Absolutely stellar dining experience with the prix fixe menu. The menu itself is a little tricky to…read morefigure out because it's in four languages, but our server was both attentive and helpful, especially with one member of our party who had some dietary restrictions! It's a thoroughly cozy spot that made for a fantastic couple of hours break from the sun in the middle of the day, whether you're going for romantic or lively. Everything we had was next level-- salad, fish, desserts- plus a great wine menu.

The food is great if you do not order the cheapest 25 euro three course dinner. Spend 10 euro more…read moreand get a bargain for the food you will receive. At 25 you will get a budget dinner with french fries worth of 25 euro.

Awesome meal at MB. The menu is classic Basque fine dining, lots of techniques used and great…read moremerrying of flavors on the plates. The restaurant is calm inside, tables with a good amount of space between all looking out onto the property. The service is wonderful, well trained and coordinated, timing of the meal is great, they've got everything nailed down which is expected given how long they've held their stars. It was my first time trying Martin's food and I loved the flavors used - every dish was interesting and had some surprises. Standouts for me were the bread service (those butters!!), the eel and foie bite, their take on the classic gilda pintxo, the veggie salad, the red mullet and the lamb course. At the end Martin greeted every table which was nice. On a trip to Spain with 25 Michelin stars, this meal was a favorite.

What a special place to have dinner. My wife and I went on our trip in San Sebastián and it did not…read moredisappoint. This restaurant, along with a few others, changed the landscape of the food world for Basque Country 25-30 years ago. We did the tasting menu with a wine pairing. The food was simply incredible. It's a perfect combination of gastronomic flair with really amazing tasting food. All dishes are distinct and there are many classics on the dinner menu still (displayed by the year next to the dish). It is a place where some leaps of faith will be needed (from their famous eel dish and some others but so worth it) If you have the opportunity to dine here, take it! The restaurant is in Martins wife's child hood home. It has little touches that still show through (fireplace, wood beams etc). The service is of course incredible and they are attentive and very nice and willing to accommodate menu changes for preferences. 10/10

This was our second Michelin Star restaurant in two days. Quaint old building, approximately 600…read moreyears old in a small town outside of San Sebastián. The service was excellent, not stuffy at all. Prices where normal for a Michelin Star winner. If your out in this part of Spain it's definitely worth the drive. We had choose three appetizers, two main courses and two desserts.

Are there really only 7 reviews on this place? I am honored to be able to give a review on this…read moreplace and feel lucky we were able to get reservations and have this experience. As we were seated at our table I felt like a queen. Never had I experienced service like this. I took a look at the tasting menu (which I had originally planned to do) but none of the dishes caught my fancy. I hemmed and hawed at what to order and finally ended up with....the tasting menu. When in Madrid.... This is one of my favorite meals of all time and may be one of the less wordy of the bunch ("maybe", I haven't finished yet). A dish by dish review is not necessary and cannot give justice to the umami that the night unfolded. With each tasting set before me, I kept asking myself - how can you put so much goodness in such a small little dish? For example, one of my favorites of the night was shellfish to the royal with fennel flavour. Shellfish to what? and fennel... not a fan of fennel. Have you ever had something so good that you want to close your eyes and just take it all in with only your tastebuds? This frothy little portion had layers of flavor you couldn't imagine. A few of which I was able to guess correctly as uni and lobster (pat myself on the back). I loved it all. Each dish in and of itself was uniquely astonishing in its own way. To hit on a couple other surprises - the mashed potatoes were the jam. They were a runny thick consistency and when I asked what made them so good, the waitress answered "lots of butter". The cheesecake was like no other cheesecake. So good that it called for an additional order to close out the night. The wines (recommended by the sommelier) were less expensive than any red wines sold in US restaurants (even the cheaper US brands). I was wined and dined - an experience I can't explain other than using the word amazing. Which by the way, I need to find a better word because it was actually better than amazing.

They say not doing a Michelin star restaurant in San Sebastián is like going to the Sistine Chapel…read moreand not looking up. I did my homework and I decided that Amelia seemed to be the most universally appreciated of them all. Others were controversial or not open while I was in town. Also with Barcelona as our 1st stop on our trip, we had just enjoyed Disfrutar a few days prior. I noticed that chef friends that love the region, seem to be enthralled with the culinary traditions in the Basque region, more than the fine dining here. So I guess what I'm saying is, it's ok to come to San Sebastián, enjoy the Pintxos and quality of ingredients, and not feel like you need to do non stop Michelin stars. One slightly disappointing thing here, I was hoping to be sitting at a chefs counter, we put in a request for it, but since there was 3 of us, we were stuck at a table. Service was nice, but we missed the show that it felt like every other diner got and we were so looking forward to. At this price point reservations should probably guarantee a seat at the counter or table. We agreed to their non-guarantee of the counter, but you feel slighted when not chosen for it, and who wants to start their meal off with a disappointment. Won't dock them a star for it though. Started off with 2 beautiful presentations of protein and produce ingredients used in our tasting menu for this evening. It was a chance for them to tell us about ingredients and for us to ask questions. Wild Trout Roe - nice pastry crunch to contrast the roe that explodes Kamatoro/Palamos Prawn/Caviar - the richness of the fatty tuna, sweetness of the shrimp, and salinity of the caviar worked perfectly. Also loved the smoky gelee from tuna bones. Langoustine/ Champagne sauce with foie. The foie gras really mixed into the sauce here to create high end surf and turf. Ricciola and Tomato - beautiful amberjack crudo in tomato water with some Shiso oil added. King Crab/ Tear Peas/ Iberian Pork Broth - I was disappointed as the peas were late in the season and not impressive for me. Kind of tough and chewy. I'm not an expert in these peas, but this can't be what all the fuss is about. The Bread - I love when high end restaurants have such a respect for the art of baking, and present it as such. Lobster/ Pumpkin - the lobster was a little purposefully undercooked, which made me wonder if we overcook our lobster in the US. We just might. Lobster Revenge - different textures don't always have to include crunchy, we had this debate at the table. Was each texture different? Yes, so I loved this dish. Pigeon/ Onion/ Baby Zucchini - pigeon is used as the meat course often in European fine dining, takes on the characteristic of red meat. Quite a few shaved truffles also made it on the plate. Potato/ Oyster/ Vin Juane - pasta stuffed with potato puree. This had the flavor profile of a cheesy nutty wine sauce. Excellent Sage and Lemon Palate Cleanser was next - did its job in a refreshing way leading to desserts The Cheese - cheesecake, flan, whatever we are calling it, it worked. Daurikas Caviar/ Banana/ Rum - the only fail of the night. I'm getting tired of chefs doing the caviar on dessert thing, it's everywhere at the moment. And this one, to have the right balance should have had 1/4 or 1/5 of the amount. Couldn't taste the banana or anything else here. So much was just a waste of an expensive ingredient. Luckily we finished off a great meal at Amelia with an assortment of chocolates and other sweet goodies.

Seriously think there is only one place where Star Wars decorations, 80s American rock, and two…read moreMichelin stars come together for a truly sublime dining experience. But behind the secret door in the lobby of Hotel Maria Cristina in San Sebastian, such a world exists. A stone's throw from the sea, the offerings lean heavily into seafood though the creations were as likely to have come from the seas surrounding Japan as Spain given how much Japanese cuisine and ingredients permeate the menu. I know about these origins because each chef and waiter presenting dishes and drinks shared details in confident yet non-condescending terms. They even had time to accommodate our questions about which dish was the most challenging to make. Chef Paulo Airaudo stopped by our table twice for unhurried chats that were as casual as the food and presentation were not. He explained with a shrug that the Star Wars kitsch was just something he liked. There was a Banksy replica or two mixed in as well (at least one original was at home apparently). That 80s heavy soundtrack, spiced with some James Brown and even one Pavarotti opera classic, is accessible from a code to scan on the card provided at the end of the meal with each a short description of each course. But the food and drinks. We each had a different glass of champagne to start knowing the full wine pairings option was beyond our means. Never knew a pinot noire champagne existed but glad I've now tasted it at least that one time. The starters were delicate with the French green beans and king crab rocking in a way that doesn't seem possible. The Kama-toro and Palamos red prawn was superb but the langoustine, foie gras and champagne was out of this world. Have no idea what they did to it but perhaps some flame applied to the foie gras meant it held together with a roasted taste that was like nothing I'd tasted before. The lobster, pumpkin and sansho pepper...honestly the photo of the "evening's culinary journey" gives the shorthand on all of it as it was all just amazing. First time in a Michelin stars restaurant and may be the only time. But if you are one who aspires to be rich in experiences rather than rich in things, a dinner at Amelia is truly an experience that will make you wealthy in life if less so in your wallet.

A must-visit for made-to-order, highly seasonal pintxos while in San Sebastián. Casa Urola features…read morea downstairs primarily for pintxos enthusiasts (made-to-order and pre-made pintxos paired with txakoli) and an upstairs sit-down restaurant for a more elevated experience. Both were highly recommended to me, but given my very ambitious food itinerary for San Sebastián, I opted for just the made-to-order pintxos downstairs. I found Casa Urola lively and busy, but not claustrophobic the way some of the other famous spots in Old Town can be, which was a HUGE plus. Coming on the earlier side of the evening crawl, I was actually able to snag a seat after ordering based on staff recommendations: the mushroom tart, the pumpkin and artichoke, and of course txakoli. The made-to-order menu is offered in both English and Spanish, which was a huge plus for an English-speaking tourist like me. Both pintxos were fabulous, highly seasonal, and ended up being favorites of the entire evening's crawl. I ended up sharing a table with another solo traveler and it was so fun to compare orders and see what we each thought was best. My biggest regret is that I was honestly still too full from my lunch crawl to try more. I wish I had been able to squeeze in another visit before I left San Sebastián, but alas, I'll have to save it for next time!

A highlight of downtown Donostia. Casa Urola is a classic on Fermín Calbetón with a lively pintxo…read morebar at street level and a calm dining room upstairs. The kitchen (long led by chef Pablo Loureiro) leans into market-fresh Basque cooking: seafood and vegetables cooked simply and precisely, often kissed by the grill. Service is warm and polished and a cold glass of Txakolina feels made for this room, or standing just outside at a high top, as we did. Dish-wise, my runaway favorite was the artichoke hearts, charred and buttery, sitting in a golden, silky sauce with little shards of jamón and nutty crumbs. I could have eaten twenty. A seared scallop arrived in a light, foamy sauce, topped with a tangle of crisp seaweed and a few toasted seeds. Sweet, briny, and rich without being heavy. Don't miss the cheese-and-pine-nut tartlets: flaky pastry, caramelized onions, and molten Basque cheese (think Idiazabal vibes) scattered with pine nuts. Everything landed perfectly seasoned and balanced. We paired it all with Txakolina and left plotting a return just for those artichokes. Classic Basque cooking here with a faint French twist that left us wanting more - but of course, it was time to continue eating our way down the street.

We celebrated our wedding anniversary in Juanito Kojua, and we had a wonderful meal here. This is…read moreactually one my favorite meals in San Sebastián. The decoration of this restaurant feels very traditional Basque to me. There are a lot of wood furnitures with carving that represent the Basque culture, which I appreciate. And although it does not look much from the outside, they have a pretty big space considering it is in the old town arena and most restaurants and bars are narrow and small. Both of us chose their seasonal set meal. They offer a few choices from each course. And we did not regret our choices. The food was simply delicious and hearty. The staffs were tentative and nice. They tried their best to understand us and helped find the wine we wanted. I highly recommend this place if you find yourself in San Sebastián and want to have a nice sit down dinner with great food and reasonable pricing.

Absolutely one of the best meals I've had at a Michelin rated restaurant. The food was…read moreoutstanding! We got the preset menu and it was the bomb. Delicious and very well prepared. Service was very pleasant and attentive. The restaurant was very beautiful with a large beautiful stained glass window and rustic beams. White linen table cloth above all we were given an amuze bouche of fish and it was divine.

Bar Sport had people spilling out of it devouring all their tasty Pintxos and drinking. This place…read moreis a zoo. Many food tours start here, and for good reason, it's very good and seems to handle the huge crowd well. It was 6 people deep at the bar, so not the easiest to navigate. In fact I would have ordered a second round to try different things, but decided to just move on. But I loved the 3 items I did try. Warm Mushrooms - these were sautéed with garlic and ended up with a savory earthy glaze to them. Chorizo and Bread - this bright red sausage looks spicy, but is more Smokey as the red color is from smoked paprika. The famous Gilda Pintxo - that I thought I wouldn't like, but really loved it. The peppers aren't too spicy, the olive isn't too strong, and the anchovy isn't too fishy. Leave your American expectations at the door...it's been a favorite around San Sebastián since the 1946 Rita Hayworth film "Gilda" for a reason. Spicy, Salty, and Sultry like the character. I also heard that it is named so because it resembles female anatomy, and she was a sex symbol of the day. I had to try it because at Disfrutar in Barcelona, one of their dishes was a deconstructed Gilda Pintxo, so it was necessary to have a reference. Damn good!!!! Do not leave San Sebastián without eating one. And I can for sure recommend Bar Sport's Gilda.

Bar Sport is an amazing spot for pintxos and one of my favorites in San Sebastián…read more The standout here is definitely the crab based pintxos. If you like crab pâté, this is absolutely the place to go. Rich, flavorful, and incredibly satisfying. The whole place has that classic lively pintxos bar energy that makes San Sebastián so special. A must stop if you are exploring the food scene here.

Came here as we were visiting San Sabastian. Since they were part of the Michelin star, we had to…read moregive it a try. Elegant seating, bougie vibe. I got the Merluza a la plancha, patata rota y vinagreta de cítricos and my friend got the Entrécula a la plancha con crema de ajos y patatas. It was delicious!! Service was great, although they couldn't cleared the crumbs in between our meals.

I had my hopes set high for this restaurant based on reviews and being in such a great food city…read more Overall, it was decent, but not great. We did the tasting menu with wine pairings. The wines were local and not overly remarkable, but they were decent quality for what they were. I think the wine pairings were a little off. For example, we had a very solid dish with slow cooked eggs, a cheesy broth, and truffles that would have paired perfectly with sparkling wine, but they instead paired it with a red wine. Same thing with the next course of grilled tuna...a white wine would have been better. Given the relatively moderate price point, I'll say this wasn't terrible, but you could spend a similar amount and eat and endless amount of pintxos that were much better. Last but not least, we were there on a 75° (Fahrenheit) day outside, but the restaurant inside was scorching hot. We were in the back room by the kitchen and it had to be at least 90° with no air circulation.