Best Restaurants in San Sebastián 2026

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A sliced bone-in rib eye txuleton steak on a plate at Bodegon Alejandro in San Sebastián

Looking for the best restaurants in San Sebastian? Guan Chua shares a selection of tried-and-tested favourites, from Michelin-starred restaurants to San Sebastian's best casual pintxo bars and bars to drink Basque txakoli wines.

For more travel inspiration, check out our guide to the best Spanish food trips or travel across the border with our best French food trips.

12 of the best places to eat and drink in San Sebastián

"San Sebastián is my favourite place in the world. I first visited this gourmand’s paradise on Spain’s northern coast in 2011. 15 years on, it has become a second home, somewhere that I return to every year without fail.

The narrow streets of the Old Town are packed with pintxos bars, serving the Basque country’s version of tapas. Counters overflow with beautifully crafted bite-sized eats. Each spot has its respective standouts, from traditional classics to modern creations. It is customary to hop between bars, enjoying a couple of snacks at each, best paired with a zurrito (small beer) or a glass of txakoli, the local lightly sparkling wine which is poured from a height for aeration.

Beyond pintxos bars, San Sebastián boasts world-class restaurants aplenty. The Basque region is blessed with exceptional produce on its doorstep with prized seafood like turbot, besugo (red bream) and carabineros (scarlet prawns) in abundance alongside outstanding land-based ingredients like wild mushrooms, white asparagus and txuleton (ex-dairy, dry-aged ribeye steak)."

Bar Antonio

Start your pintxos crawl with a tortilla at Bar Antonio

Bar Antonio serves the best tortilla I have ever come across – thick-cut, yolk still runny, and packed with chunky potatoes and caramelised onions. While rival Bar Nestor’s is also excellent, it requires long waits and pre-ordering. Antonio’s edges it for me on depth of flavour and ease: just turn up at 12pm or 6:30pm, declare your tortilla interest to the ever-smiling bartenders and you’re sorted. Gildas and Palamós prawn rice are also worth trying if you stay for more. @antoniobarss

La Cuchara de San Telmo

Cram into La Cuchara to savour the best modern pintxos in town

This convivial, perpetually packed bar is a long-standing bastion for the city’s modern pintxos scene, serving freshly cooked, beautifully presented and utterly delicious Basque dishes. Highlights include beer-braised suckling pig with crispy crackling, orzo risotto with scallop and slow-cooked veal cheeks (carrillera) – all produced from the tiniest, shoebox-sized kitchen. @lacucharadesantelmo20

La Cuchara de San Telmo - Suckling Pig copy

Ganbara

Enjoy exquisite local produce, simply but perfectly prepared

Step into Ganbara and what immediately greets you is a phenomenal countertop display of seasonal produce: live langoustines, carabineros and mounds of wild mushrooms. The kitchen follows a less-is-more ethos, treating prized ingredients with respect to let their natural flavours shine. Start with a spider crab txangurro tartlet, then move on to freshly grilled seafood or the surtidos de setas – a medley of ceps, girolles, morels and trompettes. A strong wine selection is also available. @ganbara.oficial

Txepetxa

Discover anchovy heaven at Bar Txepetxa

It is all about the marinaded anchovies (antxoas) here at Bar Txepetxa. This lively Old Town bar serves a dozen pintxos variations, all featuring the freshest, plumpest, most umami-packed anchovies I have ever tasted. Standout toppings include the jardiniera (pickled bell peppers) and the erizo de mar (sea urchin roe). Be sure to pair them with a glass of txakoli! @bartxepetxa

Bar Desy

Sink your teeth into the city’s best burger at Bar Desy

Don’t be fooled by this tiny, unassuming pub in Gros – they serve a standout burger made from premium chopped txuleton. Beautifully caramelised on the outside but left rare in the middle (a nod to beef tartare, a local favourite), the juicy patty has an incredibly deep, dry-aged beef flavour. A fluffy brioche bun and melted blue cheese complete it! Craft beer fans are also well catered for with local brews from Basqueland and Gross available on tap. @bar_desy

La Vina

End your pintxos crawl with the OG Basque cheesecake from La Vina

If Basque cheesecake has a spiritual home, it is here at La Viña. Widely regarded as the creator of this iconic dessert, the bar is perennially packed. Despite the hype, the cheesecake remains consistently excellent. Baked until caramelised and smoky outside while soft, gooey, and creamy inside, it’s the perfect end to a pintxos crawl around Old Town. If dine-in space is limited, head to the cashier at the far end of the bar and ask for it to go. lavinarestaurante.com

Two slices of Basque cheesecake on a plate

Bodegon Alejandro

Escape the Old Town crowds for first-rate txuleton at Bodegon Alejandro

This underrated Basque restaurant, tucked in a basement on Fermin Calbeton street, is a welcome refuge from the bustling pintxos bars above. The txuleton steak is the best I have tasted in Old Town – skilfully chargrilled until smoky, with a creamy dry-aged depth in every bite. Seasonal specials are excellent too; lookout for Guisantes Lágrima (teardrop peas) and Tudela artichokes when available. Make sure to save some room for their terrific torrija (caramelised French toast) to finish. @restaurantebodegonalejandro

Portuexte

Dine at a decades-old Basque grill-house

Located off the beaten track, this traditional Basque grill house from the 1980s is a firm local favourite. Besugo (red bream) is the standout dish here, cooked to perfection over their blazing wood-fire grill with crisp, smoky skin and sweet, pearlescent flesh. It is finished with a deeply moreish sauce of garlic, olive oil and vinegar. Seasonal specials are outstanding too, with artichokes, asparagus and ceps all worth seeking out. @portuetxe

Rekondo

Pair Rekondo’s refined Basque cuisine with wines from one of the world’s great cellars

With over 100,000 bottles on site, Rekondo’s cellar is among the world’s finest, drawing wine lovers from afar. The wine list spans all budgets, from entry bottles and new-wave producers to mature Riojas and Burgundy icons, with many treasures to be found at reasonable prices. Basque classics like txangurro (baked spider crab), clam rice and suckling pig anchor the menu, while service from the family-run team is consistently exemplary. Don’t miss a post-dinner tour of their remarkable cellar! @rekondorestaurante

Baked spider crab on a blue plate at Rekondo

Kaia-Kaipe

Take a day trip to Getaria for turbot at Kaia-Kaipe

Break up the pintxos marathon with a seafood lunch in Getaria, a quaint fishing village located a 30-minute drive from San Sebastián. While most gourmands head to Michelin-starred Elkano, I prefer its casual harbour-side sister, Kaia-Kaipe. The star of the show here is turbot, skilfully grilled over their turbo-charged wood-fire grill – smoke-kissed, crisp-skinned, with meaty flesh and served with a velvety pil-pil emulsion of its own juices. An extensive wine list is also available. @restaurantekaia

Casa Julian

Catch the train to Tolosa for txuleton at Casa Julian

A 30-minute train ride away, Tolosa is home to several world-famous live-fire asadors. Casa Julian is the most renowned and my go-to. Huge txuleton and sirloin chops are expertly cooked over their iconic wood-fire open grill at the heart of the dining room. They typically use 28-day-aged ex-dairy Frisonas, prized for their tenderness and subtle creamy flavour. Candied red peppers and baby leeks are also highlights, along with the warmth of the rustic, wood-panelled dining room. @casajuliandetolosa1951

Martin Berasategui

The pinnacle of Modern Basque fine dining at Martin Berasategui

Martin Berasategui’s three-Michelin-star flagship restaurant in nearby Lasarte-Oria is my pick among San Sebastian’s abundant fine-dining options. The 16-course Modern Basque tasting menu here is cohesive, expertly paced and precisely executed, delivering harmonious flavours and generous portions. Touches of molecular gastronomy throughout add flair and surprise without overcomplicating the dishes. Their signature smoked eel, foie gras and caramelised green apple millefeuille is a standout – my all-time favourite dish! For a special occasion, this is the one. @martinberasategui