Pza. del a Constitución
Donostia - San Sebastián
T. 943 42 52 45
Monday turned out to be the worst day of the week to visit San Sebastian. Not only were all the fine dining restaurants closed, alot of the more popular pintxos/tapas bars were also out of commission. This made planning a pintxos crawl quite challenging. Lucky for us (and I mean lucky because the food was FANTASTIC), Astelena was open and not too crowded as we made our way in around 6PM.
The general rule of thumb for pintxos crawls is only to order a couple of dishes to share before making your way to the next bar. This concept was totally lost on us as soon as we surveyed the counter - there were plates and plates of yummy pintxos, some more familiar and recognizable, others not as much. There was also a blackboard on the wall - listing the hot items to order. I couldn't really help it - I just started pointing and ordering everything that looked good.
1. Anchovy, hamachi, tomatoes on bread - Canned fish, tomatoes and bread, three of our favorite things. The saltiness of the anchovy was balanced well with the acidity and slight sweetness of the tomatoes. The hamachi added additional texture to the bite. Whoever decided to put all these three things together was a genius...delicious!
2. Anchovy, tuna, tapanade, brioche - What can we say? We love anchovies. This was another pintxos grabbed off the counter. We were very, very impressed with this combination of flavors. To our surprise, the salty tapanade paired very nicely with the canned tuna - a combo that we've never really seen before. The drizzle of balsamic vinegar on the top of the bread gave it a hint of sweetness. Another great dish- we were both fighting for the last bite.
3. Chorizo sausage - This came off the blackboard menu. One of the more lackluster dishes of the night. The sausage was juicy and flavorful but we can't say we wouldn't be able to find something comparable in the States. The plating was very pretty though - balsamic glaze seems to be a staple at this place.
4. Shrimp and bacon - The other mediocre dish - saved by the flavor of the bacon and the sweetness and salty seasoning of the sauce. This dish was also ordered off the blackboard menu. The shrimp were a bit dinky and didn't have too much of a natural sweetness we love in the other Spanish gambas dishes.
5. Roasted quail - There was a section of the bar where raw meats were laid out. I saw these little drumsticks and on a whim, asked the waiter to add it to our order. I had no idea what to expect and was complete taken back when this appeared in front of the us - so delicately and creatively plated. They definitely don't take presentation lightly here at Astelena. It was another winning dish - the quail was super moist and juicy and paired nicely with the difference sauces on the plate. We totally wanted to order another plate but were determined to try at least one or two other pintxos bars before the night was over.
6. Foie gras with balsamic glaze, mango and applesauce - This dish pretty much sums up our fantastic experience at Astelena. On the blackboard, all it said was "Foie Gras de plancha" or grilled foie. It arrived looking like a precisely plated work of art. Everything tasted as good as it looked, from the nicely grilled foie topped with sea salt to the applesauce and mango puree. We would have liked another order of this as well.
What a great first meal in San Sebastian! Neither of us wanted to leave but we knew we had to try at least another couple of tapas places before the night was over.
Donostia - San Sebastián
T. 943 42 52 45
Monday turned out to be the worst day of the week to visit San Sebastian. Not only were all the fine dining restaurants closed, alot of the more popular pintxos/tapas bars were also out of commission. This made planning a pintxos crawl quite challenging. Lucky for us (and I mean lucky because the food was FANTASTIC), Astelena was open and not too crowded as we made our way in around 6PM.
The general rule of thumb for pintxos crawls is only to order a couple of dishes to share before making your way to the next bar. This concept was totally lost on us as soon as we surveyed the counter - there were plates and plates of yummy pintxos, some more familiar and recognizable, others not as much. There was also a blackboard on the wall - listing the hot items to order. I couldn't really help it - I just started pointing and ordering everything that looked good.
1. Anchovy, hamachi, tomatoes on bread - Canned fish, tomatoes and bread, three of our favorite things. The saltiness of the anchovy was balanced well with the acidity and slight sweetness of the tomatoes. The hamachi added additional texture to the bite. Whoever decided to put all these three things together was a genius...delicious!
2. Anchovy, tuna, tapanade, brioche - What can we say? We love anchovies. This was another pintxos grabbed off the counter. We were very, very impressed with this combination of flavors. To our surprise, the salty tapanade paired very nicely with the canned tuna - a combo that we've never really seen before. The drizzle of balsamic vinegar on the top of the bread gave it a hint of sweetness. Another great dish- we were both fighting for the last bite.
3. Chorizo sausage - This came off the blackboard menu. One of the more lackluster dishes of the night. The sausage was juicy and flavorful but we can't say we wouldn't be able to find something comparable in the States. The plating was very pretty though - balsamic glaze seems to be a staple at this place.
4. Shrimp and bacon - The other mediocre dish - saved by the flavor of the bacon and the sweetness and salty seasoning of the sauce. This dish was also ordered off the blackboard menu. The shrimp were a bit dinky and didn't have too much of a natural sweetness we love in the other Spanish gambas dishes.
5. Roasted quail - There was a section of the bar where raw meats were laid out. I saw these little drumsticks and on a whim, asked the waiter to add it to our order. I had no idea what to expect and was complete taken back when this appeared in front of the us - so delicately and creatively plated. They definitely don't take presentation lightly here at Astelena. It was another winning dish - the quail was super moist and juicy and paired nicely with the difference sauces on the plate. We totally wanted to order another plate but were determined to try at least one or two other pintxos bars before the night was over.
6. Foie gras with balsamic glaze, mango and applesauce - This dish pretty much sums up our fantastic experience at Astelena. On the blackboard, all it said was "Foie Gras de plancha" or grilled foie. It arrived looking like a precisely plated work of art. Everything tasted as good as it looked, from the nicely grilled foie topped with sea salt to the applesauce and mango puree. We would have liked another order of this as well.
What a great first meal in San Sebastian! Neither of us wanted to leave but we knew we had to try at least another couple of tapas places before the night was over.
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