This is it.

There was just so much deliciousness in San Sebastian every night we were finding new and exciting places to eat. But there was one bar that we found time and stomach space to return to every night. La Cuchara de San Telmo is a hard to find hole-in-the-wall, packed from the minute it opens till they push the crowd out the door.



Two chefs Alex Montiel and Iñaki Gulin are rock stars pumping out imaginative nueva cocina vasca (new basque cuisine) from a tiny open kitchen in the thick of all the action.

the chefs preferred these guys to be the rock stars for photos


The menu is a short, updated daily, with a dozen dishes all cooked to order rather than pre plated and stacked across the bar traditional style. Over the course of our San Sebastian stay we ate our way through the menu several times, just to certain it was as amazing as our taste buds were telling us. The first night we left telling them we'd see them tomorrow only to return a few hours later when we ran into the owners of Australia on a plate and had to show them this hidden gem.

These are the dishes we ate in no particular order;

Slab o goats cheese grilled with basil and quince.



Canniloni filled with intense mushroom.



Creamy cheesy orzo risotto.



Foie with apple puree. This was incredible, the unctuous foie, sweet sour apple and crunchy salt topping. I lost count of how many of these we ate. Peta's gonna hate us.



Crispy little croquette of jamon. The topping reminded me of a yum cha pork pie.



Totally awesome roast suckling pork ribs. The flesh was just fall apart while the skin was deliciously crunchy crackling sitting in a little more of the sweet sour apple puree.



The braised beef cheek was falll apart tender and on the three nights we had this it came with a different accompinament.

1)With a creamy potato puree and a splash of jus.



2)On a rich roast tomato sauce

3) With meaty braised green lentils



Bacon wrapped scallops with cauliflower is a classic combination.



Tempura de bacalao, chunks of salt cod fried in a super crispy batter. Even Kat who's not a big fan of cooked fish enjoyed this.



Fat slices of grilled octopus tender as could be.



Braised pork with a rich molassasy and sesame glaze was amazing.



Braised pigs ear, so good the fatty meat melting off the crunchy gristle all covered with a thin layer of crispy skin. All about textures.



A love for all things piggy is just one of the reasons we love La Cuchara, we love the orders being shouted to the kitchen who just shout back and yet somehow keep track of all of it through the blaring music and boisterous crowd. We love the generous drinks and no nonsense staff who like people who love to eat. This place is my favourite restaurant in the world right now.



La Cuchara de San Telmo
Calle de 31 de Agosto, Parte Vieja

San Sebastian, Spain