Here are my top 4 Pinxto Bars. So many great others but our tops for the trip.
La Cuchara De San Telmo was lights out! Best overall Pinxto in old town
The Foie was arguably the best single bite I had there. Incredible. Goat Cheese tarte dessert thingy was crazy. The beef was insane. The place is just perfect. Try everything!
La Vina has a word famous Cheesecake that’s a must try for dessert
Borda Berri was my daughters favorite. Risotto made with what appears to be Orzo was amazing and they also have a beef cheek which is crazy
Bar Nestor is a must. Get there an hour before opening (12 or 7) for 1 and 8 and put your name in for a tortilla espanola. Best version around and many say in the world. They also have a steak which I didn’t do because I’m with non meat eaters and it’s too big for 1 but looked ridiculous
If you like tomatoes they have a raw tomato plate which people were loving
Vino Eceiza Prim- For a great wine/whiskey shop with incredible old bottles and rare whisky
Our only high end restaurant in SS was Zuberoa. Located in a 600 year old Basque Country Home w/ 1 Michelin Star. Traditional Basque cuisine as opposed to the style of restaurants like Mugaritz
If you like whiskey the Museo del Whiskey is a great bar with a piano player in the basement most nights. The steak at Bar Nestor is not to be missed. The more I think about San Sebastian the more I miss it. Bordeaux is an easy day trip if you have a car.
Museo del Whiskey was cool, but they didn’t sell any of the cool bottles in the cases and the prices were propsterous. Basic stuff was fine, but for example Hibiki17, which because discontinued, was $300 euro for a 2.5 ounce pour. Secondary market pricing is around $450. Definitely a cool spot to walak into as some of the bottles on the shelf are certainly unicorns, but to go and drink, it’s only good if you want fairly common pours.
Fly into Madrid or Barcelona and rent a car. Madrid is a much more direct drive, but Barcelona to San Sebastián gives you the option to drive through the Pyrenees, which are beautiful. If you don’t do the mountains, both drives are 5-5-1/2 hours. You can also fly to San Sebastián from either airport
It’s a super quick flight to San Sebastián from Madrid or Barca. We did that once. We also did a drive from Barcelona to San Sebastián, stopping in Rioja (Haro) along the way, which was phenomenal.
It’s a great property and I’d highly recommend it - I’ve done the drive from Bilbao and taken the bus from Biarritz - both easy but I think the Biarritz option might be easier.
Stayed here in 2013 for our 15th wedding anniversary, five nights in a beautiful suite on Starwood points. Still probably my favorite hotel experience ever, service was great, view was great, everything was great.
58,000 points at the time for the five nights (fifth night free). Those days are long gone.