Postcard from San Sebastián

San Sebastián is often called the culinary capital of the world and has been on my travel bucket list for years. People here love their food and they love sharing that love for food even more.

Forget Michelin stars – we had two Michelin reservations, but missed one and ended up canceling the second. You are in for an all-day (or all-night) dining experience.

Tapas are great on every corner, but if you want something special, ask the locals for a recommendation. Just learn to say “eeskerrik asko” (“thank you” in Euskera, the Basque language) and you are in.

One of the first places we had lunch was a cafe, called Sebastián, right in the local fishermen’s port in La Concha Bay.

Senhora is the boss here. They start you with anchovies on the house – they are very, very mild and softly soaked in local olive oil.

Then came the barnacles, served hot and cooked in a sea water broth. If you look doubtful, they will teach you how to properly open and eat them. Absolutely delicious.

And then… more anchovies! But large, and not salty at all, with plenty of sliced fried garlic. All complimented by a local dry white wine.

Main course is steamed Spanish crab – dig in, it will probably take you at least an hour to work through all of the sweet crab meat.

 

Dessert is a local curd, a la panna cotta, simply topped with wilflower honey – a fitting conclusion.

We wanted to come back later to try their various fish specials, but they are still closed for dinner service, as it’s not high season yet. But Senhora was happy to get on the phone and book a table at Bar Nestor, in the old city, a local favorite that soon became one of my favorites as well (scroll down to see why – yum!).

Can’t wait to explore more of this beautiful city and everything it has to offer.

{thank you, SVS, for the photo report!}