32 mid-range rooms in San Sebastián, editor-picked. the comfortable everyday-good rooms in San Sebastián — no surprise on the bill, real cooking. All San Sebastián food.
La Cuchara de San Telmo ★ 4.8
parte-vieja · Calle 31 de Agosto 28, 20003 Donostia-San Sebastian
La Cuchara de San Telmo on Calle 31 de Agosto in San Sebastian opened in 1999 from chefs trained at Lasarte and El Bulli, cooking made-to-order modern pintxos off a blackboard menu.
Tip: No display counter; read the blackboard. Queue early before 13:00 or after 21:00, the bar gets four deep at peak.
La Cuchara de San Telmo ★ 4.8
parte-vieja · Calle 31 de Agosto 28, 20003 Donostia-San Sebastian
La Cuchara de San Telmo on Calle 31 de Agosto in San Sebastian, open since 1999 by El Bulli and Lasarte-trained chefs, cooks made-to-order modern pintxos with no display, just a blackboard.
Tip: Queue before 13:00 or after 21:00; the bar is four-deep at peak. No reservations.
Borda Berri ★ 4.7
parte-vieja · Fermin Calbeton Kalea 12, 20003 Donostia-San Sebastian
Borda Berri on Fermin Calbeton in San Sebastian cooks hot made-to-order pintxos with bold Basque flavours, no counter display, just a tight list of plates from a chalkboard.
Tip: Closed Sundays. Cash and card both. Stand outside if the bar is full; food comes out fast.
Bar Nestor ★ 4.7
parte-vieja · Pescaderia Kalea 11, 20003 Donostia-San Sebastian
Bar Nestor on Pescaderia in San Sebastian's Old Town has cooked exactly four things since 1981: txuleta of old-cow ribeye, tomato salad, pimientos de Padron and one tortilla per service.
Tip: Tortilla is two per day, twelve to seventeen slices; show up an hour before service. Txuleta needs a list-name on arrival.
La Vina ★ 4.7
parte-vieja · Calle 31 de Agosto 3, 20003 Donostia-San Sebastian
La Vina on Calle 31 de Agosto in San Sebastian invented the burnt Basque cheesecake in 1990, when Santiago Rivera blasted a crustless cheesecake in a wood-paper-lined tin until the top caramelised.
Tip: Closed Mondays. Get the cheesecake at the counter; the dining room behind serves a sit-down lunch with the same wedge for dessert.
Borda Berri ★ 4.7
parte-vieja · Fermin Calbeton Kalea 12, 20003 Donostia-San Sebastian
Borda Berri on Fermin Calbeton in San Sebastian cooks hot made-to-order pintxos off a tight blackboard menu, no counter display, the Idiazabal-cheese risotto the consistent table order.
Tip: Walk in only, closed Sundays. Stand outside if the bar is full; orders come out fast.
Antonio Bar ★ 4.6
centro · Bergara Kalea 3, 20005 Donostia-San Sebastian
Antonio Bar on Bergara in San Sebastian's Centro is the locals' tortilla room, with a 28-egg, deep-caramelised tortilla and a gilda built on two anchovies and the double-olive Donostian standard.
Tip: Tortilla is finished by 14:30 most days; arrive before then. Cash-friendly; the counter is small and stand-only.
Bar Txepetxa ★ 4.6
parte-vieja · Pescaderia Kalea 5, 20003 Donostia-San Sebastian
Bar Txepetxa on Pescaderia in San Sebastian has cured white anchovies since 1972 by a guarded family recipe, served on toasted baguette with a dozen toppings from pepper-onion to spider crab.
Tip: Walk in only, stand at the bar. The blackboard lists 12 toppings; pick three and shout your order to the barman.
Bar Txepetxa ★ 4.6
parte-vieja · Pescaderia Kalea 5, 20003 Donostia-San Sebastian
Bar Txepetxa on Pescaderia in San Sebastian has cured white anchovies since 1972 by a guarded family recipe, served on toasted baguette with a dozen toppings from spider crab to pepper jardinera.
Tip: Counter standing only. The blackboard lists 12 toppings; shout your order.
Antonio Bar ★ 4.6
centro · Bergara Kalea 3, 20005 Donostia-San Sebastian
Antonio Bar on Bergara in San Sebastian's Centro is the locals' tortilla room, with a deep-caramelised 28-egg tortilla and the canonical double-anchovy Donostian gilda.
Tip: Tortilla finishes by 14:30 most days. Counter is small and stand-only.
A Fuego Negro ★ 4.5
parte-vieja · Calle 31 de Agosto 31, 20003 Donostia-San Sebastian
A Fuego Negro on Calle 31 de Agosto in San Sebastian, chef Edorta Lamo's avant-garde pintxo room, runs dark walls, indie music and inventive plates pulled from travel and comic-book ideas.
Tip: Closed Mondays. The counter is small; arrive before 21:00 or after 22:30 to skip the wait.
Goiz Argi ★ 4.5
parte-vieja · Fermin Calbeton Kalea 4, 20003 Donostia-San Sebastian
Goiz Argi on Fermin Calbeton in San Sebastian cooks one perfect prawn brochette to order, griddled with red pepper sauce on a slice of bread, plus a tight list of plancha pintxos.
Tip: Stand-only at the counter; brochette is fired fresh, expect a 4-minute wait. Open 10:00 to 16:00 and 18:30 to 23:30.
Goiz Argi ★ 4.5
parte-vieja · Fermin Calbeton Kalea 4, 20003 Donostia-San Sebastian
Goiz Argi on Fermin Calbeton in San Sebastian cooks a single perfect prawn brochette to order, griddled with a sweet red pepper sauce on bread, plus a tight list of plancha pintxos.
Tip: Stand only; brochette is fired fresh. Open 10:00 to 16:00 and 18:30 to 23:30.
Atari Gastroteka ★ 4.4
parte-vieja · Calle Mayor 18, 20003 Donostia-San Sebastian
Atari Gastroteka on Calle Mayor in San Sebastian, opposite the Santa Maria del Coro church, runs a long bar of experimental pintxos with a stand-and-eat terrace on the church steps.
Tip: Open until 01:00 weekdays, 02:30 weekends; the terrace fills first. No reservations, walk-in only.
Bar Sport ★ 4.4
parte-vieja · Fermin Calbeton Kalea 10, 20003 Donostia-San Sebastian
Bar Sport on Fermin Calbeton in San Sebastian's Old Town serves a classic counter of grilled foie, stuffed squid and braised cheek, with the house Txakoli pours and a fast-moving crowd.
Tip: Walk in only; counter standing room. Open until midnight daily, weekends from 11:00.
Bar Martinez ★ 4.4
parte-vieja · Calle 31 de Agosto 13, 20003 Donostia-San Sebastian
Bar Martinez on Calle 31 de Agosto in San Sebastian's Old Town has been a shellfish pintxo bar since 1942, now run by the third generation of the Martinez family with a long counter and house-made plates.
Tip: Counter is busy from 13:00 and 21:00; weekends and August are extremely crowded. No reservations.
Atari Gastroteka ★ 4.4
parte-vieja · Calle Mayor 18, 20003 Donostia-San Sebastian
Atari Gastroteka on Calle Mayor in San Sebastian, opposite the Santa Maria del Coro church, runs a long bar of experimental pintxos and a church-step standing terrace open until 02:30 at weekends.
Tip: No reservations, walk in only. The terrace is the social hour; pull up at 19:30 to beat the queue.
Bar Sport ★ 4.4
parte-vieja · Fermin Calbeton Kalea 10, 20003 Donostia-San Sebastian
Bar Sport on Fermin Calbeton in San Sebastian's Old Town runs a brisk pintxos counter of grilled foie, stuffed squid and braised cheek, with a Txakoli pour and a moving crowd of locals.
Tip: Counter standing only. Open daily until midnight; weekends from 11:00.
Bar Martinez ★ 4.4
parte-vieja · Calle 31 de Agosto 13, 20003 Donostia-San Sebastian
Bar Martinez on Calle 31 de Agosto in San Sebastian's Old Town has been a shellfish pintxo bar since 1942, now in its third generation with a long counter and house-made plates.
Tip: Busy from 13:00 and 21:00. No reservations. Weekends and August are extremely crowded.
Topa Sukalderia ★ 4.3
gros · Calle Aguirre Miramon 7, 20002 Donostia-San Sebastian
Topa Sukalderia in San Sebastian's Gros is the IXO Grupo (Andoni Luis Aduriz) Basque-Latin American room since 2017, with tacos, ceviches and a counter cooking Aduriz's pan-Hispanic experiments.
Tip: The bar is walk-in; tables need a reservation through the website. The kitchen runs continuously from 13:00 onwards.
Hidalgo 56 ★ 4.3
gros · Paseo Colon 15, 20002 Donostia-San Sebastian
Hidalgo 56 on Paseo Colon in San Sebastian's Gros runs a busy locals' counter with a long blackboard of daily pintxos and the callos y morros that the morning crowd order with cana.
Tip: Across from Zurriola beach; the morning crowd is mostly local. Walk in only.
Bar Astelena ★ 4.3
parte-vieja · Calle Inigo 1, 20003 Donostia-San Sebastian
Bar Astelena on Calle Inigo in San Sebastian's Old Town, in business since 1960, runs a tight counter of pintxos plus a small dining room behind for sit-down lunches off a daily blackboard.
Tip: Smaller crowd than the Calle 31 de Agosto rooms; lunch sit-down requires booking by phone.
Topa Sukalderia ★ 4.3
gros · Calle Aguirre Miramon 7, 20002 Donostia-San Sebastian
Topa Sukalderia in San Sebastian's Gros is the IXO Grupo (Andoni Luis Aduriz) Basque-Latin American room since 2017, with tacos, ceviches and pisco cocktails alongside Basque grill plates.
Tip: Walk in at the bar or book a table through topasukalderia.com. The kitchen runs continuously from 13:00.
Hidalgo 56 ★ 4.3
gros · Paseo Colon 15, 20002 Donostia-San Sebastian
Hidalgo 56 on Paseo Colon in San Sebastian's Gros runs a busy locals' counter with a daily blackboard of pintxos and the callos y morros that the morning crowd order with cana.
Tip: Across from Zurriola beach; the morning crowd is local. Walk in only.
Fermin Calbeton (formerly Casa Tiburcio) ★ 4.2
parte-vieja · Fermin Calbeton Kalea 40, 20003 Donostia-San Sebastian
Casa Tiburcio on Fermin Calbeton in San Sebastian, rebranded Fermin Calbeton under Grupo Garrancho in 2022, runs traditional Basque counter cooking with a coal brasa at the back.
Tip: Pintxos at the front bar, table service in the back room. The brasa lights at 12:30 and 20:00.
Casa Vergara ★ 4.2
parte-vieja · Calle Mayor 21, 20003 Donostia-San Sebastian
Casa Vergara on Calle Mayor in San Sebastian's Old Town, since 1948, sits across from the Santa Maria del Coro basilica with the bacalao al pil pil pintxo as its house plate.
Tip: Front terrace fills first; the church-step view is the standing-room reward. Open daily.
Bartolo ★ 4.2
parte-vieja · Calle Fermin Calbeton 38, 20003 Donostia-San Sebastian
Bartolo on Fermin Calbeton in San Sebastian's Old Town keeps one of the longest pintxo display counters in the quarter, with a sit-down dining room behind for plates and grilled meats.
Tip: Counter pintxos are pay-as-you-go; back room takes reservations through their site. Closed Tuesdays.
Sirimiri Gastroleku ★ 4.2
parte-vieja · Calle Mayor 4, 20003 Donostia-San Sebastian
Sirimiri Gastroleku on Calle Mayor in San Sebastian's Old Town runs a contemporary pintxo bar with fresh fish ceviches, slow-cooked carrillera and a small lunch carte for the Bretxa-market crowd.
Tip: Sit at the counter to watch the kitchen; the back dining room is a sit-down service.
Casa Vergara ★ 4.2
parte-vieja · Calle Mayor 21, 20003 Donostia-San Sebastian
Casa Vergara on Calle Mayor in San Sebastian's Old Town, since 1948, sits opposite the Santa Maria del Coro basilica with the bacalao al pil pil pintxo as its house plate and counter-and-terrace seating.
Tip: Terrace seating across from the basilica fills first. Open daily; standing room only.
Fermin Calbeton (formerly Casa Tiburcio) ★ 4.2
parte-vieja · Fermin Calbeton Kalea 40, 20003 Donostia-San Sebastian
Casa Tiburcio on Fermin Calbeton in San Sebastian, rebranded Fermin Calbeton under Grupo Garrancho in 2022, runs a Basque pintxo counter and a back-room brasa for grilled meats.
Tip: Brasa lights at 12:30 and 20:00. Stand at the front bar for pintxos.
Casa Alcalde ★ 4.1
parte-vieja · Calle Mayor 19, 20003 Donostia-San Sebastian
Casa Alcalde on Calle Mayor in San Sebastian's Old Town is a long-running classic kitchen of jamon-and-tortilla pintxos, charcuterie and a working-day menu del dia at the back.
Tip: Open daily; the lunch menu del dia is good value at 16 euros. Counter is busy from 13:00 onwards.
Casa Senra ★ 4.0
gros · Calle San Francisco 32, 20002 Donostia-San Sebastian
Casa Senra on Calle San Francisco in San Sebastian's Gros runs a working-day menu del dia and a traditional Basque pintxo counter, the neighbourhood lunch spot for the Zurriola crowd.
Tip: Lunch served 13:00 to 15:30; menu del dia 14 to 18 euros. Closed Sunday.