Izapi Taberna, San Sebastian

Izapi taberna was conveniently on the walk between A Fuego Negro & La Cuchara de San Telmo. It had caught our eye early on our travels, but tonight it was pumping ... the crowd spilling well out onto the street.



We slide on in, happy to just be able to make it to the counter and order a drink and would have been happy to join the hordes of people drinking and mingling out on the street .... But just as we order a space at the counter clears - score! We order some foie to go with our txakoli. The slab of foie is seared with a delightful crust, but the inside oh-so-soft & tender. There's a little bit of mango puree which has a nice tartness to it, and a very interesting savory granola crumb, with pistacho's, pine nuts & raisins.



Our last pintxos before moving on for the evening was a solomillio, or sirloin steak, with wild mushrooms & a garlic puree. It was hard to share, I would have had no problems eating a full meal size of this plate ....



A great little find, we'll see you again next time!

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

Casa Pascualillo, Zaragoza .... our last night in Aragon region

The regional food of Aragon was present all over Zaragoza. It was our last night before heading deep into the Basque country, so we were after some traditional fare. We head out in search of Casa Pascualillo. We stop by the bar firstly ... as we are way to early to sit down and eat - it's only 8pm.



We get 2 glasses of white wine and the house specialty of fried young garlic shoots.



We can see the one large kitchen that runs the back length of both the bar and restaurant are shared. The chef's definitely getting ready for the evening's meal service, but not appearing rushed or stressed. A condensed menu is offered at the bar, so Miga's are soon on the cards. Miga's are a dish of breadcrumbs, humble yet oh-so-satisfying. Traditionally eaten at breakfast using leftover bread, they have now turned into a gourmet addition to menu's no matter what time of day. The crumbs are fried in olive oil, seasoned generously with salt with sliced of fried chorizo and a soft cooked egg. We expected the crumbs to be crunchy, but they are disappointingly soft and kind of boring ..... A fantastic idea, although in these circumstance at least, executed badly.



There's a small door at the rear of the bar, and right on 9pm it's opened up and people start spilling over from the bar. We make our way over. Once we are seated, again getting a servers attention seemed to be quite difficult. As soon as we get someone's attention, a bottle of red was ordered along with the evenings food. First up, Habitas saltedas con jamon y virtuas de foie de canard. Baby broad beans with jamon & foie gras. A nice light starter ......



For the main event, we cannot resist an Aragon classic - Paletilla de Ternasco asado con patatas, roast suckling lamb with roast potatoes. The lamb is covered in a crackling crust, tender juicy meat caged inside. Simply served with home style roast potatoes and a light sauce of the cooking juices.



A plate of Parillada de huerta, or mix char grilled vegetables, is the perfect accompaniment. Thick slices of eggplant, zucchini, potato, aparagus, peppers & onions are grilled with a splash of herb oil.



Aragon is quite famous for the peaches it produces, coming from the fertile lower valleys of the region. When we spot a dessert simply peaches, ice-cream & red wine, we can't resist.



Farewell Aragon ... see you next time around !!

Casa Pascualillo
Calle Libertad 5 - 7
50003 Zaragoza
T: 976 397 203