Recommendations Restaurants San Sebastián, Barcelona & Madrid

You can't go wrong in San Sebastian but these were our favorite places.

Bar Antonio (2 locations) https://www.antoniobar.com/en

Haizea - very small and very delicious. Aldamar Kalea, 8, 20003 Once visited by Tony Bourdain.
La Viña for Basque cheesecake - go in the afternoon otherwise it's stupid crowded. https://lavinarestaurante.com/

In Madrid,
Skip the calamari sandwiches in Plaza Mayor, they're tourist traps and we found the bread to be dry.

If you like mushrooms, try Mesón del Champiñón. Cava de San Miguel, 17, Centro. Absolutely delicious! mushroom caps with bits of chorizo in them then grilled on a flat top.

Vermouth? Try Taberna La Concha. http://www.laconchataberna.com/ They make their own vermouth. It can get crowded so go early.
Visit Mercado de San Miguel. Stroll around the market and nibble your way through all the shops. There's also a convent nearby that sells convent treats certain days of the week.

We had a very tasty breakfast at Scarlett. Pl. del Emperador Carlos V, 10, Centro It's very near the big three museums and offers tasty breakfast and lunch options as well as great coffee. Lastly take a stroll down C. de la Cava Baja and create your own tapas crawl.

Wow! Thanks barbjim1. I’ll make sure I check these out.

My 12yoa son and I did an early tapas crawl in San Sebastian's old town. The two places recommended by RS were the most expensive and my least favorite. We just ducked into places that looked good. I was on a hunt for beef cheeks, which I finally found here:
https://atarigastroleku.com
The evening ended on the steps of the church across the alley, me finishing my wine and my son eating an ice cream. This is one of the happiest memories of our 7-month trip through Europe and probably one of the happiest of my life.
Go to Atari and get the beef cheeks. Then take your wine outside.

G3rryCee sounds like you had an amazing time - 7 months!! Thank you! I’ll be sure to check out the Atari.

Just a couple of side comments: it´s not "tapas" (it´s a different concept) but "pintxos" (and there´s a whole world to explain about them). And -really sorry to destroy this so common idea- there´s no such thing as "Basque cheesecake". The cake you had at La Viña bar was "invented" there, a bit by mere chance, and it´s become worldwide famous, to the point that (almost) everybody calls it a "Basque" cheesecase. Well, there´s no such thing, there´s a cheesecake at that bar and then marketing, Instagram and media have promoted something that is not really "ours". There´s a Basque cake, but it´s more on the French side. Donostia-San Sebastian is famous for its "pantxineta" cake, this is quite true (practically every town or city has its own sweet specialties).

Thank you MikelBasqueGuide good to know!

For Madrid, probably too many places to list, but some highlights and advice...

First, go on Youtube and find a channel called Spain Revealed by James Blick (of Devour Tours fame) He has loads of videos on Madrid, as well as a few on Donostia San Sebastian and Barcelona.

In Madrid I still like the corner with Casa Toni, Casa del Abuela, and Oreja de Jaime, lots of things to try. I still think the garlic shrimp at Casa de Abuela are still the best, the sweetbreads and chopitos at Casa Toni the best.

Mercado San Miquel is fun, chance to try and see lots of things, but it can be ungodly crowded and the price point is a bit higher than other places. La Torre de Oro in Plaza Mayor is worth a stop, do not sit at the tables outside, go in, stand at the bar, order a wine or vermouth, and take in all the pictures and bullfight memorabilia. Wine and beer is reasonably price (3 euro or so) plus you get a small tapa. If you want paella, I can recommend D'stapa, very good, was there a few weeks ago.

For San Sebastian, download this app: https://pintxos.es/ It features pintxos from a number of bars, shows pictures and descriptions, a map function, lots to browse through.

Just a small point: There is no such thing as a "tapas bar." There are bars, as well as restaurants, that serve tapas.
That one of the many wonderful things about dining in Spain; at many restaurants, the menu will list the same dish, in various portion sizes. The smallest would be a tapa, next would be a media racion, and the largest would be a racion, the largest portion size.

My favorite restaurant in Segovia is the long-running Jose Maria; they have a well-deserved reputation for suckling pig and also serve excellent suckling lamb (Cordero lechal, or lechazo) It's just a stellar restaurant. And you can stop in for tapas at the bar in the front. I'd go to Segovia just to have lunch or dinner, there. It's only one of a few legendary spots for these traditional meats of Segovia, but it's my favorite of the few I've tried.

I could share some ideas for Madrid but could you give more of an idea of what you are looking for, and price range...?? Do you want traditional food, or modern/creative cooking? Seafood? It's just that Madrid is such a fabulous eating city and there are dozens of restaurants we could recommend to you..it would be helpful to know more about your taste so we could narrow it down.

Are you willing to take a taxi or a walk or Metro or bus, from your hotel? Or, if you want to stay near hotel, where is the hotel?

About bakeries, I don't go to them all too often but on a recent trip, I did try the famous cheesecake from Alex Cordobes, from his bakery in Salamanca. You might have to stand on line, or choose the time of your visit to avoid the most popular times, but I'd say it's worth the wait; the only problem is choosing from among the various flavors!!

https://alexcordobes.es/productos/

The neighborhood east of Retiro Park (Retiro) is filled with fantastic, small restaurants with each one almost better than the last. You do need to book ahead for a meal, for example, at TABERNA LAREDO; I try to take a meal there each time I'm in Madrid.

https://tabernalaredo.com/carta/?lang=en

I can only really give suggestions for Madrid.

Restaurants:

Bardero: Might look like overly pretentious, fine dining type food, but it's incredible food and it's an amazing value. This is one of my favorite restaurants in the world.

Baldoria: This is better than almost every Italian restaurant in Italy. Sensational service, live music!, world pizza rankings #24 pizza, love it.

Tapas:

Bar Tribuetxe: Basque tapas, very quirky and off the beaten path but everything is excellent. Cash only.

Casa Camacho: Traditional place with a signature vermouth cocktail. Great basic tapas.

Casa Revuelta: Fried cod.

Bar El Boqueron: Seafood and beer.

Wine/beer bars:

La Caníbal: Loved the selection of wine and beer, great service, very comfortable modern place.

La Fisna Wine Bar: Great wine, with a wine shop attached.

Bakeries:

Motteau Pasteleria: Love the quality here, it's not your standard Spanish pastries being churned out.

PanDome: This was a local bread place for me and it's fantastic quality. I saw the owner there every time I went, and they're super friendly. Felt like a neighborhood bakery in Paris, but with very friendly employees.

Other general advice, go to the lesser known markets that aren't San Miguel. You get great local flavor and some of them have amazing, amazing food. Mercado de San Fernando and Mercado de Vallehermoso I love. Don't feel like you only need to eat Spanish food, it's a world city with all kinds of cuisine. But, definitely get a ton of tapas and Spanish wine if you're a drinker.

Thank you all for the great suggestions!

ekscrunchy we are foodies and love to all foods from simple to gourmet. I am originally from Peru so I love all Spanish food.

Thank you all again!

If you have a specific food, or region of food you are looking for in Madrid, (churros, paella, tortilla, vermouth, markets, etc) then I have more, but otherwise, it would take me a book to relate.

Paul I’m just looking for fellow travelers favorite places. Thank you!

We've been to San Sebastián a number of times and love it. I love small bites such as Pintxos. We have eaten at Atari and it was very good. We also liked Casa Valles. However the best pintxos we've had were over on the "new" side of town, away from the old city. I cannot remember all the names but we've had really good luck wandering on that side (oposite side of the Urumea river) and eating delicious food. It seems less touristy with more locals eating. Enjoy your trip!

Ok, good..that's what I like to hear!!

The neighborhood you want to concentrate in would be Retiro, east of the park.
I mentioned TABERNA LAREDO, and I would also put this soon my list: LA CASTELA.
Those two are personal favorites, very popular with locals, and have great menus with variety. Most of our fellow diners will be Spaniards. Staff at both places is super!! I book a table, but both places have bar areas, too.

https://tabernalaredo.com/?lang=en

https://restaurantelacastela.com/carta-sala

LA CATAPA is smaller, very personalized service from the owner, and equally great food:

https://tabernalacatapa.eatbu.com/?lang=es

Here is another solid place,, nearby:

https://arzabal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Carta-Retiro.pdf

For impeccable seafood in a more formal (but not fussy or uncomfortable) setting (they also have a bar in front for tapas), RAFA is in the same general neighborhood. It's among the best places for seafood in the city:

https://restauranterafa.es

I'll mention one more place, a beautiful contemporary restaurant showcasing the food of Navarra, so the vegetable dishes really shine; it's a beautiful place and the prices are very fair; you would never go wrong here:
It's in a different neighborhood, kind of on the border of Salamanca:

http://www.lamanducadeazagra.com

Those are some of my favorites and I'm pretty sure you would be happy at any of them. But you do have to book, at least a few days ahead, more if possible. (I tend to book very far ahead; I'm kind of obsessive about my restaurants!!)

My favorite market in MERCADO DE LA PAZ; inside that market, CASA DANI is famous for their tortilla; it's a real Madrileno classic:

https://www.casadani.es

Besides the supermarket in the basement, and the Club de Gourmets--both inside EL CORTE INGLES on Serrano, I think my favorite food shop in the city is this old-fashioned, carriage-trade shop near the Mercado de la Paz in Salamanca, a few steps from Alex Cordobes cheesecake. And you do not have to carry your purchases back to the hotel; they will deliver them to you free of charge (I always buy lots of foods to bring home with me)

https://mantequeriasbravo.com/?srsltid=AfmBOopSFKOKdFSjc1J4LUtqQmtx8PbK7ySKZ-djN9z4PP70i1l-le7i

Let me know what you think of those...

For one of our anniversaries, we had dinner at Anzak. Fabulous but pricey!

We would love to return to:

Tres por Cuatro and SDD2 in Madrid.

Bar Gran Sol in Hondaribbia for THE best pinxtos (and Txakoli!).

Thank you all for the great suggestions. Writing all these down and hope to get to experience them. I will sure report back!

We loved having pintxos at BETTI JAI in San Sebastian. They have Michelin stars!! Cheapest Michelin meal ever. If you want a full meal, we ate at Kokotxa in San Sebastian. Also Michelin starred. Fabulous.