Hidalgo56 - San Sebastian £

Paseo colon, 15,
20002 San Sebastian - Donostia, Spain


THE VIBE
Husband and wife team Juan & Nubia run this fantastic pinxtos bar on the otherside of the river in Gros. Decor is simple but that's fine because it's the stunning array of food that takes centre stage. Juan has worked in a Michelin star restaurant so you can imagine the standard of cooking that comes out of the little kitchen. The couple are very chilled and happy for you to embrace the Basque culture, staying for two or three pinxtos and a glass of wine. Or, act like over-excited tourists as we did and sample everything on the menu over the course of three hours.

THE FOOD
Where to begin? I can honestly say that everything on offer here (and yes- we tried EVERYTHING!) is sublime. The key, as with most things in life, is simplicity. This combined with locally sourced, quality ingredients makes for each mouthful to be an out of this world experience. Some of the warm dishes from the menu were modified Basque classics with Juan putting his own twist on them - the execution of each was brilliant.

THE DRINK
Here is where I truly started to appreciate sherry. My Dad started lunch with a chilled glass of Manzanilla which was crisp & lively and went perfectly with the anchovy, olive and pickle pinxtos. Every glass of wine we sampled was some of the best I have ever tasted and averaging at 2 euros a glass made every sip all the better.  Our favourite though, was a white wine called Belondrade y Lurton which is an aged Verdajo. It is the colour of honey and whilst delicate on the nose it is oaky and rich in flavour as a result of being barrel fermented.

DEFINITELY TRY
Everything you possibly can, I promise you there isn't anything you won't love (I mean love - you won't just like it). The tuna tartare with fiery gazpacho was fresh and cleansed the palette. The homemade mushroom ravioli was silky smooth in texture and earthy in flavour. The tuna sashimi with summer berries (below) went perfectly with the sherry. The prawn lollipops with goats cheese, wrapped in jamon and accompanied by - wait for it - pineapple, were to die for!