bay that protects the city from the harsh Atlantic and its angry waves. Its main beach, La Concha (‘the shell’), sweeps in a majestic arc from the narrow streets of the old town and fishing port towards the foot of Monte Igueldo; a mile-long stretch of golden sand, edged by wonderfully ornate wrought iron railings and lamp posts, it lays claim to being one of the best urban beaches in the world. In the summer, along with its neighbouring beach, Ondaretta, it is packed with families of holidaymakers availing themselves of the shallow, sheltered waters and locally made ice creams, while the more exposed Zurriola beach to the east of the city attracts a more laid-back crowd, here to ride the surf and hang out until the sun goes down. San Sebastián has been welcoming tourists since well before it appeared on Michelin’s radar. Towards the end of the 19th century, when it was a little more than a fishing port struggling to recover from bombardments during various trans-European skirmishes, the Spanish royal family decamped here to escape the stifling summer heat of Madrid. Other nobility and their hangers-on quickly followed suit. Grand palaces and extravagant villas were built, elegant boulevards, leafy parks and stylish plazas sprung up in a flurry of belle époque development; by the early 20th century, when the Mediterranean costas were still little more than a straggle of fishing villages, the city was firmly established as Spain’s most modish seaside resort. These days, San Sebastián is far more than just a summer playground with a generous smattering of famous restaurants; well-attended film and jazz festivals make it an important cultural hub, and in 2016 it will be a European Capital of Culture. San Sebastián’s extraordinary gastronomic renaissance can be accurately dated to 1975, when the death of Franco (who had a house here) heralded the beginnings of modern, democratic Spain and allowed its previously downtrodden citizens to hold their heads high and show the wider world what they were made of. ‘We are very close to France, so we have always been more influenced by other European cultures than the rest of Spain,’ says Angel Palacios, executive chef at La Broche in Madrid and teacher of the Master’s course at the architecturally stunning Basque Culinary Center on the outskirts of the city. In 1977, Juan Mari Arzak and his close friend and fellow chef, Pedro Subijana – now known as the grandfathers of new Basque cuisine, and holding three Michelin stars apiece – went to France to work with Paul Bocuse, then at the summit of French nouvelle cuisine, at his restaurant just outside Lyon. Bocuse inspired them to reinvigorate Basque gastronomy by concentrating on the quality of ingredients on their doorstep, and they returned home ready to share their ideas and encourage other young chefs to join their crusade. The culinary revolution was born– and almost 40 years later, the skill and passion of these chefs and their myriad protégés show no sign of abating. ‘People here have always eaten well, but it was only after Arzak and Subijana returned from France in the 1970s that there was this explosion of creativity,’ says Angel. ‘It was the sharing of knowledge, ideas and inspiration among that generation of extraordinary chefs that completely changed the way we looked at food and cooking. Before that, nobody had dared question the traditional ways of doing things. It was a revolution, and our food continues to evolve.’ The biggest stars in the Michelin firmament, Juan Mari Arzak and Martín Berasategui at their eponymous restaurants, and Pedro Subijana at Akelar´e, were the first to gain international recognition and they continue to rule the culinary roost restaurant holds three stars). But despite all the bells and whistles of their dazzling technique, their food is still very much rooted in the traditional dishes of the region. Meanwhile, contenders such as Andoni Luis Aduriz at the two-starred Mugaritz, and Daniel López at Kokotxa (one star) are introducing elements into their food inspired by their worldwide travels. ‘My flavours are still traditional but I like to add subtle influences from other parts of the world, particularly China and India,’ says Daniel, whose beef cheek with mango and Szechuan pepper has become one of his signature dishes. While San Sebastián’s outstanding reputation for fine dining has ensured a steady flow of tourist cash, and a brighter economic future than faced by the rest of Spain, food here is essentially very democratic, and one can eat fantastically well at all levels. From the humblest bars to the starriest restaurants, chefs here strive to be the best at what they do, and although there is a healthy sense of competition, they are all incredibly supportive of each other. The Basque people are proud and independent, and there is a strong sense of camaraderie among them. ‘Together we stand, divided we fall – this is the spirit that has put San Sebastián on the gastronomic map of the world,’ says Angel.

The plethora of Michelin stars has undoubtedly boosted the local economy over recent years as well as raising the bar for all chefs working in the city. ‘We all support each other, but we are also very competitive,’ grins Iñaki Gulín of Borda Berri, one of the finest examples of the new generation of pintxo bars – of which more later. ‘Even those of us cooking simpler, more rustic food want to be the very best. There is a place for all styles of food here; some would say that there is a move to more relaxed ways of eating and that pintxo bars are where the really exciting food is now happening.’ All good food starts, of course, with good ingredients, so we head to La Bretxa market on the edge of Parte Vieja, the Old Town. We wander around stalls of extraordinarily fine produce. Piles of peppers, peas, lettuces and beans sit alongside neat bundles of asparagus, leeks and carrots, and baskets of cherries, apricots and plums. Huge hams dangle above plump twists of cured sausages and slabs of meat marbled with good breeding. Fish counters glitter with artful arrangements of anchovies, bream, hake, tuna and mullet, and gleaming clusters of lobsters, prawns, clams, crab and squid. The old town isn’t old and weathered like Barcelona’s Boqueria, but its produce reflects the Basque passion for fish and meat. Anchovy fishing was banned for much of the last decade because of overfishing, but the shoals have returned and freshly caught silvery fish gleam on the fishmongers’ slabs. The pale-fleshed tuna, known as Bonito del Norte, stares bright-eyed at passers by. Those in the know want to buy the belly, the ventresca.

The temperate climate and lush landscape of the Basque Country are more redolent of northern Europe than of the hot and arid regions to the south, and the wider range of food it produces reflects this. Vegetables are more prominent here than in the climes below, but it’s only recently that the Basques have learnt not to overcook them. During cider season, every sidrería puts a T-bone steak and salt cod omelette on its menu. Slowly cooked braises and stews, relying on just three or four simple, cheap ingredients, are more common here than in the south; beef cheeks are a speciality. The rolling foothills of the Sierra de Cantabria, a mountain range that runs parallel to the coast and divides the green north from the interior regions, provide lush pasture for grazing animals. Cows are reared mainly for meat – there is no butter in traditional Basque cuisine; lard is the favoured fat for baking – while sheep provide both meat and milk. Small market gardens, snaking along the fertile valley floors, grow fruit and vegetables to feed the city dwellers, while collecting mushrooms from the woodlands is something of a regional sport. Fish has always been a mainstay of the diet. For hundreds of years, the sea was central to San Sebastián’s fortunes. Fishermen did business with traders from the Hanseatic League in the 14th century and later sailed across the Atlantic to join the lucrative whaling industry. They found massive quantities of cod off the coast of Newfoundland which they salted and dried to preserve it for the journey home, and to this day salt cod (gatzetako) is one of the great local specialities. Goose barnacles (percebes), highly prized and highly priced, are well worth seeking out for their sweet and meaty flesh, and be sure to track down spider crab (txangurro) cooked a la Donostiarra – baked in the shell with leeks and onions and topped with crunchy breadcrumbs.

Next stop is Aitor Lasa, one of San Sebastián’s best delicatessens. The first of the season’s porcini have just arrived and shoppers are gathering round to admire their bulbous beauty and to tenderly take their pick. Rounds of the famed local sheep’s cheese, Idiazábal – made by the shepherds from raw milk then aged in mountain caves – are carefully sliced and offered to us to taste. It is tangy and fresh but with a fantastic depth of flavour, which we follow with slivers of membrillo (quince paste). At Zapore Jai, a short walk away, we taste hand-cut jamón Ibérico de bellota – ham from pigs fed only on acorns – which is sensationally rich and silky. The quality of produce available here means that most dishes can be very simple. Good ingredients, treated well. Further evidence of this comes as we head out into the sun and hit Bar Gorriti for the first of the day’s pintxos. Pronounced ‘pinchos’, the Basque equivalent of tapas is the cornerstone of eating in this town and you’ll find the little morsels of food, usually speared with a cocktail stick, at almost every bar. Normally eaten standing up and on the move rather than as part of a meal, they are traditionally washed down with cider, a caña of beer or txakoli, the lightly sparkling white wine of the region, skilfully poured into glasses from a great height. Each bar has its own specialities: Bar Gorriti’s are mini bocadillos – filled bread rolls – designed to satisfy the mid-morning appetites of market traders and their patrons. Cured meat with pickled vegetables, local ham with blue cheese, gatzetako with roasted peppers: we’re spoilt for choice. We follow the lead of the locals and knock back our pintxos with small glasses of txakoli before following Gabriella into the narrow streets of the Parte Vieja to continue our shopping. We carry our bags back to Gabriella’s apartment nearby and settle down to learn the secrets of successful pintxos with chef Jokin de Aguirre, chef of Kler restaurant. He whips up a light mayonnaise using only sunflower oil, mashes it with the tuna and a little chopped onion, piles it onto small slices of bread and tops them off with a sliver of anchovy. Smoked ham is skewered with raw prawns; eggs are scrambled and topped with pickled red peppers; olives, anchovies and green guindilla chillies are speared to make the classic ‘gildas’, named after a hit Hollywood movie. ‘These are all traditional pintxos; the key to everything is simplicity,’ he says. Traditionally, food here is seasoned using a limited palette, usually only garlic, olive oil, parsley and perhaps a little Piment d’Espelette, a dried chilli that gives a very gentle heat. Black pepper is almost never used. Sauces are viewed with suspicion; even a squeeze of lemon juice is considered by some to be a ruse to mask poor cooking or sub-standard ingredients. It’s getting late, and our palates are tiring, but there’s always room for one last pintxo. We head to Borda Berri, where Iñaki, with his shaven head, aptly looks more like a rockstar than a chef. ‘Michelin food can be amazing, but now I prefer a more relaxed style of eating,’ he explains. Iñaki earned his stripes at El Bulli, but was born and bred in the Basque Country and returned here to open the famed La Cuchara de San Telmo restaurant in 1999. ‘The inspiration for my food has always come from my grandmother’s cooking, but I also research by travelling. My style is now different from the Michelin guys – they do their research in a lab – but our ethos is the same,’ he says. ‘We just want to cook great food; it’s in our blood.’ The chefs of San Sebastián seem to be fighting a winning battle. We are sitting in the receding sunshine outside his bar after a brilliant set of pintxos. I ask Iñaki what the logo on his T-shirt means. ‘Aki Se Guisa? It means “Here We Cook”.’ The unofficial motto of San Sebastián, perhaps? ‘Exactly!’