Everyone knows that San Sebastian is the global culinary capital of Basque Country, Spain, and you should definitely spend a day or more explore the city’s Old town, restaurants, bars and museums. Do you also want to visit hidden gems around San Sebastian? Look no further than Oarsoaldea: Including Pasaia (Pasaia Donibane, Pasaia San Pedro), Errenteria, and Oirtzun. Here’s CSL’s top picks:
Where to Eat & Drink in San Sebastian, Basque Country, Spain in Old Town San Sebastian and Gros
from the best Michelin recommended spots to the best classic pintxos bars
Casa Urola | San Sebastian
This iconic Michelin star restaurant and pintxos bar in the Old Town San Sebastian, is led by chef Pablo Loureiro Rodil, Euskadi Gastronomy Prize winner for the Best Restaurateur, and his wife, Begoña Arenas.
The restaurant (reservations required) upstairs is a cozy, elegant dining space with white tablecloths, overlooking Fermin Calbeton Street. Rodil excels at revamping traditional plates and grill cooking, honing in on flavour with find-tuned plates like the ajoblanco scallop (a decade-long menu staple), coated in unctuous velouté, topped with hint of seaweed. Small sweet shrimp are lightly grilled with a dust of sea salt, and clams in garlicky parsley sauce are exceptional. End the evening with refreshing mojito sorbet with hints of mint and lime, millefeuille with apple compote and apricot coulis, and silky chocolate tart.
Fermin Calbeton Kalea, 20, 20003 Donostia
Casa 887 | Gros, San Sebastian
Tucked inside a stone basement in San Sebastian’s ultra-cool Gros neighbourhood and centered around ultra high-quality produce, this Michelin guide recommended restaurant is small but mighty.
Staff feel like friends and the handpicked soundtrack (from Y2K R&B-pop to old school rap and Hozier), evocative photography and neon lights set the perfect unpretentious atmosphere for a concise fusion menu (from nigiri and bao buns to A5 Japanese Wagyu and Galician Txuleta, ribeye steak).
“The tuna belly is like an Iberico pig. It lives most of its life in the wild and gets a tasty layer of fat. Its super fresh,” states chef and owner Antonio Belotti. A masters graduate of the prestigious Basque Culinary Centre, Belotti worked at modernist Narru and avante-garde pintxo bar A Fuego Negro before going solo at Casa 887, a tribute to his native home in Brazil.
Large anchovies top impossibly crunchy cristal bread with grated tomato; torched scallop nigiri is flecked with truffle and a hint of fresh wasabi; and fatty bluefin tuna belly is perfectly seared, and presented like steak. Velvety flan cremoso 887 is a decadent postre (dessert).
Gran Vía, 9, bajo 2, 20002 Donostia / San Sebastián
Pintxos Hopping | San Sebastian
Go for a bar-crawl in the old town. At Muxumartin order the scallops with green curry and wakame with a glass of txakoli (white wine). Stop by Bertakoteka, sister restaurant of Michelin star AMA in Tolosa, for traditional bites like creamed bacalao (cod) on bread. Finish with slice of cult-like Basque cheesecake at La Viña, or better yet try a piece of addictive pantxineta (puff pastry, almonds, crème pâtissière) at Casa Otaegui (featured on Somebody Feed Phil).
Muka | San Sebastian
Basque grill houses are legendary. This modern take is the brainchild of chef Andoni Luis Aduriz (of two Michelin star Mugaritz). Neatly tucked into the Kursaal Conference Centre and Auditorium, polished concrete floors, gold-veined Dekton surfaces – even wait staff uniforms that combine loose-fitting neutral pants and tee – highlight the centerpiece grill, which a small brigade of chefs tend with undivided attention. Culinary highlights include the marinated anchovies with lemon and garum (fish sauce), and grilled monkfish with Ezpeleta butter and chanterelles.
Zurriola Hiribidea, 1, 20002 Donostia / San Sebastián
Looking for The Best Cider House in and around San Sebastian?
Zapiain Sagardoa | Astigarraga
One of our personal favourite cider houses in and around San Sebastian is Zapiain. Tour and taste natural Basque cider at the family-owned cider house in Astigarraga (15 minutes drive from San Sebastian). Book a tour where you’ll be guided through the receiving area, fermentation cellar, production area and finally taste the sagardoa (cider) directly from the kupelas (tanks).
“The taste differs depending on the season,” says Egoitz Zapiain, cider maker, noting the skill it takes to carefully balance sour, bitter and sweet apples. Unlike European or North American varieties, sagardoa contains sediment, a result of the natural process (non-filtered or clarified). The taste is bracingly sharp, with characteristics all their own.
Kale Nagusia 96, 20115 Astigarraga, Gipuzkoa
The Best Things To Do in San Sebastian (Even When it’s Raining)
Museo Chillida-Leku | Hernani
Pathways weave through the open-air museum where nature and art merge, allowing you to get up close with famous Basque sculptor Eduardo Chillida’s creations. Famed for his use of space, pieces are beautifully integrated into the landscape.
While his celebrated The Comb of The Wind can be spotted at the seashore in San Sebastian, here the setting is a restored 15th century farmstead, a virtual time capsule of his famous works and home life.
Jauregi Bailara, 66, 20120 Hernani;
San Telmo Museoa | San Sebastian
Tracing Basque history to modern day, and housed in a stunning 16th century Dominican convent, this comprehensive museum includes works by artists -Rubens, Tintoretto, Zuloaga, Chillida, and Oteiza. A cross section of art and history dedicated to Basque society, it’s impressive and insightful.
Useful Information About San Sebastian
San Sebastian Tourism
Visit the San Sebastian tourism office to purchase the Basque Card, offering discounts on public transport, museums, restaurants and local stores.
Boulevard, 8 – 20003 Donostia / San Sebastián
CSL Guide to Oarsoaldea (Pasaia, Pasaia Donibane, Pasaia San Pedro, Errenteria, Oirtzun)
Where to Stay in Oarsoaldea (Pasaia Donibane)
Hotel Donibanea
A restored 18th century fisherman’s home turned 7-room boutique hotel with beautiful wood, stone and steel details (comfortable bed, bathroom and desk). Rooms wink at prominent maritime figures like Elcano and Legazpi. French doors open to waterside views from the balcony complete with table and chairs – a nice touch and perfect for relaxing with a glass of wine on evenings. A small breakfast selection is available on mornings in the lobby.
Bonantzako Pasealekua, 2, 20110 Pasai Donibane
Oarsoaldea Tourism
A restored 18th century fisherman’s home turned 7-room boutique hotel with beautiful wood, stone and steel details (comfortable bed, bathroom and desk). Rooms wink at prominent maritime figures like Elcano and Legazpi. French doors open to waterside views from the balcony complete with table and chairs – a nice touch and perfect for relaxing with a glass of wine on evenings. A small breakfast selection is available on mornings in the lobby.
Bonantzako Pasealekua, 2, 20110 Pasai Donibane
The Best Things To Do in Oarsoaldea
Errenteria
Located in the Oiartzun Valley, 15 minutes from San Sebastian, near San Marko fort, the city has an industrial past and well-preserved architecture.
Albaola Itsas Kultur Faktoria | Pasaia
With plans to set sail again in 2027, witness the hands-on reconstruction of a 16th century Basque whaling ship at this shipyard museum and school. Learn about Basque maritime history.
Ondartxo, 1, 20110 Pasai San Pedro
Arditurri Mines | Oiartzun
Located in the Aiako Harria Natural Park, this is one of the longest-exploited mines in the world, and the oldest geological formation in the Basque Country. Visitors can view open-cast quarries, and mine shafts during the tour.
San Marcos Fort | Errenteria
Go for a tour of this 19th-century fort on Mount Bizarain. At 260 metres, take an elevator to the top to get amazing panoramic views all the way from La Concha beach in San Sebastian to the French Basque Country. Step through the caponier, battery and barbeta. Along the way replica machine guns, cannons, soldiers, artillery recreate military history.
Where To Eat & Drink in Pasaia (Pasaia San Pedro, Pasaia Donibane)
Falkon Restaurant | Pasaia
Stop for lunch in Pasai San Pedro, where a slice of rural Basque life plays out in real time – the couple with meandering pooch, backpackers ordering their first cider, poured from a height, old men in a corner table boisterously conversing over a pint. Rows of communal wooden tables provide the perfect way to feel like a local and the absence of menus means quick bites like sandwiches and snacks are available. But fresh catch(es)-of-the-day are the forte of this restaurant. Though casual dining is the name of the game, a garnet paper tablecloth is thrown down (Basques are staunch foodies, after all). To follow, there’s a coursed procession: tuna and tomato salad; fried anchovies; rabas (fried squid); and small sweet fish with the perfect light, crisp coating.
Torre Atze Kalea, 20110 Pasai San Pedro, Gipuzkoa, Spain
Bistrot Ziaboga | Pasaia
A family restaurant in Pasai Donibane’s old quarter, where chef Alex Barcenilla serves traditional Basque delights. Marmitako (fisherman’s tuna stew), rabas (fried squid), and grilled monkfish are standouts. Cooking classes available off and on; inquire beforehand.
Donibane Kalea, 91, 20110 Pasai Donibane
Bixigarri Gastroteka | Errenteria
Opened by a local trio of friends, Basque cuisine takes creative inspiration from abroad and at home at this restaurant. Chef Imanol Lasa’s wide-ranging Michelin kitchen experience is apparent through the degustation menu (a la carte is also available), with inventive combinations using modern technique.
Biteri Kalea, 27, 20100 Errenteria
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This original article first appeared in the SPRING 2026 issue of City Style and Living Magazine.
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