Travel

The Real Food Capital of Europe Is Basque Country

Your guide to navigating Spain's culinary paradise
6/25/18 diamond-divider By Team Tasting Table
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Nestled in Spain's northernmost region and lying just below France's southern border, Basque Country can seem like an enigma for many travelers whose gut reactions are to book flights to Madrid and Barcelona. Yet, with one of the highest concentrations of Michelin-starred restaurants in the world, a cultural respect for everyday dining unlike anywhere else and unparalleled access to the best ingredients in Europe, Basque Country is the place to be if food is the driving force of your travels.

Follow along as we dive into this culinary capital, from its traditional pintxo bars to its secret gastronomic societies to its many award-winning dining rooms.

The Force Behind Basque Country's Culinary Legacy

"Food in Basque Country is about taste, yes, but it's also about culture and patriotism."

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For True Taste of Basque Country, Head to This Seaside Village

Near the eastern edge of San Sebastián’s famous Zurriola Beach, a small staircase reveals the Camino de Santiago, Spain's most famous thru-hike. In your case, it's the start of one of the best Basque Country dining experiences you may ever take part in.

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This 5-Ingredient Cheesecake Has a Worldwide Reputation

In San Sebastián, you'll find La Viña, a bar where people from all over the world pack inside like Spanish sardines for a slice of the famous, flan-like cheesecakes lining the shelves.

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    Go on the Pintxo Tour 

    Go on the Pintxo Tour 

    Whereas you can order and share enough tapas to make a full meal, in Basque cities a pintxo is never more than an individual bite of food, meant to fuel you through an evening of barhopping. Many of them come speared onto pieces of toast via a toothpick (hence the name pintxo, which is derived from the Spanish word for "to pierce") and can range from intensely sweet piquillo peppers to perhaps the most famous (and common) one of all: the Gilda, a spear of pickled guindilla peppers, cured anchovies and green olives. Grab one pintxo, a small glass of txakoli (the Basque region's white wine) and hop to the next bar to repeat the process.

    Photo: Malcom P Chapman/Getty Images

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    Visit the Under-the-Radar Small Towns

    There's more than just San Sebastián and Bilbao: Visit Getaria, a tiny village down the coast from Donostia with what food writer Marti Buckley says has an "outsized food and culture offering," thanks to a museum dedicated to fashion designer Balenciaga and the Michelin-starred Elkano restaurant. Or, head back to San Sebastián and use it as your jumping-off point, hiking your way to Pasajes de San Juan, a quaint nearby fishing village where you can refuel with quintessential Basque dining.

    Photo: Guillen Perez/Flickr

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    Eat at Some of the World's Best Restaurants

    For every pintxo bar in Basque Country, there's just as many fine dining rooms that have cemented the area as Europe's leading culinary capital. In San Sebastián, Juan Mari Arzak, the godfather of new Basque cuisine, is passing the reins of his legendary eponymous restaurant to his daughter, Elena. Together, the father-daughter duo are serving tasting menus that include sea bass plated on a tablet computer with moving images of the ocean and the Big Chocolate Truffle, which lives up to its name via a shell hiding various textures and forms of chocolate. 

    Photo: Martin Berasategui

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    Buy

    Participate in a Traditional Txoko Dinner

    Even more important than Basque Country's white-tablecloth restaurants, however, are its txokos, secret dining societies that have their roots in the late 1800s and serve as a way to preserve Basque language, cuisine and tradition. While originally male-only cooking clubs (today's most traditional txokos still only admit men), more and more of them have been opening up to women, such as the one founded by Beronia Winery in San Sebastián. Members—ranging from professional chefs to burgeoning home cooks—spend the day shopping at local markets before heading back to a communal kitchen to cook, eat and socialize. 

    Photo: Wikimedia Commons

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    Buy

    Stroll Through Basque Country's Food Markets

    If you're taking part in a txoko dinner, chances are you'll already be exploring one of the region's bountiful markets, like Bilbao's La Ribera and San Sebastián's La Bretxa. Foraged porcini mushrooms come in comically large sizes, white asparagus overflow from wicker baskets and opportunities abound to stock up on provisions to take home, including jars of pickled guindilla peppers, cured anchovies and candy-like dried strawberries.

    Photo: Donostia San Sebastian Turimso

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    Buy

    Spend the Day in Rioja

    Have an extra day to spare? Use it to spend a wine-soaked afternoon in the nearby Rioja region, which is home to wineries like Bodegas Beronia and a constantly flowing supply Spain's exceptionally easy-to-drink red wine.

  • 1/14

    Buy

    Drink In the Gin-Tonics

    Sorry, London: The best GT's (the and part of gin and tonic gets dropped) are found in Spain, where bars frequently stock a library catalog's worth of different gins for after-dinner imbibers to choose from. The cocktail isn't viewed as the throwaway well drink: Bartenders treat gin-tonics with the same reverence as an Italian would a Negroni before handing them to thirsty customers in enormous, oversize wineglasses.

San Sebastián's 10 Essential Pintxos

We visited scores of pintxo bars, from neighborhood dives to cheffy hot spots, to track down the city's most memorable morsels. These are the non-negotiables—the dishes you'll crave long after you fly home.

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Añana Salt Is the Prized Ingredient You Should Bring Home

Of the abundant produce, cured meats and fruits of the Cantabrian Sea widely available in Basque Country, there is but one local ingredient that has won the endorsement of the region’s Michelin-decorated chefs: Añana flakes, also known as the "Rolls-Royce" of salt.

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Visit Biarritz, a Dining Paradise in French Basque Country

When it comes to the laurels of French cuisine, Lyon and Paris may get all the glory, but Biarritz—the quaint resort town located in the French Basque Country, only 15 miles north of the Spanish border—is a gem waiting to be explored.

EXPLORE THE CITY >

Where to Eat in San Sebastián, According to Chefs

A concentrated metropolis of pintxos (small snacks) bars and Michelin-starred restaurants, the coastal city in Spain's Basque Country is a true gem. Here's how to eat your way through the Michelin-starred city, according to the experts.

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Crispy Potato Salt Cod Fritters Are Your One-Way Ticket to Spain

Visit San Sebastián and alongside jars of vinegary guindilla peppers and ropes of chorizo, you'll find planks of dried salt cod, or bacalao.

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Learn How to Throw a Basque Dinner Party

"This type of cooking relies on everything being on point," chef Alex Raij says. "The priorities of the cuisine require you to either be a good cook or become a good cook. You can't hide behind sauces. You can't cover it. It's totally naked food."

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Master Mussels Escabeche at Home

Pile briny marinated mussels and mayonnaise onto toast for the ultimate crostini.

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Make a Basque Endive Gratin

Basque blue cheese adds tang and sharpness to bitter endive for this rich gratin.

GET THE RECIPE >

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  • 1/7

    Go on the Pintxo Tour 

    Go on the Pintxo Tour 

    Whereas you can order and share enough tapas to make a full meal, in Basque cities a pintxo is never more than an individual bite of food, meant to fuel you through an evening of barhopping. Many of them come speared onto pieces of toast via a toothpick (hence the name pintxo, which is derived from the Spanish word for "to pierce") and can range from intensely sweet piquillo peppers to perhaps the most famous (and common) one of all: the Gilda, a spear of pickled guindilla peppers, cured anchovies and green olives. Grab one pintxo, a small glass of txakoli (the Basque region's white wine) and hop to the next bar to repeat the process.

    Photo: Malcom P Chapman/Getty Images

  • 1/7

    Visit the Under-the-Radar Small Towns

    There's more than just San Sebastián and Bilbao: Visit Getaria, a tiny village down the coast from Donostia with what food writer Marti Buckley says has an "outsized food and culture offering," thanks to a museum dedicated to fashion designer Balenciaga and the Michelin-starred Elkano restaurant. Or, head back to San Sebastián and use it as your jumping-off point, hiking your way to Pasajes de San Juan, a quaint nearby fishing village where you can refuel with quintessential Basque dining.

    Photo: Guillen Perez/Flickr

  • 1/7

    Eat at Some of the World's Best Restaurants

    For every pintxo bar in Basque Country, there's just as many fine dining rooms that have cemented the area as Europe's leading culinary capital. In San Sebastián, Juan Mari Arzak, the godfather of new Basque cuisine, is passing the reins of his legendary eponymous restaurant to his daughter, Elena. Together, the father-daughter duo are serving tasting menus that include sea bass plated on a tablet computer with moving images of the ocean and the Big Chocolate Truffle, which lives up to its name via a shell hiding various textures and forms of chocolate. 

    Photo: Martin Berasategui

  • 1/7

    Participate in a Traditional Txoko Dinner

    Even more important than Basque Country's white-tablecloth restaurants, however, are its txokos, secret dining societies that have their roots in the late 1800s and serve as a way to preserve Basque language, cuisine and tradition. While originally male-only cooking clubs (today's most traditional txokos still only admit men), more and more of them have been opening up to women, such as the one founded by Beronia Winery in San Sebastián. Members—ranging from professional chefs to burgeoning home cooks—spend the day shopping at local markets before heading back to a communal kitchen to cook, eat and socialize. 

    Photo: Wikimedia Commons

  • 1/7

    Stroll Through Basque Country's Food Markets

    If you're taking part in a txoko dinner, chances are you'll already be exploring one of the region's bountiful markets, like Bilbao's La Ribera and San Sebastián's La Bretxa. Foraged porcini mushrooms come in comically large sizes, white asparagus overflow from wicker baskets and opportunities abound to stock up on provisions to take home, including jars of pickled guindilla peppers, cured anchovies and candy-like dried strawberries.

    Photo: Donostia San Sebastian Turimso

  • 1/7

    Spend the Day in Rioja

    Have an extra day to spare? Use it to spend a wine-soaked afternoon in the nearby Rioja region, which is home to wineries like Bodegas Beronia and a constantly flowing supply Spain's exceptionally easy-to-drink red wine.

  • 1/7

    Drink In the Gin-Tonics

    Sorry, London: The best GT's (the and part of gin and tonic gets dropped) are found in Spain, where bars frequently stock a library catalog's worth of different gins for after-dinner imbibers to choose from. The cocktail isn't viewed as the throwaway well drink: Bartenders treat gin-tonics with the same reverence as an Italian would a Negroni before handing them to thirsty customers in enormous, oversize wineglasses.