If there were an MVP of pintxo bars in San Sebastián, it’d be Antonio Bar. This three-table spot in the Centro shopping district has everything you want: a perfect Spanish omelet, a chalkboard menu of hot dishes, and a bar of cured seafood and mayo-y salads. Antonio stays busy at all hours, with locals passing through for a coffee or a pintxo before lunch or dinner, but the best time to visit is around 12:30 or 1pm for a slice of the 28-egg tortilla de patatas, which is one of the city’s best.

So, one of your friends doesn’t like anchovies. It may sound counterintuitive, but this classic bar in the old part of San Sebastián that’s devoted to the tiny fish is the perfect spot to take them. Txepetxa has been making their vinegar-cured white boquerón anchovies since 1972, and their family recipe has a 99% anchovy-hater conversion rate. Elbow up to the bar, shout your order to the barman, and enjoy the celebrity photo-lined walls featuring everyone from Gandalf to Spanish royalty.

You won’t see anything modern or fussy on Ganbara’s counter of pintxos, which takes up most of the tiny bar. What you will find is a crowd made up of locals, chefs, and other in-the-know visitors who all came for the top-notch fresh produce. The €20 plate of mushrooms might seem expensive after dropping less than €5 on pintxos at other bars, but it’s worth the price and the wait. Even the most basic pintxos, like the croissant with Spanish ham or the potato salad, are excellent.

When a bar predates color TV and is still packed, you know it must be good. That’s the case with La Espiga, which opened in 1928 and is run by the fourth generation of the founding family. Order the specialty, la delicia, a toast of cured anchovy with hard-boiled egg, vinegary onions, and a dollop of mayonnaise (get it with a splash of Worcestershire). And definitely try one of the fried bites, like veal with cheese, meat-stuffed peppers, and lamb brain marinated, battered and served piping hot.

If you weren’t specifically looking for La Cuchara de San Telmo, you’d probably miss it. This pintxo bar is down a nondescript alley and has a chalkboard with a brief but exciting list of dishes like seared foie gras, charred octopus, and tender beef cheek. This place pioneered the hot pintxo, and after 20 years, continues to prepare food that looks (and tastes) straight off the menu of any fine dining restaurant.

The owner of La Viña invented the Basque burnt cheesecake when he put this custardy dessert into the high-temperature ovens at the restaurant. This total culinary taboo ended up being one of the most successful dessert innovations of the century: the cheesecake melts in your mouth, gets slightly caramelized on the outside, and is ultra-creamy on the inside. La Viña's cheesecake has become a legitimate San Sebastián landmark, so there’s usually a line during busy months.

When it comes to fancy multi-course meals, you won’t find a better option in San Sebastián than Arzak. This restaurant is where the Basque cooking movement of the ‘70s, nueva cocina vasca, started, which basically makes it the hub of fine dining in Spain. The meal will cost you around €300, but this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so sit back, pick something from the 100,000-bottle wine cellar, and enjoy your foie cromlech and the marbled egg.

No matter what we write in this caption, you really need to see Mugaritz for yourself. Mold is a staple on the menu, sea urchin gets served with enzymatic molasses made from rye bread, and you might get to try a jellied, finger-shaped carrot. This dinner is going to be a wild and fun ride, and you never know what you are walking into—even though this is one of the fanciest spots in the country, you might eat your meal without any cutlery. Book months in advance, and get ready to be surprised.

Casa Urola manages to balance incredible grilled seafood and meat with the best vegetable dishes in the city. You’ll eat things like confit ruby-red piquillos, grilled white asparagus (when in season), and baby teardrop peas that crunch like caviar. The whole place is a family affair, as the restaurant is owned by a husband and wife duo. Go for dinner in the upstairs dining room and order literally anything that’s in season—you won’t be disappointed.

Zazpi started as a bar in the center of town, but was always destined for more than pintxos and small plates. You can now find them in the San Telmo Museum, in a space that gets a ton of natural light and is one of the best places in the city for a long lunch. The menu changes seasonally, but Zazpi’s strong points are its proteins, so split a fish of the day or go for the pigeon served with pigeon pate and a dollop of tomato chutney. The tasting menu has all the greatest hits for €70, too.

The outdoor setup at Narru is exactly where you want to be in the nicer months: looking out on the Buen Pastor cathedral, eating seasonal and simple-but-well-executed dishes. Even if the phrase “cod chin” feels like an oddly-specific insult, don’t let that prevent you from trying some of the city’s best kokotxas, served in three styles: sauced, battered, and pil pil. Try the oysters topped with an apple vinaigrette and the oxtail ravioli served with foie gras and shaved black truffle.

Arenales feels like an oasis from the busy, standing-room-only pintxo madness of the Old Town. The chef-owner always picks up fresh produce from the market in the mornings, and the whole philosophy here is less is more—a prime example being the roasted carrots that come served over labneh and garnished with torn herbs. Definitely explore the wine list, as they have an impressive selection of natural bottles that are hard to find elsewhere in San Sebastián.

The chef at Bistro Ondarreta has cooked in a bunch of the city's coolest kitchens (like La Madame and Basqueland Izakaia), and finally opened this spot in Antiguo in 2022. The place features Gallic dishes (get the fluffy gougeres to start), a bistro atmosphere with tiny tables and retro black-and-white floors, and a long and curvy bar. The lobster pasta is basically perfect, especially paired with one of the natural wines from their varied list.

This cozy spot in the center of the town just a block from La Concha is the perfect stop for a fancy post-beach lunch. While the serving sizes aren’t enormous, they’re high quality, and you get to choose from small plates like fresh oysters, cured beef served carpaccio style, octopus on a bed of potato puree, or foie gras. Go with friends and mix and match for a special meal that’s not quite a pintxo outing and not quite fine dining, but still a delicious display of the best Basque produce.

Asador Portuetxe was an isolated farmhouse, but now it’s a restaurant in the city’s warehouse district that fires up its charcoal grills each morning with one mission: grill everything. Basques are famous for their grillhouses, which are known as erretegia, and Portuetxe has one of the best menus in town. The grilled fish is excellent, as is the txuleta, a king-sized Basque bone-in steak perfect to split with a group. You’ll leave smelling like charcoal, but like camping, it’s part of the fun.

Barkaiztegi, like many cider houses, traces its origins back hundreds of years. The same family has made cider in this home on the outskirts of San Sebastián since the year 1680. This evolved into the current cider house experience—unforgettable thanks to (or perhaps in spite of) the all-you-can-drink, serve-yourself cider drinking style. Bring a group for the family-style set menu of steak, salt cod omelet, and a dessert board made up of walnuts in their shell, sheep cheese, and apple paste.

Up in the hills above the Gros neighborhood, Zelai Txiki is one of the city’s top local favorites. They’ve installed a wood-fired oven (where they bake their own bread), built out the wine cellar, and started their own garden. These upgrades are the reason locals keep coming back, but the creamy rice with clams, grilled wild turbot kissed with garlic and olive oil, and whole suckling pig Segovia style doesn’t hurt either. When making a reservation, ask to sit on the terrace overlooking the city.

If you’re looking for the picture-book European street-cafe experience, this is the place for you. The seating is all outside on their terrace with great views of the town hall and the Boulevard, while the coffee is dark with just the right ratio of milk to espresso. The baked goods are all excellent, especially the gateau basques and the “brioche” that’s actually a warm puff pastry with sugar and raisins. The best part is all the sweets are made from scratch in Oiartzun’s own bakery nearby.

Old Town is one of the only specialty coffee shops in San Sebastián, but their flat whites are more than just gorgeous cups of caffeine. The young owners roast their own beans just outside city limits, and at least one of them is always on hand to explain the coffee’s notes and where it’s from. Post up at the bar or on the patio and pair your coffee with brunch staples like avocado toast with salmon, bread with Spanish ham and tomato, or yogurt bowls topped with fruit and granola.

When The Loaf opened nearly a decade ago, it was the San Sebastián bakery scene equivalent to Edison inventing the lightbulb. OK, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but it was a real turning point for bread in San Sebastián. The Loaf is still one of the only places in town where you can find real, funky sourdough, heavy ryes, and gorgeously large country-style loaves. This is a mandatory stop for any cheese-and-wine picnics, especially since it’s right in front of the Zurriola beach.