You're the one for me

A pintxo tour around San Sebastian’s old town is the perfect way to get any visit off to a flying start. Here’s a review of one
I heartily enjoyed

It’s impossible to lay eyes on San Sebastian and not fall madly in love, so says the Lonely Planet’s guide to Spain. A week in and I was decidedly smitten. There is plenty to love. Apart from the beaches, surfers cycling along the seafront with their boards, sandstone buildings and tree-lined avenues, sumptuous churches, sculptures, hills and a glamorous international film festival every September, there is, of course, the amazing food. This really is a gastronomic paradise. There are more Michelin-starred restaurants per capita in San Sebastian than anywhere else in Europe. Some gluttons cram the top three into a weekend stay.

But accessible to all are the pintxo bars, which abound in the old town. Pintxo (prounounced pincho) comes from the Basque verb pintxar, to spike, which makes perfect sense when you see that many of the tasty morsels that grace bar upon bar in this tightly-bound grid of streets are neatly secured with a cocktail stick. 

The experience of entering this foodie heaven can be overwhelming. The sight of countless plates of tantalising tapas, many of them artful creations, others in fact slices of bread topped with various fishy mixes heavy with mayonnaise, can be a tad intimidating at first. Some dive in upon being handed a large plate and stack up as if at a wedding buffet, but at between one and six euros a pintxo, it soon adds up and in any case, that’s not the Spanish way.

To really immerse yourself and learn from the offset how to make the most of this most marvellous Basque city, head to San Sebastian Food. Among the many gastronomic experiences this young and enterprising business offers are pintxo tours and, for a very reasonable 85 euros (a fair bit more than the tourist office tour, yes, but worth it), you’ll find yourself, as I did, in the charming hands of our guide for the evening, Jon Warren.

You will be given a thoroughly enjoyable introduction to some of the best bars in the old town, each chosen as they specialise in a particular type of pintxo. No commission passes hands; these are simply Jon’s favourite places. He’s keen to pass his knowledge on and give people a real sense of the pintxo experience so they know where to go for tip-top tapas.

Groups generally meet outside San Sebastian Food’s offices in the old town at 6.30pm. The two-hour tours run most evenings in high season. A quick introduction to the honour system, whereby we’re informed that usual practice is to pay at the end rather than as you order, and we’re on our way.

Ready for the off 
A complete run-down of the tour could spoil the fun for anyone considering going, but here is some idea of what you can expect. At our first stop we sample gambas a la plancha, mini skewers of smoky prawns and tiny pieces of bacon served straight from the sizzling grill. A touch of sweet vinaigrette studded with finely diced peppers, carrots and onions adds just enough moisture to this lip-smacking treat.

This is accompanied by a glass of the local wine, Txakoli, poured impressively from a great height to ensure it is fully aerated and, undoubtedly, to add to the sensory thrills. The flavour is fresh and sharp, a perfect accompaniment to fish. 

We move onto our next bar. Here, tiger mussels in a gently spiced sauce excite, as do plates of the freshest calamares fried in light, crisp batter and served with salty, emerald green padrón peppers. Here too are patatas bravas smothered in aioli so addictively pungent, you know you’ll be back for more. Here, local cider is our accompanying tipple. And the mussel shells? Simply discard on the floor in careless fashion.

And then Jamón, oh yes! Jamón Iberico de Bellota: free-range, acorn-fed Iberian pigs, treat of all treats. These pigs fatten up fast when the acorns drop, so much so that they double their body weight which makes them deliciously fat, and of course the fatter they are, the longer they can be cured for and the better the flavour. It’s like no other. A Jamón weighing 7 kilos costs about 700 euros. They hang at room temperature and just sweat, don’t you just love it? No trip to Spain should pass without trying this finely sliced Jamón, and happily, we’re in luck.

It’s then onto another bar to try the original pintxo, the Gilda, and for me, this one tops the lot. According to Jon, it’s a fantastic flavour combination, and he’s right.

The name for this pintxo was inspired by Rita Heyworth for her signature role in the film, Gilda. A salty anchovy is rolled around a long, curvy, pickled guindilla pepper and a firm, juicy olive added to the spike. Down in one! A total delight, particularly when enjoyed with a chilled glass of rosé from Navarro.

Olé!

By this time, the party is really warming up. The streets and bars are filling up with locals and people in our group are mingling too, aided no doubt by the various tipples. This is what usually happens, Jon says, and by the time the tours are over, people have made friends and tend to carry on the night together.

After a quick stop off at the mushroom place (the display of mushrooms on the counter is worth going for alone), we are introduced to one of the best bars for meat where we sample a solomillo, a bite-sized chunk of rare, chargrilled sirloin steak washed down with a juicy Rioja.

Before we move onto the more inventive pintxos, we stop off at my favourite of all favourite bars. This tour is full of surprises. Here, we eat meltingly soft foie a la plancha, so fresh it wobbles on the plate at the slightest nudge. The caramelised crust is sprinkled with coarse grains of sea salt and it squats snugly on a soft pillow of apple purée. Imagine the texture of intensely rich, warm butter melting in your mouth, and you’re half way there. Beyond that, the flavour is in a world of its own.
We then eat goats’ cheese risotto topped with a curl of creamy pesto, and roasted pig’s ear.

And so to the cutting edge of pintxos, and this is where the artistry takes over. Many of these morsels are unrecognisable – it’s Heston Blumenthal type cooking. But guided by Jon, we move in and have some truly memorable taste sensations.

One was a dessert. It featured many sensual thrills. On a square black plate gleamed a perfectly cooked fried egg, a lacy-textured white column of what appeared to be natural sponge, a mulberry coloured piece of chalk in a sticky pool of dark liquid, and the yellow, nubbly centre of a daisy.

I’ll just mention the yolk. Pop it in whole and an intense explosion of passion fruit liquid fills your mouth. And here ends the tour. Apologies for the complete run-down after all, though I can’t imagine for one minute it will spoil your fun.

Of course, you can discover all these bars for yourself in your own good time, but if its first class pintxos you’re after, cut to the chase and call in at San Sebastian Foods. It’s a first stop you won’t regret making.

www.sansebastianfood.com