Beautiful Basque tapas

Anyone who calls themselves a gourmet but hasn’t experienced the pleasures of drinking chilled Rioja and munching through a plate of Pinxtos (pronounced Pinchos) in Bilbao or San Sebastian is living in ignorance, I don’t care how many Michelin starred restaurants they’ve eaten in.

Pinxtos are the Basque Country’s version of tapas, the difference being that they are served on small slices of toasted baguette so you just grab one and tuck in.

Walk into a bar and you’ll see them all laid out for you to sample, just help yourself to what looks good and tell the barman how many you’ve eaten afterwards. It isn’t the most hygienic dining experience but it’s seriously worth it.

Being the Basque Country, Spain’s finest foodie location, each Pinxto bar you visit will have their own chef freshly preparing the goodies for you. Local specialities include peppers stuffed with salted cod, Iberian ham with quails eggs, and Lomo (little steaks).

If you walk in to a bar and just see a bit of bread and ham on the bar head out and look for the real thing, it’ll just be round the corner. In fact you should keep moving from bar to bar until you have had your fill, just as the locals do. This is Europe at its best.

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