The Real Basque Way: San Sebastian, Beyond the Stars

San Sebastián may be famous for Michelin stars, pintxos and seafood, but beyond its best-known restaurants lies another culinary world built around seasonality, exceptional ingredients and a deep commitment to craft. We’ll begin with a near-perfect tortilla at a busy local café before visiting a neighborhood market where chefs and home cooks shop for Basque staples such as kokotxa. From there, we’ll meet a cheesemaker pushing beyond regional traditions and visit a chocolate workshop reviving links between the Basque Country and Mexico. Crossing the Urumea River, we’ll explore restaurants and food shops run by a new generation of culinary professionals. Depending on the season, we may taste fish stew with artisanal cider or fresh Cantabrian anchovies with txakoli. Together, these stops reveal the “Basque Way”: tradition, quality and constant evolution.

1. 1

   Parte Vieja

   3 hours

   We’ll start our day with the most perfect tortilla imaginable – both crunchy and oozy at the same time – at a busy locals’ cafe. We’ll then visit a neighborhood market where chefs and grannies line up to buy fresh kokotxa – fish necks, a Basque favorite – by the kilo on the way to meet a cheesemaker thinking way beyond the region’s borders. Down the street we will stop by the workshop of a Mexican of Basque origin who is reviving a chocolate tradition that once connected this port to his home country.

2. 2

   Puente de Santa Catalina

   2 hours

   Heading out of the historic center, across a bridge where the Urumea river meets the Cantabrian Sea, we will be welcomed into a number of restaurants and food shops run by a tight-knit circle of culinary professionals who are filling in the gaps between San Sebastian’s Michelin-starred restaurants and its simpler neighborhood spots. Here, depending on the season, our day may include a homey fish stew and a sip or artisanal cider, or perhaps exceedingly fresh and delicate Cantabrian anchovies accompanied by a new school txakoli, the classic Basque white wine, minerally and smacking of the sea. Committed to quality, but restless for change, it is in these places where we will taste what is of the moment, meet the young leaders of the city’s pioneering kitchens and truly experience the Basque Way.

• Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
• Public transportation options are available nearby
• Specialized infant seats are available
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.