San Sebastiàn at the end of May

[Sport_Turismo_GTS]

We’ve just booked a trip to San Sebastiàn at the end of May and are looking for some advice:
We are there for 5 nights, 1 of which will be spent on a wine tour into Rioja (any suggestions?) and 1 of which will be spent on a day trip into Bilbao.
However, it would be great for some advice as to what to do for the other 3 days - we are staying in/near the Old town, and definitely will be investigating food tours, but looking for other ideas!
I am hoping that end-May will provide decent weather, but without it being too hot and without the peak crowds from July / August.

[Imasurv]

We’re also there end of May, but for two nights. We are booked on a history and food tour first night to get a feel for the place and will do our own thing the second night - still looking at options for the second day/night but will probably just follow our nose and have a wander.

[Chucklehead]

At that time of year you can expect a lot of the places to be closed on Sunday and many on Monday too, so make sure to plan something else for those days.

[Sport_Turismo_GTS]

Chucklehead said:

At that time of year you can expect a lot of the places to be closed on Sunday and many on Monday too, so make sure to plan something else for those days.

Thanks - we are staying Monday to Friday, so on the Monday when we arrive in the afternoon, we’ll be happy to walk around get our bearings and then eat in or close to the hotel.

[omniflow]

Walk right to the end of La Concha beach and then take the funicular up to the old Scooby Doo funfair at the top. Don't bother with the food in the restaurant, but have a drink and a sit down and admire the view before taking a wander around the funfair. I think it was built in the 1950s and, to me, looks just like an old Scooby Doo set - not that Scooby Doo had sets, it was a cartoon.

We've never done a guided food tour, but I'm sure they're fun. Try to watch a couple of TV shows before you go, so you've got some idea of where you might want to head for. There's at least one episode of travel man, but the best one is Fantastic Places to Eat with Fred Sirriuex (sic?) and Nisha Katona (I think). Bars that we particularly like are: Atari, Borda Berri, Bar Nestor (you need to reserve a slice of tortilla in advance, in person) and Bar Sport. You also need to go to La Vina for the cheesecake. It's totally rammed in the evenings, but that's part of the fun. One tip - order from the blackboard, not from the stuff in front of you on the counter. Dinner at one of the 3* will be €1,000 for two including Wine. We've never felt the need to do this, but it's probably fabulous.

[Sport_Turismo_GTS]

omniflow said:

Walk right to the end of La Concha beach and then take the funicular up to the old Scooby Doo funfair at the top. Don't bother with the food in the restaurant, but have a drink and a sit down and admire the view before taking a wander around the funfair. I think it was built in the 1950s and, to me, looks just like an old Scooby Doo set - not that Scooby Doo had sets, it was a cartoon.

We've never done a guided food tour, but I'm sure they're fun. Try to watch a couple of TV shows before you go, so you've got some idea of where you might want to head for. There's at least one episode of travel man, but the best one is Fantastic Places to Eat with Fred Sirriuex (sic?) and Nisha Katona (I think). Bars that we particularly like are: Atari, Borda Berri, Bar Nestor (you need to reserve a slice of tortilla in advance, in person) and Bar Sport. You also need to go to La Vina for the cheesecake. It's totally rammed in the evenings, but that's part of the fun. One tip - order from the blackboard, not from the stuff in front of you on the counter. Dinner at one of the 3* will be 1,000 for two including Wine. We've never felt the need to do this, but it's probably fabulous.

Thanks, that’s helpful. I’m torn about the Food tour - I’m sure it takes the stress out of busy bars, particular if you can’t speak the language very well, but it’s expensive and very structured. I’m thinking that if things are less busy in May we might be ok doing our own thing.
I’m watching lots of YouTube videos and the tortilla at bar Néstor has appeared on most of those, as has La Vina.

I am looking at some of the Michelin starred restaurants but it’s unlikely we’ll go for one of the very top end ones.

[omniflow]

Sport_Turismo_GTS said:

Thanks, that s helpful. I m torn about the Food tour - I m sure it takes the stress out of busy bars, particular if you can t speak the language very well, but it s expensive and very structured. I m thinking that if things are less busy in May we might be ok doing our own thing.
I m watching lots of YouTube videos and the tortilla at bar Néstor has appeared on most of those, as has La Vina.

I am looking at some of the Michelin starred restaurants but it s unlikely we ll go for one of the very top end ones.

Do not worry about the language thing - they're very used to it. The atmosphere in the busy bars can vary - the staff in Borda Berri seem to be the most miserable in the whole town, so we don't tend to linger in there, but the food is great. The staff in Bar Sport on the other hand, are absolutely fantastic. You just need to relax and go with the flow. They'll find you when your food is ready. We like standing outside and negotiating a few square inches of table so you can put things down, after 1/2 hour or so, you'll be the one doling out table space. It's a great way to meet people and chat.

We had a sit down dinner at Bodegon Alejandro after recommendations on here. The food was really good, but I much prefer the bars. You've got to try it yourself to see what fits best with your own preferences.

[Imasurv]

I gave the food tour thing a lot of thought over a few weeks, and decided in our circumstances it made sense. They aren't cheap, but I felt it was worth it for a number of factors - they will navigate the bars and understand the 'etiquette' involved in queuing/ordering etc, they will assist in knowing the menu options available because whilst I'll eat anything, my wife is a little more circumspect, particularly over stuff like offal, shellfish etc, and so someone who can assist and navigate around that is worth it to ensure we both enjoy ourselves. Ive done all the YouTube videos - there are some good ones giving you a flavour of where to go - and Ive also researched on here a lot - the recommendation for the food tour came from a post on here.

Ive looked at the Michelin restaurant options, but whilst undoubtedly good, they are extremely expensive and limit options to tasting menus without vegetarian options. The pintxo bars are where we will mainly be going unless we see a nice restaurant whilst there.

Edited by Imasurv on Monday 12th January 19:03

[mikef]

Strange to go to the trouble of typing an accent and then choosing the wrong accent…

[Sport_Turismo_GTS]

mikef said:

Strange to go to the trouble of typing an accent and then choosing the wrong accent

Thanks for your value-add - much appreciated.

[Sport_Turismo_GTS]

Imasurv said:

I gave the food tour thing a lot of thought over a few weeks, and decided in our circumstances it made sense. They aren't cheap, but I felt it was worth it for a number of factors - they will navigate the bars and understand the 'etiquette' involved in queuing/ordering etc, they will assist in knowing the menu options available because whilst I'll eat anything, my wife is a little more circumspect, particularly over stuff like offal, shellfish etc, and so someone who can assist and navigate around that is worth it to ensure we both enjoy ourselves. Ive done all the YouTube videos - there are some good ones giving you a flavour of where to go - and Ive also researched on here a lot - the recommendation for the food tour came from a post on here.

Welcome to my world! This was the reason we had a private food tour when we were in Osaka!

[Imasurv]

Now if it was a trip with mates it would be a different story of course!

It’s funny that neither of us like *really* busy places anymore, and so in some ways a visit to San Sebastián (with correct accent I hope) goes a little against the grain, but I’m convinced we will have a great time! I do think end of May will still be busy.

[Sport_Turismo_GTS]

Imasurv said:

Now if it was a trip with mates it would be a different story of course!

It s funny that neither of us like *really* busy places anymore, and so in some ways a visit to San Sebastián (with correct accent I hope) goes a little against the grain, but I m convinced we will have a great time! I do think end of May will still be busy.

Maybe I’ll see you in May, in a bar in San Sebastián - I’ll be the guy trying all the different Pintxos, accompanied by a wife that isn’t eating anything!

[Imasurv]

Sounds very similar to us then! The idea of good food and wine in a beautiful setting is my idea of heaven. We say we don’t like busy places but conversely my favourite place in the world is Glastonbury, because although it can be horrendously busy, everyone is having fun!

Either way I’m sure you’ll have a great time!

[Maxus]

I've never been or really considered San Sebastian but watched the C5 Michael Portillo in Spain programme last night where he is in San Sebastian. What a stunning place. Looked glorious. Well worth watching to get some ideas.

A place that's definately on my list now.