Eating Pintxos Like A Pro: A Guide to the Best Pintxos in San Sebastián

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San Sebastián is famous for its food scene—and the star of the show is Pintxos (Pronounced “PEEN-chose”)! We spent over a month in San Sebastián going out to eat most nights. We tirelessly tried pintxos all in the name of research so that we could provide you with this guide of our favorites! So, if you are planning your first trip, or any trip, to San Sebastián here is our guide to the famous Pintxo.

What is a Pintxo

Found all over the city, pintxos are bar snacks served on a small slice of baguette or on a skewer. These bites are originated in the Basque Country of northern Spain. Pintxos in the Basque region and San Sebastián can be broken into two categories: cold and hot. The cold ones are displayed in a glass countertop at the bar – pre-prepared snacks for your enjoyment. Hot pintxos are made-to-order and usually there’s a chalkboard or menu listing the hot, made-to-order options.

Pintxos are not expensive. You can expect to pay between €2.00 – €6.00 for most cold options, and €5.00 – €15.00 for hot options.

How to Order a Pintxo

The Pinxto experience is less about sitting down and more about moving — one or two bites per bar, a glass of wine or txakoli (pronounced “cha-ko-lee”), a crisp, light, slightly sparkling white wine from the Basque Country, maybe a glass of local cider, and on to the next place. The energy alone makes the night. Push your way to the bar, point to the pintxo you want with confidence, and enjoy the deliciousness that each one has to offer. Follow your instincts, pop into busy spots, and don’t overthink it.

Pintxos Food Tour

If you want help your first night in San Sebastián, we highly recommend a pintxos food tour. The one we went on in San Sebastian was one of the best we’ve done! Devour Tours does a great Old Town Pintxos tour!

Their San Sebastián pintxos tour will take you to 8+ stops where you’ll learn to successfully navigate even the most bustling of pintxos bars like a pro during the rest of your trip. We went back to every place that they took us to during our month long stay in San Sebastián. If you want a glimpse of the tour, click here for the Instagram reel we created about the food tour.

Favorite Pintxo Bars

It is impossible to visit every bar and try ever pintxo. Honestly, you can’t go wrong wherever you end up. The following are our favorite spots and dishes that we highly recommend:

Gandarias

Gandarias is known for high quality ingredients—and it shows in their food! The must get pinxto is the solomillo. It is piece of steak with green pepper and sea salt. The steak is oh-so tender. This is a hot pinxto made to order. Another favorite was the brocheta de gamba (shrimp and “Joselito” brochette). We stopped in Gandarias several times during our time in San Sebastián, so trust us when we say it is all fabulous!

Borda Berri

Borda Berri: This is the spot for “comfort food” pintxos. They specialize in the hot pintxo, although the cold ones are just as delicious. You have to get the melt in your mouth beef cheek with creamy buttery mashed potatoes. It was in our top two or three dishes of the trip! Another great option is the orzo risotto with Idiazabal cheese.

Cervecerías La Mejillonera

Cervecerías La Mejillonera: If you want award winning patatas bravas and mussels, this is your place. They are the mussel experts and get their mussels from the nearby marina every day. The flavors and sauces are both unique and perfectly balanced. We had the tigres mussles (a tomator chili sauce) and the vinaigrette mussels (a pickled, oniony sauce). The patatas bravas have the best sauce. One pro tip, throw the mussel shells, napkins, and all trash in the trough below the bar! It may seem odd, but it is perfectly normal.

Fermin Calbeton

Fermin Calbeton: This place has a more modern vibe. It is one of the places we had pintxos and a sit down dinner. For pintxos, get the chicharrónes and octopus au gratin. Both are behind the bar, the octopus au gratin is a cold pinxto, while the chicharrónes is a hot one. And we can’t recommend getting a glass of txakoli more. It is a perfect pairing with these two pinxtos. The mix of creamy tasty octopus, salty and fried pork, along with the light slightly effervescent wine is to die for.

Bar Sport

Bar Sport: Bar Sport is known for three dishes: Basque cheesecake, their foie pintxo, and their sea urchin soup. Other than the cheese cake, these pintxos may challenge you, but trust us, they are worth it!

Txepetxa

Txepetxa: They specialize in anchovy pintxos and they invented one of the most famous pinxto—the Gilda. Considered by many to be the original pintxo. It’s a simple, one-bite skewer known for its bold, salty, and spicy flavor profile. It has anchovies, green olives, and pickled peppers. Don’t pick the skewer apart, put the whole thing in your mouth! Even if you do not like anchovies, you must try it! They also have very inventive anchovy pinxtos, like one with anchovies and blueberry jam—which was surprisingly delicious!

Oiartzun Bakery

Oiartzun Bakery: While not a pinxto bar, they had the best Basque cheesecake we tried, as well as delicious panchineta (pronounced ‘pahn-chee-NET-ah’). While most people love the Basque cheesecake, we actually preferred the panchineta. It is a puff pastry with a sprinkling of almonds and pastry cream. So yummy!

Other Pintxo Bar Recommendations

Any pintxo bar list is going to be woefully incomplete because there are so many great places to eat. With that in mind, here are a few more recommendations:

Ganbara: A Michelin guide recommended restaurant.
La Vina: The inventor of the Basque cheesecake.
Bar Antonio: This one has great reviews. We never made it here because it’s always packed, so pick your time to go wisely!
Nestor: Known for a great Spanish tortilla. They only make one per night and sell out quickly!
La Cuchara de San Telmo: A spot for great gourmet pintxos.

Pintxos App

There is also a great free app that will give you recommendations for where to go and what pintxos to get. All the recommendations are from San Sebastián chefs. The app is “Pintxos” and it has this icon.