Kokotxa Restaurant: a Michelin Star in the Old Town
It’s probably time to leave the pintxos appart for a while and going to taste a serious meal. Kokotxa, by the chef Dani López, suppose an upgrade in the old town, close to the Santa María Church and just a few steps from the classic Gastronomic Society Gaztelubide. Obviously the budget must be stronger than when going in a pintxos tour but at least a taxi won’t be necessary, as happens with another Michelin stars in the urban periphery. Only two variants to choose between: the full Tasting Menu for € 120 and the Market Menu for € 88, quite similars both of them but, in the case of the shorter one, some dishes are obviously excluded, reducing…
Guided tour and dinner at Chillida-Leku
After have been operating for about ten years, the Chillida-Leku Museum was forced to close its doors to the public due the economic crisis in 2010. Luckily, this summer we’ve celebrated its reopening, which is non only oriented to exhibit the work of our most famous sculptor, but extra activities to enjoy its special environment. The growing number of tourists will probably continue visiting the Museum in the classic way, but locals will also find some extra activities further the mere tour between the sculptures. For example, on July a yoga pack with brunch was offered in the gardens, and it must have been really cool to exercise among the sculptures…
A risky tasting menu at Mugaritz
Andoni Luis Aduriz’s restaurant Mugaritz is one of the big restaurants of the San Sebastian cuisine. Located in Rentería -the town is about 8 kilometers away from San Sebastian- the restaurant has two Michelin stars and, furthermore, lots of recognitions of the highest level. Instead of providing too much data about the procedures, philosophy or the stuff handled, the best recommendation would be watch the documentary Campo a través, a nice mentally training for the avalanche of feelings awaiting there. The premise is clear: this is not for faint-hearted. Working with great partners such as AZTI-Tecnalia (Technological Center specialized in marine and food research) there’s a certain dose of lab…
Convent Garden’s El Patio: a terrace in the city center
Convent Garden is a multispace with a restaurant, a hostel, a roof terrace, a crypt and the patio. Today we’ll speak about its inner courtyard called Patio. Opened about four years ago, we loved from the beginning just for the naming, a reference to the classic London area but also to its past as a convent of nuns -still remains a certain… pious feeling- until the last decade. Perfect for a drink after the workday or before dinner as a meeting point. Particularly suitable for summer but thanks to its stoves and awnings we can also have terrace days during the rest of the year. Closing hours at 10pm on weekdays and at 11pm on the weekend. Designed as…
LABe open its doors at Tabakalera
What does the future taste like? Last Monday LABe -partnered and managed by the Basque Culinary Center– started its activity in the top roof of the Tabakalera Center. LABe is probably a suitable word game resulting from labe -oven in basque- and lab. As they say, is much more than just an experimental restaurant, but a coworking space and a place where determine -we don’t know yet all the details- the gastronomy of the future in digital terms. So far we can visit the restaurant at lunch hour and ask for plate of the day from Monday to Friday or the daily menu for € 18 during the whole week.…
Bars where to enjoy the Jazzaldia Festival
End of July and here we have the Jazzaldia, the biggest jazz festival in Spain and therefore one of the most important events of the year in the city. During the next five days, we’ll have dozens of jazz (and non-jazz) bands in different locations of the city center. Trinity Square and the big stage on the Zurriola beach are the clear highlights, the first one for the most wanted bands (tickets are usually sold out weeks before) and the second one hosts a huge audience with gigs for free. There’s other options as well in some special places as the Náutico, suitable to enjoy DJ sessions with its amazing bay view. Another good option, less massified, is to…
Mimo Bar at San Martin Market
Mimo is a company who offers products around gastronomy, either offering cooking courses or arranging typical basque outings to sidrerías (cider factories and restaurants), pintxo-tours, etc. Ironically, its founder is not Basque but English, so all of this is mainly oriented for the English-speaking public. His latest bet, so far in the testing phase is a pop up bar on the street floor of the San Martin Market, adopting the model of other food markets – San Miguel in Madrid, La Boquería in Barcelona or Borough Market in London – in other words, classic markets refurbished and now offering Gourmet and seasonal products. The menu varies weekly, sometimes even daily, always depending on the products available in…
A classic in the pintxos world: Bodega Donostiarra bar
Peña and Goñi street has become recently in a pedestrian street full of trendy bars and restaurants. But, long time ago, when this area was less chic, the bar Bodega Donostiarra already prepared amazing pintxos for the working class. Now it’s a well considered bar where pilgrims arrive everyday looking for a great cuisine with decades of experience offering nice quality ingredients and tasty flavours. The offer includes portions, salads and sandwiches but the highlights are the three prizewinners pintxos, served by dozens at peak times: Indurain, a version of the classic Gilda with 5 piparras (like chilis) one for each of its won Tours, the Completo, a small and tasty…
Nice pintxos in the city center at Zazpi bar
The Zazpi bar is well located in the pedestrian San Marcial street. It’s a bar daily frequented by workers from the sorrounding area and, lately, also by people scaping from the massified Parte Vieja. Its interior may seem not very glamorous, but don’t trust in appearances, this bar has a fabulous kitchen which worths to be visited. The offer in pintxos is… pure luxury, haute cuisine in a small size format. The staff also seems to be motivated and has knowledge about the product list or possible recommendations about wines. In short, it’s a place where invest wisely the budget when going out on a pintxos tour. Friendly prices in the…
Inside the Basque Culinary Center
Opened in 2011, the BCC is an important reference in Europe regarding gastronomy. But, to know its activity is not neccesary to enroll in the Faculty of Gastronomic Sciences or belong to the Center for Research and Gastronomic Innovation, the general public can also go to the restaurant and check how these possible future great chefs are being formed. Prior reservation -and only in their website- is required, from Monday to Friday and during the academic year (September- June): Dish of the day (on the 4th floor restaurant): Prepared by students of the first year of the degree – always supervised by their teachers – this option includes a main…
Eat and drink in San Sebastian… the honest truth
