Pintxos Tour #1
Someone told me about Mimo a couple years ago, so we were excited to do a lunchtime pintxos tour with them on our first day in San Sebastian. The tour ended up being so much more than we expected, and we thought it was worth the 110 euro price tag. I would recommend doing the lunchtime tour over the dinner option because 1. it’s cheaper 2. you can see more of the old town and get your bearings 3. you don’t need the extra pintxo they advertise for the dinner tour 4. it’s less crowded and 5. you have the rest of the day walk off all the food and alcohol.
We (our guide, a British couple with their very small baby, my parents, and I) started the tour at Bar Sport with txakoli (effervescent Basque white wine ), txistorra (chorizo), txipiron (baby squid). A crash course in pronouncing TX as CH. We also learned that when eating pintxos it’s proper etiquette to throw your used napkins on the floor. Yes, this goes against everything you’ve been taught but also feels great. At Bar Sport we also tried the Gilda, a toothpick stacked with green olive, guindilla pepper, and anchovy. It was supposedly the first pintxo in San Sebastia and named after Rita Hayworth.
From there we went to a bar on the Plaza de la Constitución called Astelena where we tried carillera (iberin pork cheek) with pumpkin and some more pintxos from the bar accompanied with Basque “sidra” cider. At this point we’re drinking a glass of something with each pintxo which is a special ratio. The Plaza de la Constitución is in the heart of the Old Town and where they used to host bull fights. It’s now small apartments and where the main events of the Tamborada take place each January (more on that event later).
After Astelena we headed to Ganbara, a bar that was on my list after seeing the San Sebastian episode of Parts Unknown. Here we tried ensaladilla (potato salad), pastel de pesacado (fishcake with monkfish and hake), and grilled wild mushrooms with egg yolk (favorite). Drink was a Chivite Las Fincas rosé.
At this point we were all but rolling down the streets of Old Town so our wonderful guide, Almudena, decided it was time to take a lap before going to our final stop. Also at this point Almudena had the baby strapped to her and was greeting friends and family members she saw in the street and introducing them to her new child. For our “break” we went into a candy store called Garrarte and then walked to the marina. We sat and chatted and took pictures until Almudena deemed us ready for the last bar.
The last bar was Sirimiri, translating to “little rain” in Euskera, of which I was told to expect a lot of during my time living in San Sebastian. I think we ate as much in that one stop as we did in the rest of the bars combined. We were given plates to pick pintxos from the bar, which I now know is an easy way to spot tourists. By the time we returned to our table there was mushroom risotto, octopus, and a lamb sweet potato situation. Everything was delicious and we drank Viñestral Rioja. We thought we were done but then every dessert on the menu arrived and they were also excellent. They were a cheese ice cream, lima tiramisu, chocolate mouse with olive oil and sea salt, and another ice cream with passion fruit granita. OH and we couldn’t have those desserts without a Pedro Ximinez sherry, no no. If you love food and eating to the point of discomfort, then I highly recommend doing a pintxo tour with Mimo.
