Where One of San Sebastián’s Top Chefs Eats in His City
A Michelin-recognized chef reveals where to find San Sebastián’s best pintxos tapas, wine cellars, and the pastry locals have loved for a century.
Welcome to The Relisher’s San Sebastián edition! This week, I met with Pablo Loureiro, chef and owner of Casa Urola, a historic restaurant and pintxo bar in San Sebastián’s Old Town. Founded in 1956 and reopened by Pablo in 2012, Casa Urola is today one of the best pintxo bars in San Sebastián.
Pablo’s cooking has earned him Michelin Guide recommendations and recognition as one of the 15 best restaurants in the Basque Country. Most recently, Casa Urola was also featured on the Netflix series Somebody Feed Phil.
In this edition, Pablo shares his favorite places in San Sebastián — from restaurants and pintxo bars to where you’ll find the best Basque cheesecake, along with his must-visit recommendations for first-time travelers. Note: A Google Map with all of the locations is provided at the end of the interview.
What I loved most about this edition is how Pablo takes you deep into the city’s food culture in ways no guidebook ever could. For example, he points you to a restaurant without Michelin stars, yet home to one of Europe’s most extraordinary wine cellars.
He doesn’t stop at restaurants either: Pablo shows you where he shops for wild porcini mushrooms in autumn, the bakery behind San Sebastián’s most historic pastry, and even the perfect wine to drink with the city’s world-famous Basque cheesecake. It’s an insider’s San Sebastián that only a chef could reveal.