Txepetxa

Don’t be fooled by the retro, ceramic display pintxos on the bar – this place delivers amazing made-to-order marinated anchovies with a variety of toppings.

Two fish-shaped display boards list the anchovy and hot pintxo options, but if you’d prefer a pictoral approach, a multilingual menu card is available.

• Jardinera – a salsa of red and green peppers, guindillas, onion
• Crema de Centolla – creamy spider crab
• Foie y Compota de Manzana – foie gras and apple sauce
• Huevas de Erizo de Mar – sea urchin roe
• Huevas de Trucha – trout roe
• Pate de Oliva – olive pate
• Arándanos – blueberries
• Coco – coconut
• Papaya – papaya
• Bocarta – salted anchovy and piquillo pepper
• Salmon – salmon
• Salazon – salted anchovy

The staff here are super-friendly, but they won’t tell you how the anchovies are prepared – the marinade recipe is a closely guarded secret which has been handed down through the generations. With customers spilling out onto the streets every evening, Txepetxa has to be in the top 10 pintxo bars in San Sebastián.