[IanT]

High and all as my expectations were, San Seb easily surpassed them. A passion for good food is the very heartbeat of this beautiful city. Even the most humble dive bar will serve you slices of moist tortilla and glistening plates of jamon. Everything is of the highest quality, everything is fresh, nothing is expensive. The food culture is so overwhelmingly different to that in the UK and Ireland that it boggles the mind.

We arrived late on Thursday evening. It was almost 1am, but the Spanish eat late right? Shouldn't be a problem to get hold of some delicious little morsels to kick-start a serious weekend of eating. I hadn't eaten since lunchtime, I could almost taste the jamon from my hotel room, I had to restrain myself from sprinting. We reached the Old Town and... everything was closed. Not a pinxto to be had for love nor money. We sat at the bar of a particularly awful nightclub, ate crisps, drank bad sangria and cried salt tears of frustration.

We leapt out of bed on Friday morning, loosened our belts and hit the Old Town. The next three days were spent, almost entirely, wandering from bar to bar. We had done quite a bit of research so had a number of must trys but often we relied on the bar men to recommend what was best or simply grabbed anything that looked good. We found the locals extremely friendly people, especially when we showed an interest in their food. What a place to live. I was particularly taken by the Dining Societies, gorgeous old buildings scattered through town dedicated to groups of men cooking for each other. Meeting once a week and cooking fantastic meals with a big group of friends, every week of their life. Old men who had been doing this for 50 years. Wonderful. A couple of the dining societies staged a parade on the Sunday of our visit. Bon viveurs hardly covers it; happy smiling men, rotund of belly and bushy of moustache.

We took an occasional break from eating, San Seb has great beaches and surfing. And there are lovely coastal walks. It really is a beautiful place. But, mostly we ate. Mugaritz was our only non-pinxtos meal (separate review to follow). I've set out some of the highlights below but you really you can't go wrong just strolling through the Old Town and stopping at any place that takes your fancy. The jamon is intoxicatingly good everywhere, I have never come across ham like it. A million miles from anything I've been served in the UK and way ahead of even Italy. The coffee is incredible everywhere - cortado is the drink, a bit like a strong macchiato. We generally drank txakoli (very fresh local sparkling wine) or the local cider. Both are poured from above head height with much bravado and accompany the food very well.

Barandian

Great spot for breakfast particularly. Freshly squeezed orange juice. Some of the best tortilla we had all weekend - beautifully moist stuffed with chorizo and potato. Has tables outside, perfect for a sunny day. Cortados to raise the dead. And its just across the road from...

Oiartzun

Fabulous bakery, to which we paid a number of visits. Everything was great, super pastries for breakfast but the highlight was the local custard dessert.



Cuchara

Along with Astelena (below), the most ambitious kitchen we came across. Tiny place, just a corridor really leading to an open kitchen. Their approach was quite a bit more professional than most pinxto spots and more of a focus on cheffy dishes. Ate some good foie here and some gorgeous juicy anchovies.

La Cepa

Top class jamon. A great plate of wild mushrooms served on a warm plate with a raw egg yolk, you broke the yolk into the garlicky mushrooms and scooped up the resulting mess with bread. Gorgeous.

Astelena

The best of the bunch in our opinion. An open kitchen with chefs turning out some pretty serious dishes. Great range of croquettas (which they pride themselves on) with some unusual fillings. Excellent grilled chorizo. My favourite pinxto of the weekend was their sea urchin. Creamy sea flavoured deliciousness. Seriously, just look at the picture below, it could easily be served as part of a 3* meal. I think it cost €3. It has seats in the square opposite.



Txondorra

An excellent spot that hadn't been recommended to us. Very helpful, enthusiastic barman with perfect English. Huge range of dishes. The Duck leg confit wrapped in jamon was superb as was the black cuttlefish stuffed with its tentacles served in a sauce of its ink. Great range of mushrooms (see below). A little pinxto of duck ham, cream cheese and hazelnut.



Gandarias

Best atmosphere of anywhere we visited. Fantastic barman who alternated between comedic gruffness and fawning attention. We drank a lot of Belondrade y Lurton here over the weekend. Loved it. Went well with the superb foie a la plancha served on a bed of apple puree and topped with redcurrant. For €2.50. Fabulous Jamon. A guy at the bar beside us had ordered a Chuleton de Buey (Ox chop), it looked like a steak for a Neanderthal king. Huge steak on the bone with gorgeous yellow fat. He saw my admiring glances and offered me a bite in exchange for some of my lomo. I couldn't avoid groaning, incredible meat. We swiftly ordered one for ourselves. Cooked black and blue, topped with rock salt. Better than any steak I ate in Argentina or Brazil earlier this year. Unbelievable.

Nagusia Lau

We visited on Sunday lunchtime and it was rammed with locals, seemed to be the most popular spot in the Old Town at that time. Great buzz, great staff. The barmaid immediately won me over when I saw the loving care she put into arranging some anchovies on a plate. That kind of care and attention to detail typifies the Donostian approach to food. The anchovies were great, as was a pepper stuffed with black pudding.

Other spots we liked were Tamboril , Bardo Berri , Egosari (foie with strawberries) and Raciones .

In summary, I quite like San Sebastian. I wonder what their legal job market is like at the moment?

[omnivorette]

Thank you for that, Ian.

I seriously need to get to Spain again, sooner rather than later.

(If you haven't already, read Pim's stuff on SS on chezpim)

[LML]

For anyone that's interested, Donosti is over. If you're looking for real food try Asturias or Galicia.

[degusto]

LML, on Aug 22 2006, 09:24 PM, said:

For anyone that's interested, Donosti is over.

I was never convinced it was ever on.

[Miguel Gierbolini]

LML, on Aug 22 2006, 05:24 PM, said:

If you're looking for real food try Asturias

Asturias is my destination for a couple of weeks next month, any specific recommendations?

[Tuckerman]

Miguel Gierbolini, on Aug 22 2006, 07:33 PM, said:

LML, on Aug 22 2006, 05:24 PM, said:

If you're looking for real food try Asturias

Asturias is my destination for a couple of weeks next month, any specific recommendations?

I had two fine meals at Casa Gerardo just west of Gijon a couple of years ago. Although the cooking was polished and sophisticated, it also retains its regional dimension, as witnessed by the number of families turning up specifically to eat their Fabada, reputed to be the best in the region.

In Arriondas, El Corral del Indianu serves up bejewelled, picturesque dishes if you fancy a change from the heartier fare available generally.

In Ribadesella, a restaurant called La Huertona was making a name for itself with good suckling lamb and suckling pig dishes

[Miguel Gierbolini]

Thanks Tuckerman.

[Tuckerman]

My review of Casa Gerardo from another place. Note that it was 3 years ago so I can't vouch for it now:

Despite LML´s warnings to avoid Michelin restaurants, others, including an egullet expert on the area, had told me that this long established roadhouse on a nasty stretch of road 5 miles west of Gijon was, despite having "only" one star, one of Spain´s best restaurants.

Casa Gerardo has been in the same family for five generations and I´d spoken to Marcos Moran, son and heir of the present chef/owner Pedro when we´d made our lunch booking.

The moment we arrived he came out to greet us and made us feel at ease in the pleasant but unprepossessing upstairs room which was buzzing with families and couples. He offered to devise a menu for us to which we readily agreed. Twelve courses followed.

Spanish omelette ice cream with onion galette

Tomato and Asturian cheese soup with toasted almonds and asparagus

Duck foie with two fruit coulis and pine nuts

Mussels with a parsley and garlic marinara

Red mullet with a dessicated, dried tomato salsa

Sea Bass with cubes of pineapple and potato and an orange sauce

Baked lamb with honey

Fabada Asturiana (yes a fabada at this stage. I nearly fell off my chair)

Orange and papaya with mango ice cream

Chocolate mousse with almond and passion fruit ice cream

Arroz con Leche

Cafe Creme with juniper and red grapefruit.

A huge glass of Pedro Ximenez sherry was served with the four desserts. We´d already drunk a half bottle of Cordoniu cava, a half bottle of Albarinho, and a bottle of Artadi Rioja (one of their cheaper ones). Coffee and Cognac were complimentary . I hasten to add that most of this alcohol was consumed by yours truly since Fahro was driving, but in mitigation ,it was over three and a half hours.

What a lunch! I still haven´t recovered. These were by no means tiny portions. Some dishes worked better than others. The tomato soup was amazingly concentrated working brilliantly with the crunchy toated almonds, the cheese ( thankfullynot Cabrales) used subtley and sparingly. The Spanish omelette ice cream was silky and savoury. The bass and mullet were simplicity itself, fresh,tender, flavoursome, the dried tomato salsa with the mullet odd but right. I wasn´t quite convinced by the pineapple with the bass, but the potato bought a normality to the dish. The honey slightly overpowered the lamb. I could have passed on the mussels and the fabada (tasty but just too much) and the cafe creme dessert. The Arroz con Leche was the best I´ve tasted and the passion fruit ice cream was just amazing.

The cost of this feast with a generous tip for the excellent service was 170 Euros-around 120 pounds for two.

I´ve no idea how this restaurant shapes up to Spanish two and three stars, but there was an honesty and a friendliness about it. People were in shorts, others just popped in for a fabada and a glass of wine, kids were around. Pedro spoke no English but came over and shook hands. It was the best restaurant experience I´ve had in Spain. It was enough, after the diastrous Casa Marcial the other night, to restore my faith in Michelin

[Wilfrid1]

I think I am just getting old. It all sounded great until we got to the Spanish omelette ice cream. And the thing is, I know this kind of cooking can work - see my reviews of La Broche...

[Miguel Gierbolini]

What's not to like about an egg and potato flavored ice cream? I'll try doing this joint. Thanks Tuck.

[Wilfrid1]

When it comes to my last supper, and the waiter asks if I would like my tortilla espanol straight-up or turned into ice cream or foam... well, you get the picture (yes, we see).

[Tuckerman]

Wilfrid, on Aug 23 2006, 05:16 PM, said:

When it comes to my last supper, and the waiter asks if I would like my tortilla espanol straight-up or turned into ice cream or foam... well, you get the picture (yes, we see).

Yes but it's not your last supper and the restaurant is trying to do something a little interesting and so what?

[LML]

Tuckerman, on Aug 25 2006, 09:25 PM, said:

Wilfrid, on Aug 23 2006, 05:16 PM, said:

When it comes to my last supper, and the waiter asks if I would like my tortilla espanol straight-up or turned into ice cream or foam... well, you get the picture (yes, we see).

Yes but it's not your last supper and the restaurant is trying to do something a little interesting and so what?

Nothing, intrisically, but paying extra for someone "trying to do something a little interesting" not only implies that anything not iced or foamed is uninteresting and consequently less valuable, but it also encourages others to do the same, and before you know there's no longer any dignity in producing a tortilla española unless it comes in a shot glass.

[Tuckerman]

LML, on Aug 23 2006, 07:24 PM, said:

Nothing, intrisically, but paying extra for someone "trying to do something a little interesting" not only implies that anything not iced or foamed is uninteresting and consequently less valuable, but it also encourages others to do the same, and before you know there's no longer any dignity in producing a tortilla española unless it comes in a shot glass.

We've been through this before. There are hundreds of places in Asturias where you can get a regular Tortilla Espanola. The fact that there is one place near Gijon where they turn it into foam or ice cream says what exactly?

There is no need to be threatened by the few restaurants which try to do something different. Why is that a problem? Casa Gerardo has been there for five generations. So it does a foam or a veloute. So what? Regional food will not wilt under its gaze and if you're not interested in it's cuisine, well........

[Wilfrid1]

Wot 'e said.

No, I'm not a...what we're they called...Chartists? No. Luddites. I am not a Luddite. I have had some lovely capuccinos of this and that. But damn, if it is going to be silly, it had better be good.