The little black book of pintxos and long lunches.
San Sebastián has more pintxos bars per square metre than just about anywhere on earth, which sounds like a dream until you're standing in the old town at 9pm, starving, paralysed, watching everyone else eat better than you.
This is the list that fixes that.
It's not "top 10 things to do" copied off the internet. It's where the locals and myself genuinely go, what to order when you get there (the one dish each place does better than anyone), and how far it is from the centre, so you can plan a crawl through the old town or build a whole day around a wood-fire grill on the coast.
Inside you'll find:
The old town, on foot: the marble-counter classics, from the famous burnt cheesecake to spider crab, sea urchin and the anchovies people travel for.
Just beyond: a couple of spots a short stroll from the casco viejo that most visitors never find.
Worth the drive: the legendary grills out in Getaria, Zumaia and Irún, with distances and times so you know exactly what you're committing to (and why it's worth it).
Every place is one I'd send my own friends to. You'll know what to order before you sit down, which means less hovering awkwardly at the bar and more of the good part: eating.
Print it, save it to your phone, follow it bar to bar.
