This was supposedly the best seafood restaurants in Hondarribia. We gave it to attempts during our…read morestay there the first one the waiter was very lovely and spoke English. The white asparagus was amazing and that's about where the meal ended. We had ordered the deep-fried monkfish, and it was undercooked and extremely greasy as were the potatoes. Thinking we just didn't understand the menu. We gave it a second try and it was not any better the second time they said they did not have a reservation, but seated us anyway. Our second experience was even more underwhelming. We found this place to be overpriced and difficult to get into for no real reason after two attempts I would not recommend if you're looking for a good restaurant in this area I would recommend Almameda that just received is Michelin star and did not disappoint.

The experience here was superb. Our server, so-so with English, but then my Spanish is so-so; we…read moremade it work. When we pointed to items on the menu - we chose only fish/seafood for the evening - she'd go into the kitchen, bring out the fish to show us, confirming if if it was piece too big (she brought out a 1.5 kilo piece of turbot, which we could normally take care of, but we had ordered other dishes). The dishes were amazing: monkfish (cooked perfectly) & clams in a traditional Basque green sauce, anchovies with green chilies and onions, the bacalao al pil pil was beautiful, and a main course of a type of cod perfectly grilled. It's a modest-looking place, but don't let it fool you. The server made the evening very memorable. So, if you make out to this special little town, and you should, try this place.

Hondarribia is an extraordinary town with a gastronomic explosion…read more Few tourists (contrast with Saint Jean de Luz). Little urban blight (contrast with Donastia) Picturesque everywhere. (The ugly stuff was foisted off on the neighboring town of Irun.) And magnificent restaurants everywhere. Ironically - Cafe Exteberria is NOT one of the famous restaurants. If you want the places the New York Times or the food critics love - go down to the waterfront. The critics say - probably correctly - you will eat like a king. Cafe Exteberria is a neighborhood joint. It is in the old city within the ancient city walls. An unusual (and highly desirable) feature of the old city is that there is VERY LITTLE COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT anywhere in the old city. There are not only few tourist stores. There are no stores period stop the end. In the Middle Ages, walled cities had the houses people lived in, a castle and nothing else. If you did business, you did it in the streets. Hondarribia has kept things exactly that way. Not a single house has been knocked down or cleared out for modern business. The houses have been upgraded for modern comforts. (They now have flush toilets instead of people dumping their bedpans in the street.) Everything else has been maintained. So if you want to eat, there are only two choices. There are some tavernas off of the central square. In the southern part of the old city far from the central square, there is Cafe Exteberria. It pretty much only takes care of the locals. It is a wonderful establishment. It carries a small but wonderful assortments of global microbrews. (None from the U.S.. but intriguing examples of Mexican, Danish and Scotch artisanal beers.) There is plenty of Spanish/Basque food and drink. They keep a local red vermouth in a barrel and serve it with fruit and ice. That is a fine fine beverage and I endorse it heartily. They have a nice little menu of sandwiches and pinxtos. We went with the omelet with tuna and the deep fried hot peppers. Fine dishes both. Two additional marks of class. a) The television was set to the Mainland Chinese channel (with Spanish subtitles.) While we ate we watched Chinese telenovelas. The middle aged owner of a business was scheming against his brothers and being morally corrected by the rest of his family. b) The owner has a first rate jazz collection - mostly in vinyl - which she plays as the background music. Great vermouth, fine basque food, Chinese telenovelas, and late fifties jazz vocals. What's not to like?

Outstanding Michellin star restaurant that was perfect from beginning to end. The seating is…read morespacious, the ambiance is relaxed, and the food was as good as it gets. The prefix menu changes frequently. Each course is served with Silver Service and explained. Pacing was perfect. I attached our menu to give a sense of what's offered.

From the moment we were greeted to our check the service was excellent! The waited was fluent in…read moreEnglish and described the menu with great descriptions. The started with local sardines and tomato jam that had the perfect balance. The regional in season white asparagus was so amazing, so tender and flavorful. The short rib we a special local dish that they added their own creatively to and the carrot purée was the right balance. We had local oysters in a local wine and like all things here it was great. Their belief is the source needs to be very close to the kitchen. The ambiance is clean with new designs and a pice of dirt wood at each table with the location. We would definitely recommend this restaurant to anyone.

We splurged at this place on our last night Hondarribia with a group of ten and had a great time…read more The atmosphere of this upscale restaurant is luxurious with the upholstered chairs around the extravagantly decorated tables, the chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and the carpets on the wooden floor. In summer, so I have been told, is the terrace a beautiful spot as well. The chef greeted us very friendly and took the time to explain his menu and the specials of the day in a mix of Spanish, French and English. You could really see that he is passionate about the dishes he makes. The food was a revelation: The starters like a degustation starter, the fish soup or the filled raviolis, the mains like the filet steak, scallops with mushrooms or turbot and even the desert were all delicious. The service was one of the most attentive, caring and fun I have seen in a while. We really indulged ourselves and still paid less than 50 Euro per person, which in part is due to the fact that necessities like water or coffee are priced more than reasonable (3 and 2 Euro respectively). So if you feel like having an excellent dinner which still is reasonably priced, go for it.

Our host, Jen, at Les Almadies Hotel 3 (St. Jean de Lux) recommended we catch a water taxi in…read more Hendaye, FR to Hondarribia, SP for her favorite pintxos in the area. Yes, yes & yes! We met some very nice locals in line who guided us through the menu. The food pics speak for themselves.

This was a very popular restaurant with a giant patio in Hondarribia Spain. Service was good but…read morethey were busy and you had to flag a waiter down. We had an octopus dish and a scallop dish which were fantastic along with a glass of wine and water for about 45 euros. We were going to get more but my daughter had an allergic reaction to pine nuts and we had to race back to the hotel. We were clear that she was allergic to pine nuts before we ordered and they assured us they were not in the dishes but they were. Overall I recommend them but they were more expensive than many of the other nearby excellent restaurants.

We enjoyed a terrific dinner at this small restaurant in the heart of Pamplona. There's a busy bar…read moredownstairs with tapas and drinks. Upstairs is a delightful restaurant that's a favorite with locals. The service here is impeccable and the food was fabulous. We started with a grilled vegetable plate -- vegetables are hard to find in Spain in October! We also enjoyed the classic Spanish meal of grilled steak and potatoes. Our waitress recommended a very nice rioja, the wine of the region. That was superb too! We're not normally dessert eaters, but we wanted to extend this lovely experience so we ordered the waitress' suggestion of a chocolate dessert with cafe con leche.

Really delicious pulpo a la plancha. We ordered two! Good service, and yummy desserts.read more

No Bueno. Came here with the wife. The special in the hotel…read moresaid spaghetti bolegnese, we heard the two tables next to us order the special in Spanish. When we tried to order it in English our waiter magically had no idea what spaghetti was. Instead we got a salad that was only ice burg lettuce and chicken that was just greasy french fries and gross ass chicken strips. Felt a bit discriminated against plus the other food was garbage. I'd look elsewhere.

Reservations are a must for Casa Camara. I suspect that the increasing number of tourists wanting…read moreto dine there has lead them to institute a policy that they will charge a fee of 30 Euros per person for missed reservations. I received a confirmation email and a phone call the evening before the reservation to confirm. Pasaia is a lovely village and well worth a visit while staying in San Sebastian and is just a 15 minute bus ride away plus the 1 minute ferry ride. The staff at Casa Camara are amazing. They are the picture of efficiency. Everyone knows their roles and they all get the job done well. Service was really good and they have no problem answering questions in English. From the long specials list, we chose the grilled cigala. It's like a langostine. It was perfectly grilled and salted. They were so delicious. The monk fish was firm, flaky, and sweet. Our table was next to the lobster tank below the restaurant floor. As lobsters were ordered, staff would hoist the cages up to choose lobsters for the clients to confirm that it's what they want. For dessert, we shared a cheesecake. It was fluffy and light with berries inside. It was a wonderful lunch at a lovely place. Make a reservation so you don't miss out on the experience.

I had the best experience at Casa Camara. The service was excellent & the seafood was to die for…read more The restaurant is right on the water & wherever you sat you could see the water. They have a hole in the middle of the restaurant that goes straight down to the water and they keep their fresh lobster in cages. Whenever you order a lobster they wheel the cage up and you get to select which one you want. We stayed in San Sebastián & drove to the small town to eat. You do need to walk a little ways to find the restaurant but not very far. They also have an amazing view of the water in this town. I highly recommend going for a little walk/hike afterwards.

This restaurant is simply wonderful. Terrific rioja wines at low prices. Fish dishes amd steak…read moreare terrific and enormous. Try the mixed 3 grilled fish. The charcoal grill is in the back and they cook there. The Hake is outstanding!!! Sirloin terrific. The breads wow!!!! Just go!!!!