A very unique experience If you have never been to a cider house in Basque Country and do not have an experience or local friend with you, it will take a you a few minutes (or even longer!) to figure out what to do when you walk into one! You are given a glass, walked over to a long wooden table, left with a plate full of delicious chorizo, which usually arrives within the first minutes, and left there to figure the rest out for yourselves! We were fortunate to have a good friend who was born and raised in the area, so he coached us when we visited Petritegi. Our group got a table next to the rows of cider barrels, so all we had to do was get up, take three steps, and fill up our glasses with cider right out of a barrel. Just as we were sitting down, someone in the hall behind us yelled out "txotx!" (pronounced "CHOACH") and a whole bunch people around the hall jumped up and started walking towards him! Our friend told us that "txotx" means the person is about to open the tap on one of the huge barrels. All interested parties are supposed to stand up from their meals, get in line, and hold their glass at just the right angle to catch a couple of fingers of cider from that hissing stream. A lady who was standing behind me on the line saw me filling up my glass, and said, "No, no! pour just a little and keep coming back for more!" Apparently, the idea is to drink your cider while it is still bubbly from the pour. See, you are supposed to hold your glass as far away from the tab as possible so the one inch or so that your pour has as much air bubbles in it as possible! Needless to say that we all got cider all over our hands until we finally got a hang of it and stated txotxing left and right!! Meanwhile at the table the food kept coming! Salt cod omelette, Fried salt cod with peppers, bone-in ribeye steak and for Dessert (cheese, quince jelly, walnuts, almond 'tiles' and 'cigarettes'). Cider and bread were included of course! This meal at Petritegi was one of the most memorable parts of our group of six. We laughed, we drank, we laughed, we talked, we laughed, we ate and we laughed some more and in between we yelled out txotx as often as we could! read more

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This is can't-miss if you're in the San Sebastián area. We were staying in San Sebastián, got a taxi to drive us to Petritegi. We had a reservation for a tour at 11am. Fascinating to see the apple orchards and see how they make cider. So much fun trying to catch cider with a cup as they open the spigot from the giant barrel and cider comes streaming. The traditional Basque meal we had was incredible: sausage, cod omelet, fried cod with bell peppers, huge steak, finished with walnuts, cheese and butter cookies. AND all you can drink cider, ofc. Afterwards we walked to town and caught a bus back to San Sebastián. Perfect outing. read more

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Petritegi is a fun Basque sagardotegi, or restaurant specializing in cider. We came here on a recent August evening with several people and had a great time sampling the cider and eating the traditional cider house meal. One unique aspect of Petritegi is that you can taste the cider from the huge barrels year round. Most cider houses only offer this type of tasting--where an attendant opens the spigot and sprays the cider as you hold your glass several feet away--during the cider season from January through April. The meal was very good is typical of the food offered at cider houses: egg and codfish soufflé, bread, grilled peppers, grilled T-bone steak, cheese and jelly and nuts--all washed down with copious amounts of cider. You get a bottle for the table but can go to the tasting room as often as you want. If you are visiting Donostia, or San Sebastián, I recommend checking out Petritegi for fun time and good food. read more

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San Sebastián is famous for its local cider 6% alcohol that's served with all meals. Steaks are huge, charbroiled to perfection served with sides no one can refuse. Free tour of the distillery and samples to boot. 18€ taxi ride from San Sebastián. Meals cost reasonable but the experience will stay with you ever after. read more

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If you ever vacation in San Sebastián, I feel like you must come to this place. My cousin and her boyfriend brought us here for her friend's birthday and at first, it was a bit hard for me to acclimate to the atmosphere but it quickly grew on me. Here, people just want to have fun, have a cider beer and eat great food. Which is what you get. You go in, grab a table, put your stuff down then grab a cup to go to the huge barrels of cider beer. In the barrel room, someone will usually open the tap for you as you use their technique to fill your cup with cold beer. You'll usually see people goofing around, making funny videos and thoroughly enjoy themselves. The atmosphere is super lively and fun, which is what San Sebastián embodies. After the booze, you go back to your table, can ask for some water and apple juice and be served huge helpings of food. The first is a chorizo (my love for it has grown exponentially in Spain) then our comes what my cousin called 'taco' (honestly, I don't even know how to spell this). This isn't your usual taco bell taco but is instead eggs with cod. It's so good, especially with the bread they have for the table (baguette). Oh yes, it's also family style-esque which means everybody just eats off the same plate and table. And if you want more, you just ask since it's all you can eat too - bring a hungry belly! Next is more cod with grilled peppers and last is a steak (which to some is pretty rare because they don't ask how you want it but you can send it back). Everything was delicious and if you're up for it, keep going back for the cider beer! You top it all off with postres which consists of cheese, wafers(?) and some kinda jam like thing which goes with the cheese. Food aside, I think what's great about here was the atmosphere as I've stated earlier. Everyone is very welcoming and we even see others just doing silly things such as twirling their napkin in the air as he dances. It's definitely one of the most memorable experiences I have on my first night here. read more

Wonderful Basque Cider House (sagardotegi). If you are visiting San Sebastian, putting time aside to have a meal here is a must! Great place to go in a large group. My family and I have gone here many times to celebrate birthdays and always have a fantastic time. Grab your glass when you walk in and get ready to march to the cider barrels. Huge and delicious selection of cider and wonderful food to boot. Be prepared to eat off your napkin - no plates except for the shared plate here! Food is simply made to bring out the natural flavors. Steak is out of this world and you can wash everything down with the unlimited cider that you collect into your glass. Txotx! read more

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I had high expectations for my experience here, which is always a dangerous thing, but happily, even those were exceeded. Lunch at Petritegi was truly one of the best meals of my life. First of all, you need to know that sagardoa is very dry, and those looking for a sweet-style cider may be disappointed, as many in our party were. Still, going back to the huge cider barrels and filling your glass directly out of the stream is a terrific experience, and everyone should give it a try, even if the cider itself is not really your thing. Then you can switch to wine, which they have plenty of. But the cider is not the only reason to come to Petritegi...the food is phenomenal. The beef we had was perfection--rare, tender, seasoned only with salt. We were lucky to have room for any beef after the huge selection of starters--bread, chorizo, bacalao tortilla--all of which were so delicious that we just could not stop eating, even though we knew our main course was still to come. And then at the end of the meal we really overdid it when the desserts came out--walnuts, manchego with apple membrillo, cookies. We literally made ourselves sick with all the food we ate...or maybe it was all the wine and cider. Either way, it was a meal worthy of Bacchanalian overindulgence. Go here. Wear napkins on your head. Drink cider out of the barrel. Stay for hours and enjoy good company at the family-style tables. Stuff yourself on unbelievably good food. You will fall in love, like we did. read more

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Cider season in Basque is mostly over by April, so you'll be hard-pressed to find a cider house open in July (believe us, we tried four other places before ending up here). The buses and crammed parking lot might scare you off that this is a tourist trap, but don't be alarmed: Petritegi is a great experience. We landed in a big, crowded room full of communal tables and it took us a while to get situated, but--holy of holies--they have highchairs. The three of us opted for the traditional price fixed menu. It's a ton of food, so be hungry. We then grabbed glasses and went to the back barrels and got cider from them in the traditional way. You're supposed to drink it immediately, but we brought them back to the table to have with food. So.much.food. Sausages (yum), cod omelet (good, but fish and eggs is not our favorite combination, although one of us liked it better than the other), grilled cod with peppers (amazing, our favorite dish), and a t-bone steak reminiscent of Fred Flintstone. You finish the whole thing out with cheese, membrillo, and a basket of walnuts. Then you roll out the door, happy and buzzed. Our server here was very sweet and completely infatuated with our daughter who quickly made friends with the surrounding tables. Everyone there was in good spirits and friendly, and even though there might be more "authentic" cider houses around, we still had a fun time here. read more

Wonderful cider experience! Would love to go back someday. We went here following getting engaged and was a fun way to celebrate!!

The food was excellent, particularly the steak. In fact it was the best beef we had in Spain or France. We did the traditional menu so it was two cod dishes, steak, and then cheese and nuts for dessert. The cider was alright, but the pouring of it was the real star there. If you haven't been to a cidery before, try to go into the barrel room after some other folks enter so you can watch how it's done. Reservations recommended. read more

Wonderful afternoon spent at Petritegi. Cider is fantastic and food is fantastic. Pick up that bone to get the best bites. Would love to come back here. Basque Land is the Best Land. Topa! read more

My daughter and now son in law, had their welcome/rehearsal dinner here back in June as they got married in San Sebastian. All I can say is soooo delicious! The food was simply prepped so the flavors shone through on their own. We started with crusty baguette bread that was placed right on the table with bottles of cidre. Next, chorizo...so tasty and paired perfectly with the crusty bread. The next course was Monkfish...Wow! I had never had it before so this was a tasty treat. It was a huge piece shared between every two people as were all the dishes. This was presented with roasted garlic slivers on top and covered in delicious olive oil! It was meaty, cooked perfectly and so good! On to the main course...the steak! The picture that another yelper posted pretty much sums it up. Grilled perfectly, seasoned with salt & pepper only and served rare! It was so earthy and a great end to the entrees. The final thing they brought out for us was some manchego cheese, walnuts, wafer cookies and quince paste...so good! It was a perfectly paired dessert to cap off a great meal and experience at Petritegi! read more

Petritegi - Monkfish! Soooo delicious! - Basque Near Me - Astigarraga, SS

Incredible. If you like cider and food these people will change your life. I ate and drank here for 3 hours before my nap at the Maria Cristina and 5 hour meal at Mugaritz. read more

Was there again last night for the second time in two weeks. Maitane gave our entourage a great tour of the installations and the cider-making process. After that we had a great dinner with that wonderful cider. Not much more to say other than I recommend the tour for anyone who has never been on it. read more