Beware of tourist traps! Where to find the best pintxos in San Sebastián.

Has San Sebastián Donostia lost its pintxo mojo? San Sebastian, Spain has a famous culinary scene with hundreds of pintxo bars and tons of Michelin starred restaurants. It's a Mecca for foodies and top of Europe's hotlist. In this travel vlog we ask, with over tourism, can you still get the best pintxos in San Sebastian? We recently spent 2 months of our retirement slow travel in San Sebastian and ate our way through many many pintxo bars. In this San Sebastian travel guide you'll see that more often than not, the food was disappointing and the service was grumpy. Good news, there are still some exceptional pintxos to be found. You just need to know where to find them and how to avoid the tourist traps. Come along as we show you the results of our slow travel stay and share with you our top 10 pintxos in San Sebastian -- we'll tell you the secrets of which bars and restaurants are best in San Sebastian. And many of our finds are among the best vegetarian pintxos in San Sebastian.

In this travel vlog we eat at the following bars and restaurants:
Txepetxa
Ganbara
Itxaropena
Casa Vergara
Manojo
LABe
La Viña

We’re Emre and Maia of Happygoluckytravel. Our videos feature local, authentic, and immersive experiences in Europe while we full-time travel. We love to engage with local people and stay longer in our destinations (slow travel), while we spend retirement being curious about everything! We’re passionate about travel and food and have been to 44 countries between us! Longing for simplicity and freedom, we put our remaining possessions in storage, and set out with a suitcase and carry-on each. We love slow travel because its a mindset that works whether you have a few days or a whole year! Most of our vlogs focus on Spain, Italy and France, but you'll find us in other wonderful places too.

We like to keep it real. We did not receive, nor do we ask for compensation from any of the enterprises mentioned in this video.

The @happygoluckytravel YouTube channel is a production of HAPPY GO LUCKY, LLC, Washington.

[blenthall]

14.50 July 1st 2025. Liked your video it was informative as we are going to San Sebastian in September. Any advice? Cheers Barry

[sansebastiananbeyond]

Ohh thank you for starting the video with Kaixo. I hope you visited places out of the old town during your 2 months here

[inigolarrinagajuanena]

You left two of the best pintxos bar, la cuchara de San Telmo and Borda berri. There are more but this two are a must.
Always avoid the cold pintxos.

[F_letc.h]

I’m in San Sebastián right now. Thank you for the recommendations!

[jml]

I've been following you for a while. I'm wondering how you are able to stay in Europe for longer than 3 months. Could you do a video about the visa options and how you navigate them? My husband and I wondered if going to a country that is not in EU (i.e. Switzerland, or the UK) would we be able to extend our time that way.

[SharonCee]

I have to agree… we were not thrilled with the food in San Sebastián… we did have a few good meals in restaurants in Old Town, but my husband is Italian and he maintains that Italy has the best food in all of Europe… But if we ever go back to SS, we will have to try your list.. 😊. Love your videos… thank you..

[frankmontague]

VEGETABLES are needed everywhere on Spanish plates. ❤ VEGAN & Vegetarian restaurants would answer a prayer 🙏 😋