Asador San Martin San Martin, Orio Spain…read more Easily our most favorite restaurant in Basque Country so far.... Located on the top of a hill in the middle of pastures and fields of grapes. In the middle of nowhere. Amazing to see how much food can be consumed in one meal! When it's this delicious, you take your time to enjoy. Ideally with family and friends in a group so you eat everything together and revel in the splendid tastes of some of the best food on Earth. This is the Basque way of life-how lucky to be able to live this way! Our gigantic beef steak was lean,and cooked with sea salt...and raw! And perfect that way! The red peppers were SO deeply flavorful and our dessert....Perfecto! Simple milk pie was warm, slightly sweet from the carmelized sugar top accompanied by a light banana with chocolate bits ice cream. This was like a very light bread pudding. The Basque cheesecake was light, slightly sweet SO very full of flavor served with the perfect side of macerated cherries. The depth of flavor, simplicity of the ingredients and their absolute freshness in a cozy Mountain View setting and the ocean down below. There was light hail falling outside before the sun came out....divine. Speaking Spanish certainly helps as google translate doesn't always describe what's on the menu. Wait staff speak minimal English but can certainly recommend what's wonderful. Parking right out front and reservations recommended.

Awesome place in a great town! This is one of few places I'd stop by on regular basis without a…read moredoubt. Tremendous foie gras pintxo (fua like the locals call it)! It can be busy like any other pintxo bar in the afternoons. Definitely i'll go back specially during the san fermin festivities. cheers

Great food. Good value. Good atmosphere. One of the better places we visited in the old city.read more

We went to several "Sidreria" in the Basque Country and this place was far and away the best…read more Perched atop a hill with great views of the Atlantic and Zarautz below. The dining room is nicely appointed. The food was fabulous, in particular the steak. You won't regret making the trek here. You'll need a car.

One of the best steaks I've ever had! To get a reservation you must show up at a designated time…read morefor same day reservations. For lunch get there around 11am. I think the lunch reservations are 1,2,3pm. For dinner get there at 5:30 pm for 8,9,10 pm seatings. They don't come out until 6-6:15 to take your name. They only take about 20 people per seating. Fixed menu. Torta, tomatoes, peppers and steak. They bring out raw bone in ribeyes and let you choose your steak. The steak comes out seared and raw on the inside on a sizzling cast-iron skillet. You are able to cook it to your liking on the skillet as you eat this incredible steak. No frills not totally worth the experience.

If you come to San Sebastián and don't stop at Bar Néstor, you've skipped one of the city's great…read moreculinary rituals. This tiny, high‑energy bar in the Parte Vieja is famous for doing just a few things -- and doing them with absolute conviction. The lineup is legendary: the txuleta steak, the tomato salad, the Padrón peppers, and of course, the tortilla that sells out instantly. They make only two tortillas a day, and getting your name on the list feels like joining a local rite of passage. Here's the twist: although the tortilla is the most famous item, it actually wasn't our favorite version in the city. It's still fun to chase, still a cool story to tell, but the real stars of the meal were the steak -- charred, juicy, perfectly salted -- and the tomatoes, which taste like they've been engineered for maximum summer. They only make 2 tortillas a day, so you have to stand in line before they open to get a reservation for a slice. Inside, it's tiny, loud, and joyful. The staff runs the place with precision and a wink, and even when it's packed shoulder‑to‑shoulder, it feels like you're exactly where you're supposed to be. Come early, come hungry, and come ready for a meal that feels like a Basque rite of passage -- tortilla hype and all.

Ugh, I want to be honest but I also want to highlight the good part of the experience, for it was…read morenot a wasted meal. This was not a favorite flavorful experience, for the most part. We did however thoroughly enjoy the small sirloin steak. It was tender, perfectly cooked medium rare, delicious and the best part of the meal. It came with fries that were properly crispy and delicious. Perfect amount of salt and so good!! I would go back for the steak in a heartbeat!! We ordered the tomato and tuna salad, it was OK. Wouldn't order again. The poached egg was different and tasty. It had mushrooms and I enjoyed it. I would order this again. The clams were tasty but a bit larger than I usually like them. I wouldn't order them again. Absolutely did not like the crab. It had so much of the shell that had to be spit out. I would not order this again. I would go back for the steak!! The wine was not my favorite either, we got a bottle of Muga. I will ask for a recommendation next time. I also thought it was super strange that almost everyone with a jacket was asked to hang it on the coat rack (which we didn't notice when we entered), but ours hung from our chairs. This was a last minute trip and we booked what we could for dinner. While I loved the steak, the other things we ordered were a miss.

We shared a majestic, 5-star tomahawk steak cooked perfectly inside a fire oven/grill. We also had…read morefries and a simple, much needed green salad - both were very good. Service was delightful because it was happy and frisky.

This place was great! You definitely need reservations to get here and it books up fast. Great…read morelooking space with large fridge of meats hanging as soon as you walk in. The owner was there sitting on the table in front. You come here for their meat. It's hand cut and brought to your table before cooking on the fire. There's a large fat cap, which adds to the flavor. It's the perfect combination of beefy flavor and tenderness and they cook it to perfection, almost rare. It's a flavor of meat you won't find anywhere except this area. Their chanterelle mushrooms with egg yolk was delicious, as well as their asparagus with cheese sauce. I don't know how they got the asparagus to taste so good and sweet, we had to order another one. They also have a selection of wine and make delicious cocktails too. If you are in San Sebastián, this place is definitely a must try. Service was outstanding as well.

Made the trip Donostia to Tolosa for steak. Staff are…read moreefficient but hardly friendly. Get the feeling this place is starting for believe the hype. So the veg is great. The wine list is impressive. The selection of steak is good to look at, but I left knowing I could have done better on the Braai ( look it up). All in all a very serious experience when a little mirth could have gone a long way.

This came as a recommendation from another restaurant in town. Little did I know there are two…read morecompeting Asadors across the river from each other! Both are excellent. The difference here is their chuleton is for 2 so bring a friend or be prepared to go Bengal Tiger styles. Folks are super nice but make sure you practice your Euskera/Castellamo because Inglés is at a premium

Come here and have the t-bone, a bottle of sidre (cider), a super fresh salad, and relax. This is a…read moreBasque style steakhouse. The restaurant provides bread and a little tapas (or pintxos) to get you started. This was fresh crusty bread with a soft fluffy center and a small place of sausages. Sidre is the drink to order! I think a whole large (wine bottle size) bottle is only 8€. It's fun to watch it being poured from a height by your server to aerate the beverage for enhanced flavor. It's like apple juice but tart, sour, and so refreshing. The salad of butter lettuce and thinly sliced sweet onions with olive oil and vinegar was perfection. It was so fresh and the dressing was perfect. The main course, the T-bone steak for two was sheer excellence! The steak came on a sizzling platter and was served with potato frites, perfectly simple but delicious! The steak platter continued to sizzle throughout lunch, so the precut steak pieces could be seared or cooked longer if that was desired. The meat is served medium-rare automatically, so the sizzling stone allows you to adjust the cooking of the steak after its served. This was by far the best meal I had in all of Spain. After dinner the server brought over pacharrán shots, an herbal plum-based after dinner aperitif to help with digestion. It's served in frosted shot glasses. We had one and thanked him for it, then maybe we had one more. What a way to end a great meal-with a buzz. This place is a little pricey, but very much worth it. So glad we came here and dined. It's looks humble but the food is the star of the show here!

This is a wonderful restaurant! We had been driving all day and were exhausted, hungry, and hoping…read moreto find a place that could make us feel at home. La Gabarra was the perfect place at the perfect time! The owners were very patient and helped us with our selection. We shared a T-bone steak that was beautifully cooked and delicious, a green salad, and a bottle of wine. We finished the meal with a nice cheese and jam board... If we are in Bilbao again, we will most certainly return to this restaurant! Great food, simply prepared, kind and friendly owners... just can't say enough nice things about this restaurant!