The Best Places to Dine and Stay in San Sebastián

As a self-proclaimed foodie and someone who will literally try any food under the sun, I had wanted to visit San Sebastián Spain since hearing it was city centered around great cuisine! Well, I’m here to tell you, that is while that’s true, beyond that, it’s also a metropolis boasting gorgeous architecture and a beautiful landscape filled with mountains and beaches.2-4 days in San Sebastián is the ideal amount of time to explore the city’s history and beaches while also getting your fair share of pintxos and Michelin-starred meals! San Sebastián has the highest concentration of Michelin stars restaurants in per square kilometer in Europe, which is super impressive considering it’s nowhere near the size of other metropolitan areas! Beyond its fine dining offerings, the city’s pintxo scene is both bustling and bursting with flavors.

For our October trip, we spent three nights at Hotel Akelarre, a Relais & Châteaux property located 15-20 outside the city center. We toyed with whether to stay in the heart of San Sebastián (LaSala Plaza came highly recommended) but ultimately, the potential for unbridled relaxation and unmatched views at Akelarre won us over. This property is stunning and the service was top-notch. Akelarre’s design is incredibly clean and modern, and with every turn, there is a massive window with a jaw-dropping view of the ocean! It was often hard to discern the water from the sky when taking in the vistas around us. We loved spending time in the spa and relaxation area of the hotel and imbibing in sunset cocktails on the terrace. The Akelarre mixologists were amazing and I loved the creative presentation and flavors of their cocktails! The hotel’s eponymous restaurant is also one of three three-star Michelin restaurants in the area.

During our first two nights in San Sebastián, we made it our goal to hit as many pintxo spots as possible! I did a lot of research on where to go, how to order and what to order, so before heading into the city, I made a list and map of places to go alongside their stand-out pintxos. Despite my preparation, nothing could prepare me for how utterly chaotic the pintxo bar/restaurant scene is! I’ll admit, it took me a bit to get used to, but by the end of our trip, I was elbowing my way to the bar, yelling my order, and reaching over layers of people to get our food.

The key is to only have 1-2 pintxos at each spot (and maybe a glass of Txakoli, the slightly sparkling dry white wine, which is a signature of the area) and then move on to the next. You should plan on this style of dining taking you several hours as most spots will have a queue or you will have to wait to get to the front of the bar to order/eat. There are very few places that offer any type of seating, so plan to stand and eat on the fly. It’s a casual city, so comfortable clothes and shoes are best.

Our stand-outs were by far La Cuchara de San Telmo, Bar Nestor, and Bar Sport. Get to La Cuchara de San Telmo right when it opens or right before it closes for the smallest line. The entire restaurant is incredibly narrow and it’s challenging to find a spot to eat. The same is true for the outside area. While this spot isn’t the most conducive to standing or sitting to eat, it’s worth the chaos! The suckling pig was my all-time favorite pintxo. We went back twice and ordered it three times…now, that’s saying something!

Bar Nestor is known for three things…it’s steak, fresh tomato salad, and shishito peppers. It’s also known for its tortilla, which they make only two of a day. You can preorder a slice an hour before opening, but we missed out; despite arriving 10 minutes after they opened at 7 p.m. They were already sold out for the night! The inside of this spot is far less chaotic than La Cuchara because they control the line outside. Instead of fighting for a spot at the bar, you wait in a queue outside until a spot opens and the host escorts you to it. An added bonus is that there is an exterior window where you can order wine and drink it on the street as you wait! Once seated, you choose your cut of meat and then it is cooked to order as you enjoy the peppers and tomatoes. Everything was so delicious!

The counter at Bar Sport is straight up chaotic, but fight your way to front to order their foie gras à la plancha. It melted in my mouth and was so flavorful! We also ordered the beef cheek here and it was equally as delicious. If we had more time, I would have gone back and ordered even more! All of these spots have a blackboard menu on the wall to order from and most will have you pay upon ordering (they all take credit card).

Honorable mention goes to Ganbara for their grilled mushrooms with egg yolk. So simple yet decadent and delicious!

After two nights fighting the pintxo crowds, we headed to the three-star Michelin restaurant, Martín Berasategui for our final meal. We booked our table months in advance, which I would recommend. We chose Martín Berasategui because of its long-standing history of Michelin stars and the fact that the restaurant was celebrating its 30th year in business! Refined and well-orchestrated would be how I’d describe our meal here. 14 courses, 11 wine pairings, and three hours later, we left incredibly full and happy! The menu was comprised of dishes from past and present menus, including a mille-feuille of eel and foie, which has been served since 1993. The pacing here was quicker than other Michelin starred restaurants I’ve been to, but it was not offensive. I appreciated that there weren’t long wait times between courses and pairings. My favorite pairing was the foie gras with a German riesling – the combination was perfect! We heard the couple next to us exclaim that they have been to multiple three-star restaurants all over the world and this was their favorite! The meal was an indulgent experience and quite the juxtaposition to the other side of San Sebastián’s culinary scene. I’m glad we experienced both and I appreciated what each brought to the table.

If you love food, especially trying unique food, and relish in new culinary experiences, San Sebastián is for you. The pintxo scene is hectic, but part of the fabric of this city and once you get accustom to the chaos, it becomes less daunting! There’s something to be said about people from all over the globe gathering together in the streets to enjoy great food and lively conversation. It’s a special city and I hope to visit again one day.

The A-Lyst is a Boston-based lifestyle blog curating the very best of style, beauty, food, and travel.