The Ultimate San Sebastian Pintxos & Wine Tour with Devour Tours

San Sebastian (Donostia) is one of the most well-known cities in Basque Country and it is incredibly easy to see why! The beautiful beaches tucked between green mountains give the small city a unique look and charm that you’re sure to love.

Beyond the stunning scenery and tranquil beach vibes, San Sebastian is a culinary capital, attracting foodies from around the globe in search of some of the world’s most tantalizing dishes. I’ve tried countless tapas in Seville, explored Barcelona‘s famous Boqueria market, eaten paella in Valencia…but I have to admit that even after 2 years of living in and eating my way through Spain, San Sebastian has truly taken the (cheese) cake! (But more on that later…)

Don’t just take my word for it though! The city is home to the second highest number of Michelin star restaurants (per capita) in the world, and some of the planet’s best restaurants can be found in San Sebastian. Food and gastronomy are built into the fabric of society, and one can’t truly understand Basque culture or San Sebastian without experiencing its renowned cuisine.

During my recent weekend in Basque Country, I had the pleasure of joining Devour Tours on their Ultimate San Sebastian Pintxos & Wine Tour, where I had the opportunity to taste some of the best cuisine San Sebastian has to offer, all the while learning about Basque culture and the city’s rich culinary history.

Keep reading to learn more about San Sebastian’s famous pintxos, local specialties, Basque traditions, and to discover why (foodie or not!) you are bound to be impressed by the city’s gastronomic delights.

Special thanks to Devour San Sebastian for inviting me to join the tour! I had so much fun and delicious food! This post contains affiliate links, which help keep this blog up and running. As always, my opinions are 100% my own! 

 

About Pintxos

Before we dive into the Ultimate San Sebastian Pintxos & Wine Tour, you may be wondering…what exactly are pintxos?

Pintxos (pronounced “peen-chos”) is derived from the verb pinchar (to pierce, puncture), and refers to small plates or dishes, traditionally served atop a slice of bread with all of the elements held together with a toothpick. There are cold and hot pintxos, and San Sebastian is particularly well known for its world-famous pintxos bars.

While tapas may be all the rage in other parts of Spain, in San Sebastian, pintxos are where it’s at! Many local pintxos bars specialize in one or two specific types of pintxos. Therefore, the best way to eat pintxos is by going on a pintxos crawl, and trying the best plate from each bar! On our tour, we did as the locals do, hopping from bar to bar, sampling one or two pintxos (while standing up!) before moving along to the next.

One of the things I particularly love about Devour San Sebastian is that they choose to work with family-run businesses, some of which are over 100 years old so that you can experience the most authentic places in town.

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get pintxos hopping!

Stop 1: Mussels at La Mejillonera

Confession: I used to be the world’s pickiest eater! Seriously, it wasn’t until I moved abroad that I began tasting and learning to love new foods. Spain is particularly known for its seafood, and back in the day, my version of seafood was a fish stick. Thankfully, I’ve reformed quite a bit from my early days, and am now a fan of seafood, particularly shellfish, which is why I was so excited by our first stop, La Mejillonera.

When we arrived, our guide explained the concept of pintxos and going pintxos hopping in a “Cuadrilla” a group of close friends in Basque culture). For the evening, we’d be a cuadrilla, defending our places from other voracious diners at the various bars, eating together, and enjoying each other’s company.

Here we tried 3 different preparations of mussels, which were the best I’ve ever had, and I’m pretty sure I’ll be dreaming of them for years to come. My personal favorites were mussels with onion and an apple juice base and a garlic preparation that was to die for. They were totally mouthwatering, and I loved that everyone on the tour was able to try all three and that I was able to have seconds of my favorites!

After whetting our appetites with the mussels, we were able to wash them down with some local cider, which paired beautifully with the mussels! Our guide explained why the cider is traditionally poured from way up high and in small amounts, and told us about local cider houses, which I am not wishing I had more time to visit during my trip. We also saw how cider bottles even have special corks made for pouring, and of course, were able to witness the unique pouring method in person.

After we finished our mussels, we tossed the shells in specific gutters on the floor of the bar (as locals know to do!) before making our way out of the bar as it began filling with more hungry customers.

Stop 2: Iberian Ham at Zapore Jai

One can’t visit Spain without sampling the famous Iberian Ham for which the country is so well known. At Zapore Jai “flavor party”, we sampled two different types of Jamon Iberico, both of which were delicious! I’ve had quite a bit of Iberian ham during my time in Spain, and I never tire of trying more.

Our guide told us all about the different classifications of Jamon Iberico, explaining that acorn-fed ham is the most expensive, with other varieties available which cost less. She also told us about a few of the other local products featured in the store, and how to select the best jamon while on our own.

Stop 3: Award-winning anchovy pintxos at Bar Txepetxa

Remember how I told you I was a picky eater? Well, one food fear I had yet to conquer was anchovies.

However, anchovies (antxoa in Basque) are a local specialty in San Sebastian, and Bar Txepetxa is famous for its anchovy-based pintxos. Naturally, if I was ever going to conquer my fear of these small, salty fish, now was the time!

Our guide explained to us a bit about the relationship between anchovies and San Sebastian and also told us all about the many pintxos competitions that take place in San Sebastian and in the Basque Country. Bar Txepetxa has won several prestigious pintxos awards, and it is clear that the anchovy pintxos served here are top-notch.

We tried 3 different anchovy-based pintxos here along with more delicious local cider. The first pintxo we sampled here was anchovies paired with olives and peppers. I surprised myself actually really enjoyed this pintxo, despite the fact that I don’t love olives and was still a bit wary of anchovies. It really shouldn’t have come as a surprise though, as this pintxo, in particular, has won awards!

We then tried a pintxo with bread, anchovy, and crab, which I was glad to try but wasn’t my favorite.

The final pintxo we tried was composed of bread, anchovy, and…blueberries? Yes, you read that right, blueberries! I really enjoyed this surprising flavor combination, and am happy to say that I’ve officially been converted from a former anchovy hater!

While I don’t think I’ll be eating anchovies with regularity anytime soon, I am so happy that I was able to sample some unique combinations and some of the best in the world at Bar Txepetxa.

Stop 4: Modern Basque Cuisine at La Cuchara de San Telmo

Our next stop was La Cuchara de San Telmo, a popular local bar known for preparing some of the best modern Basque cuisine in the business. This small place is usually quite busy, but as it was raining our group got lucky and wound up with a table to ourselves outside!

The star of the show here is their slow cooked beef cheek and suckling pig. We each were able to enjoy a glass of a La Rioja red wine, and choose between these two dishes, and our group also shared some plates with their fish dish of the day. I opted to go with the beef cheek, which was so tender and delicious it seemed to melt in my mouth, and the fish was one of the best I’ve ever had.

Our entire group was impressed by our dishes here, and after the muscles and seafood, I really enjoyed trying a meat dish. The quality and the flavors of the food here are truly incredible, and this place is not to be missed when in San Sebastian!

 

Stop 5: Traditional Basque Pintxos at Casa Gandarias Bar

After enjoying a modern take on Basque Cuisine, we headed to the historic “31 de Agosto Kalea” (31st of August Street) for a more traditional pintxos bar experience at Casa Gandarias. Here, our guide told us a bit about why this street, in particular, is so historic-it is named after the day the British and Portuguese burned San Sebastian to the ground in 1813. Additionally, we got some tips for ordering pintxos around town on our own for our remaining meals in San Sebastian.

Here, we sampled some amazing sirloin (seriously soooo good!) and more wine before continuing to our next spot for dessert!

Stop 6: Cheesecake at La Vina

Pintxos aren’t the only food worth trying in San Sebastian! The city couldn’t be the food capital of the world if it didn’t have some world-renowned after-pintxos treats! Therefore, it is only fitting that our Devour San Sebastian tour ended in the sweetest way possible, with dessert!

Have you ever had anything so delicious you’re pretty sure you will remember it your entire life? That’s pretty much how I felt after tasting the cheesecake at La Vina. Many consider the cheesecake at La Vina to be the best in the world, and I honestly can’t say I’ve ever had better! This melt in your mouth dessert paired perfectly with some Pedro Ximénez sherry, an Andalusian specialty I had actually tasted before on my Devour Seville tapas tour!

We all agreed that the cheesecake was spectacular, and the perfect end to an evening filled with food so good we will all be dreaming about it!

Overall Thoughts

I truly got a taste of San Sebastian in one evening on my Devour San Sebastian Ultimate San Sebastian Pintxos & Wine Tour-mussels and Iberian ham, anchovies, modern and traditional pinxtos, cider, wine, and the world’s best cheesecake, what more a hungry tourist looking for some of the best food in San Sebastian ask for?

This tour was so much more than just a food tour. Not only was everything we sampled on our tour incredible, but our guide was able to share with us so much about the history of San Sebastian as well as Basque culture, we even learned some words in Basque! While in this post I focused mostly on the food aspect of the tour, as we walked from bar to bar, we learned a lot about the different buildings we were passing, as well as local festivals, and we even delved into the complicated nature of what it means to be in a Basque city within Spain.

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If you are looking to explore San Sebastian’s culinary world while also gaining insights into the culture behind the food, then I highly recommend hopping on a tour with Devour San Sebastian. While I was able to work with Devour Tours through my blog, I only recommend experiences I believe are superb, an opinion I share with many others who have attended their tours-Devour has 5 stars on TripAdvisor, as you can see here.

Check out my food tour Instagram story @missadventuresabroad for more mouth-watering snaps and videos! 

Devour Tours

Heading to Spain and looking to join a food tour?

Devour offers tours in Madrid, Barcelona, Granada, Malaga, Seville, and, of course, San Sebastian! (They have also recently expanded to Paris.)

You can read more about my experiences with Devour Tours by reading my post all about my Tapas, Taverns & History Tour With Devour Seville.

Buen provecho!

You may also enjoy a few of my other Spain posts:

• Best of Basque Country: The Ultimate 1 Day San Sebastian Itinerary
• Best of Basque Country: How to Spend 1 Epic Day In Bilbao
• Best of Basque Country: Epic Day Trip to San Juan de Gaztelugatxe (Dragonstone!)
• 15 Things You Absolutely Must Do In Seville, Spain
• 3 Perfect Days in Barcelona: The Ultimate Itinerary
• Must Do Madrid: The Top 10 Things To Do In Spain’s Capital

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