SHIP to SHORE
OCEANIAʼS GUIDE TO SAN SEBASTIÁN Bernie Carter, Oceania Cruisesʼ resident gourmet traveller, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, EMEA, shares his top culinary picks in the Basque Country
Rugged mountains and golden beaches flank Spain’s culinary capital, a northern town of elegant promenades and cobbled backstreets once favoured by royal holidaymakers. And while San Sebastián holds the highest concentration of Michelin stars in the world, it’s the authentic fare that keeps me coming back. Seven of Oceania Cruises’ voyages dock here, and as the ship passes the half-moon La Concha Bay, I can almost taste the pinxtos.
The Basque answer to tapas, bite-sized pinxtos are best sampled on a culinary jaunt through the town’s restaurants and bars. I like to begin at Mendaur Berria, an intimate venue tucked away in the Old Town. Innovative seasonal specials might include salted cod tacos, chimichurri octopus or mussels with citrusfruit-rich salsa cítrica. Delve into their fantastic wine list or quench your thirst at Sidrería Beharri – Basque style cider, non-carbonated and poured from a height, is simply superb.
Don’t miss Mercado de La Bretxa, a farmers’ market beneath a shopping centre that has been paying tribute to local produce since 1870. For your culture fix, neo-gothic Buen Pastor Cathedral and Iglesia de San Vicente are nearby. Then cross the town’s oldest bridge over the Urumea to La Txuleteria del Iraeta, a neighbourhood favourite for hearty txuleta steaks; Zurriola Beach is my favourite place for a postprandial wander.
But a trip to San Sebastián would be incomplete without experiencing its lauded Michelin restaurant scene. Doublestarred Mugaritz offers avant-garde molecular gastronomy in a renovated country house on the outskirts of town – highlights include threads of crab with vegetable mucilage, macadamias and pink peppercorns. Feeling inspired? Tricks of the trade are taught at the Mimo Cooking School – the wild pigeon with pickled mushrooms recipe remains my go-to when cooking at home. A souvenir very much worthy of its destination. oceaniacruises.com