Dream Vacations: Basque Country Food Tour

My exposure to the legendary food and drink of San Sebastián is limited to establishments that try to emulate that Basque magic found only in that tiny part of northern Spain — and, of course, reading stories and watching Anthony Bourdain’s San Sebastián episodes in Parts Unknown, A Cook’s Tour, and No Reservations many times over. All of that has had me dreaming about the town’s fine dining, neighborhood bars with perfect pintxos, small-production wine, and freshly poured cider straight from the massive kupela barrels.

My dream trip would happen during cider season, from winter to early spring, when the region’s sagardotegi — traditional Basque cider houses — pour endless small glasses of the namesake beverage and complement the drinks with menus of local fish, meats, and cheeses. With every shout of “txotx,” glasses are held up to the kupelas to drink cider straight from the barrels.

Cider houses are historically where many big life decisions were made in Basque Country. But I’ll settle for just a taste, with a 10-day itinerary based around cider, small bites, long meals, and the sometimes-bracing txakoli wine for which Basque Country is known.

San Sebastián’s Michelin list is, rightly, the hook for many dream trips to the region, but I’m just as interested in the small bars where the pintxos aren’t so easy to find on Instagram. Guides from a trusted company like Culinary Backstreets, which has San Sebastián tours focused on non-Michelin spots that visitors tend to miss, would be a necessary addition. Fortunately, it also runs food tours in Bilbao, so I could use one company to taste both cities.

“Michelin stars and traditional pintxos bars are the city’s claim to fame, for really good reason, but it’s the spaces in between — casual, chef-led, personal endeavors — that I think make the city unique,” says Ansel Mullins. He’s the co-founder of Culinary Backstreets and worked with the local team in Basque Country to design the tour. “The fine-dining scene has attracted top kitchen talent from around the world for decades,” he says, “and many of those chefs have left the fine-dining world to do their own thing.”

Even with an unlimited budget, I find that it’s the smaller, more affordable places that end up stealing the show on most trips I take. I imagine the same would be true on a Basque Country food tour. Mullins says it’s possible to “eat very well on a budget of 200 euros per day.” While that’s not a small budget, it’s hardly enough to cover Michelin meals three times a day.

While traveling during fresh cider season is the dream, there’s not a bad time to eat, with a dining culture centered on seasonal dishes. I’d have to try chanterelles with egg at Ganbara, asparagus and artichokes from Casa Urola in the summer, anchovies in garum (fermented fish sauce) and olive oil at Muka, as well as traditional Basque ribeye with cider — a staple of menus year-round. I’d also have to find a way to snag reservations at Arzak months in advance. It earned its first Michelin star in 1974 and reservations are legendarily difficult to snag.

I would arrive hungry, stay thirsty, and leave over-stuffed with enough food and memories to compensate for how long it took for me to make the trip happen.

My Dream Basque Country Food Tour Itinerary

• Day 1: Fly into San Sebastián airport, head to Astelena Bar for pintxos and drinks
• Day 2: Day in San Sebastián, drinks at Bar Haizea before dinner at three-Michelin-star Arzak
• Day 3: Leisurely day with a wine lunch at Ganbara, stumble my way through conversations over dinner at a txoko (private dining group)
• Day 4: Join a Culinary Backstreets tour to taste the non-Michelin side of town
• Day 5: Spend the day hopping between Basque cider houses like Gaztelupe, Barkaiztegi, and Txirrita Sagardotegia
• Day 6: Drive to Bilbao (1 hr), stopping at the midway point at the port of Getaria for grilled turbot
• Day 7: Take a Culinary Backstreets food tour of Bilbao, free night bar hopping in the city
• Day 8: Day trip to Biarritz, dinner at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant to be determined
• Day 9: Drive back to San Sebastián, afternoon or evening cidery tour
• Day 10: Depart for home