Twelve restaurants in (and nearby) San Sebastian that you absolutely need to try

San Sebastian is slowly but steadily becoming one of the most visited cities in Spain. The truth is that in San Sebastian you can breathe a special atmosphere. Perhaps it is because of La Concha Beach, a very unique beach, perhaps for its incredible buildings of the Belle Époque, or perhaps for the art masterpieces that you can find in the Old Town of the city. The fact is that every year more and more tourists decide to visit San Sebastian and enjoy the amazing atmosphere and vibes of the city for a few days.

Besides, another reason to visit San Sebastian is that this Basque city has one of the most extraordinary gastronomies in the entire world. In almost every corner of the city you can find fantastic restaurants that offer high-end meals, and some of them use very special and original recipes. San Sebastian is proudly the number one city in the world with more Michelin stars per meter square. It is a small city but there are plenty of high-quality restaurants. In fact, San Sebastian is the second city in the world with more Michelin stars, the first one is Tokyo. In a radius of 25km, you can find 18 Michelin stars. Plus, in this city you can find magnificent chefs who come from all over the world, who have selected San Sebastian or its surroundings to open their restaurants.

However, it's not necessary to go to a restaurant with Michelin stars to eat well in San Sebastian. Although if you want to live a unique gastronomical experience, it can be a very good option. In the Old Town of the city, you will it very well in any restaurant that you choose to enter. However, as a city has to offer a very wide variety of restaurants, throughout the following lines we have prepared a list of high-quality restaurants in San Sebastian where you absolutely need to eat at some point - this list is based on the most typical and higher-quality restaurants of San Sebastian. The gastronomical aspect is a fundamental part of the experience of San Sebastian.

1. AKELARRE

Akelarre is one of the most famous and well-known restaurants in San Sebastian, and it is actually very well-known in the entire country.

Akelarre is the restaurant of the magnificent chef Pedro Subijana. Having a meal at this restaurant, which has three Michelin stars, is the true dream of any gastronomy lover. Akelarre is one of the three restaurants in San Sebastian that has three Michelin stars. At this restaurant you will be able to try out different dishes such as bean soup or the traditional cooked Basque peppers, “kokotxas”, hake prepared with steam of algae, plankton and oyster leaf, grilled Iberian pork or rice risotto with pepper seeds.

As you can see, in Akelarre you will be able to try the typical Basque dishes, combining traditional elements with new techniques of the modern high cuisine, which makes the experience at this restaurant an exceptional one.

2. ARZAK

Arzak is one of the most popular restaurants in San Sebastian. This restaurant is owned and run by the great Basque chef Juan Mari Arzak, who not only founded this magnificent restaurant, but also created a new gastronomical concept. Arzak is one of the other three restaurants in San Sebastián with three Michelin stars. This restaurant is well-known internationally, and currently the management of the restaurant is run by Elena Arzak, daughter of Juan Mari Arzak, who inherited the great ability for culinary arts from his father.

We can assure you that at this restaurant you will have an unforgettable gastronomical experience in which you will be able to enjoy the culinary delights of its author, prepared with fresh local products, but without losing traditional ways and Basque roots. This is an excellent option to try out the Basque cuisine in a very original way.

3. MARTÍN BERASATEGUI

Martín Berasategui is the last one of the three restaurants in San Sebastian that have three Michelin stars. Martín Berasategui is located at the Basque town of Lasarte-Oria, just 7 kilometres away from San Sebastián. This restaurant, just as its own name indicates, is run by Martín Berasategui, a gastronomical genius who just six months after opening his restaurant already got his first Michelin star. This is not the only restaurant owned and run by Martín Berasategui, however it is totally worth visiting it due to the originality of their dishes.

If you would like to experience the incredible avant-garde cuisine of Martín Berasategui, we strongly recommend that you go to this restaurant. At Martín Berasategui you will enjoy a unique gastronomical experience, and you will probably be able to try combinations of flavours and tastes that you weren't even able to imagine.

4. KOKOTXA

Kokotxa is a restaurant with one Michelin star, which is located in the heart of the Old Town of San Sebastian. This restaurant is run by the great chef Dani López, situated in front of the Basílica de Santa María del Coro, combines traditional cuisine based on Basque ingredients, with more modern techniques and flavours from different places.

At Kokotxa you can choose between two menus: the menu Mercado, composed of 9 dishes, and the menu Desgustación, composed of 14 dishes. At this restaurant, you will be able to enjoy dishes of immense quality in a very intimate and personal ambience, where you will receive a bespoke and personalised service.

Besides, at Kokotxa you will be able to breathe the true ambience of the city, thanks to its location and to the local cuisine that it has to offer.

5. MIRADOR DE ULÍA

Going up Monte Ulía is one of the main attractions for those who travel to San Sebastian, simply because at the top of this mountain you can enjoy extraordinary views of the entire town of San Sebastian.

Aside from those magnificent views, at the top of Monte Ulía you will find the restaurant Mirador de Ulía, which apart from an extraordinary menu, also has to offer a very unique view of all the landscape that starts at Zurriola beach and continues along the entire coast of the region. Is there any better plan than having an incredible meal at a restaurant with one Michelin star while you can also enjoy some stunning views of the coastline?

The restaurant Mirador de Ulía is run by Rubén Trincado, who is part of the third generation of chefs in his family. The restaurant Mirador de Ulía opened in 1966 by the grandmother of Rubén Trincado.

This talented chef describes his cuisine as innovative but with a high focus on Basque kitchen methods. At this restaurant, you will be able to enjoy exceptionally high-end quality, while you enjoy the views of the cost that you will not forget.

6. REKONDO

Rekondo, the restaurant of the reputed Basque chef Iñaki Arrieta, is one of the best restaurants in which you can have a meal in San Sebastian. Here you will be able to taste dishes such as foie medallions, black pudding specialties, hake, “Txangurro” or cod, as well as ribeye, sirloin or sucking pig. Besides, Rekondo offers an exceptional wine menu.

This restaurant of the highest Basque cuisine is located on an authentic Basque farm, which means that apart from trying out high-quality dishes, you would also be able to see a real Basque farm and get to know the true local atmosphere of San Sebastian.

7. EME BE GARROTE

Eme Be Garrote is another restaurant owned by chef Martín Berasategui, it also has one Michelin star. Eme Be Garrote is the most traditional and affordable restaurant of Berasategui. Because of this, for those who do not want to invest a fortune in a restaurant but want to taste the wonders of the high cuisine, we recommend them to visit Eme Be Garrote.

This restaurant is located in the neighbourhood of Ibaeta in San Sebastian, it has been open since 2013, and it offers a cuisine specialised in fresh products.

It is attention-grabbing the fact that they mix traditional elements with more innovative aspects, we can see this in their dishes as well as in their decoration. Since the place looks more like a traditional Basque cider house, which also displays some elements that have been modernised, it also showcases very traditional elements in its decoration.

8. AMELIA

The Argentinian chef Pablo Airaudo, decided to open his first restaurant by himself in San Sebastian after having worked in countries like Mexico, Peru, England and in other Basque restaurants of high prestige, like Arzak. However, Pablo Airaudo always says that San Sebastian is his place in the world.

The Amelia restaurant, which opened its doors in 2017, in a not-so-lively street in San Sebastian, took a very short time to grab the attention of the public and critics.

Amelia was a very risky proposition, which ultimately rendered a huge success. The cuisine of the restaurant Amelia can be described as a great combination of modern cuisine with the usage of fresh seasonal products.

9. MUGARITZ

The restaurant Mugaritz is located in the town Rentería, in Gipuzkoa, only 10 kilometres away from the centre of San Sebastián. This restaurant showcases 2 Michelin stars and it is one of the most avant-garde restaurants in the world.

This restaurant, from the magnificent chef Andoni Luis Aduriz, is considered the 7th best restaurant in the world according to the list “The Wolrd’s 50 Best Restaurants”. The chef at Mugaritz restaurant is a real genius when it comes to culinary arts. He is always playing with non-conformity and questioning the gastronomical existing rules. Andoni Luis Aduriz is always playing with creativity as well as risk. Thanks to this, at Mugaritz you will be able to try out dishes you won’t see anywhere else in the world.

At this restaurant, you will experience dishes and combinations of ingredients that you have never even imagined. This is why, if you want to go through an absolutely different culinary experience, we strongly recommend you to visit Mugaritz, you will definitely love it!

10. ELKANO

Elkano opened its doors in 1964 with the chef Pedro Arregui, however nowadays his son Aitor Arregui is the person running the restaurant. Elkano is located in the beautiful small town of Getaria, just half an hour away by car from San Sebastian.

At Elkano, you will be able to try the best fish and seafood that you have ever imagined, which is cooked following the most traditional method: fire, coal and grill. We strongly recommend you to try out the “rodaballo” and the “kokotxas”! Plus, after your experience at Elkano restaurant, we suggest you have a walk through Getaria, so that you can have a look at this beautiful coastal town. Elkano restaurant was also recognised as one of the top restaurants worldwide since it was included on the list “The World’s 50 Best Restaurants”, at which they are number #30.

11. ALAMEDA

This restaurant showcases one Michelin star, it is located in the town of Hondarribia, only 30 minutes away by car from San Sebastian. Alameda restaurant utilises the concept of proximity cuisine, this means they only use products that are from places that are less than 28 kilometres radius.

Alameda is a restaurant run by the Txapartegui brothers, Mikel, Kepa y Gorka, who have rethought and redesigned the traditional Basque cuisine from the ground and the ingredients that they have at hand. Besides, Alameda also has another more informal space, which is a bar perfect for more quick and informal meals.

Lastly, if you have never been in Hondarribia before, we strongly recommend that you pay it a visit taking advantage of your visits to the restaurant Alameda, since this is a wonderful small coastal town.

12. ZUBEROA

Zuberoa is a restaurant that showcases one Michelin star, and it is definitely a place to which any person who enjoys high-end cuisine needs to definitely pay a visit at least once in their lifetime. This restaurant is located in Oiartzun, a small town just 13 kilometres away from San Sebastian.

At Zuberoa restaurant, they practice a cuisine that is very much linked and connected to the traditional Basque cuisine but with clear touches of innovation and modernity. This is because the restaurant is owned by Hilario Arbelaitz, a great chef that inherited her love for the kitchen and for Basque cuisine from his mother. He keeps putting all the influences he received into practice nowadays at his restaurant.

If you would like to try as much as possible and make the most out of your visit to Zuberoa, we recommend that you choose the "Menu Desgutación", where you will have the opportunity to try out a great number of dishes from the main menu.

As you can see, in San Sebastian the quality of the cuisine and gastronomy is exceptional. In this small Basque region, you will be able to find some of the best restaurants in the world, aside from some of the best Spanish restaurants as well. This is why we strongly recommend that when you visit San Sebastian, you should go ahead and try out these restaurants, as the gastronomical experience is a fundamental part of the whole experience of visiting San Sebastian.

The author of this article is Leyre Ínigo Lázaro. She studied a double degree in International Relations and a bachelor in Global Communication at the University Of Comillas in Madrid. Leyre is a very creative and determined person. She always has new projects in mind and loves to overcome challenges.