You would be hard put not to fall in love with San Sebastián and its people, its streets, its beaches. And, if you happen to be a foodie, there’s no way you could resist its charms. Their meticulous sourcing of local produce is tangible, they handle meat and fish like nobody else and they boast an irresistible culture of pintxos.

Being a city with good food and an amazing culinary array ingrained in its DNA, it’s always useful to have a list of favourites handy when embarking on an escape to the capital of Guipúzcoa. Here, then, is our top five:

The Best Pintxos… at Zazpi
That’s what we say, from experience, backed up by them twice having won the Guipúzcoa pintxos champions award. In the kitchen, young chef Paul Arrillaga shows his craftsmanship over the fires. Spirited and with a clear idea of what he wants, he turns out creative offerings without masking the quality product. Zazpi has the advantage of not being located in the much-trumpeted “Parte Vieja” (Old Town), while their tables and bar counter are filled each day with bites that will leave a smile on your face. Their latest award-winning pintxo is asparagus with egg yolk and asparagus heart. Other dishes that come highly recommended are the txipis (squid-ink calamari), vichyssoise with foie gras and caviar, stewed pig’s ear and glazed cheek of pork.

The Best Txuleta… at Casa Urola
A historic restaurant in San Sebastián’s Parte Vieja which never fails to please. Revamped traditional cuisine and top-notch product crafted by chef Pablo Loureiro Rodil, who pampers the seasonal fare and runs a grillroom which is unique in the city. Their awesome txuleta (pork chops) are rivalled by such great dishes as sauteed country beans, potato froth, codfish flakes and olive oil, tempered oyster in Iberian cheek of pork, cream of cauliflower, prawn soup and lemon zest oil, and hake fillet with cheek of hake and clams.

The Best Omelette… at Nestor
One at 1 p.m. and another at 8 p.m. – two omelettes a day for the lucky ones who sign on to Nestor’s “delivery list” (not reservation list), which opens an hour in advance. It is well worth the treasure hunt to be able to sink your teeth into an omelette like nothing you might have tried before. They have just enough onion, pepper and potato to allow the egg to jiggle and fall juicily onto the plate.

The Best Cheesecake… at La Viña
A classic – La Viña’s cheesecake, the “sweet pintxo” to mark the final flourish of a pintxo-hopping morning. We’ve tried it and can safely say it lives up to its reputation. Golden-brown on the outside, smooth and creamy on the inside; you really must taste it if you regard yourself as a genuine cheesecake lover. And, speaking of cheesecakes, be lenient on yourself and head some 10 kilometres out of San Sebastián to one of the leading restaurants in the area, Zuberoa, in Oiartzun – their cheesecake is simply divine!

The Best Cocktails… A Dry María Cristina
We wind up our tour of surefire San Sebastián offerings with the best drink in town. Bearing the seal of Javier de las Muelas and served up in an amazing setting, the cocktails at Dry are a true experience. Martinis, classic-style mixes and avant-garde creations await you in their legendary María Cristina. The perfect excuse to set foot in this historic hotel and swoon in the unique atmosphere.

Book your Vueling to San Sebastián and gear up to explore the gastro side of Guipúzcoa’s capital.

Text by Silvia Artaza of Gastronomistas.com

Photos by Silvia Artaza and establishments

1. - Seafood, seafood and more seafood

Vigo is a paradise for the senses but, especially, for the taste of gourmet travellers. There is no doubt that the main product here is fish and seafood, which you can find in its diversity at the old fisherman’s quarter of O Berbés or around O Pedra market.

One of the most interesting places  is Fish Street, which offers a unique spectacle when ostreras tirelessly open oysters on the street while preparing the dishes. You can buy oysters directly to them, give them a squeeze of lemon and you eat them accompanied by a good Albariño. There is no such a better pleasure!

But, although oysters are one of the products Vigo is better known for, we cannot forget mussels, modest and versatile. You can try them in many different ways at the mejillonería Tarugo (C/Carral, 9). Affordable portions and rare options are available, like the curry or beer mussels.

In order to eat the best seafood you should go to Bar el Puerto (Rua Arenal, 30). More than 50 years of experience attests to the recognition of this restaurant. When you seat at your table, you will find out there is no menu; the waitress will tell you directly the fish and dish of the day. Other well-recognized seafood restaurants in the area are Follas Novas or Casa Marco but, generally speaking, any option around here is worth going if you are looking for good seafood, at a reasonable price.

Furthermore, Vigo celebrates many food festivals and events during the year and is possible your visit coincides with one of these activities. The most popular is Fiesta del Mejillón (Mussel party) in Vigo, happening in September. In the same month, there is a party dedicated to seafood at the harbor in Vigo and another celebrating the best seafood cuisine at Bouzas quarter.

2. - Appetizers time

Visitar Vigo es una excelente oportunidad para disfrutar de un ritual inevitables como el aperitivo de tapas y cañas a los que los vigueses tienen una férrea devoción, especialmente los sábados y domingos por la mañana: el paseo y el aperitivo de antes de comer.

One of the most famous places to take an appetizer is the Don Gregorio café. The tables are full of icing must (mosto con guinda), which is what everyone orders here.

You can also go for an aperitif to Puerta del Sol or anywhere at Plaza Constitución and its surrounding.

3. - Terraces in Vigo

The people from Vigo are always aware of the weather to go to pleasant terraces when the sun shines. It is always a great pleasure in this city.

One of the nicest terraces are Grettel (Plaza de la Constitución, 10), right in the old historic quarter of the city, where you can enjoy a refreshing drink under the stone porch.

You can also sit at the terrace in Detrás do Marco (C/Londres), a bit hidden by the Principe street, to relax a bit, away from the crowd in she shopping area.

4. -Come up to a Furancho

Furanchos are venues or private homes in which buy excess wine or try on the spot accompanied by a good home cooked meal. Usually, served with tortillas, empanadas, meats, sausages and cheeses in a family atmosphere at a great price.In the area of Vigo ther is over a dozen to choose , in which attention is always exquisite!.

5. - And when night falls…

The best option is to visit one of the modern pubs and terraces in the city. For example, Albatros is a cozy and modern place with a nice view by the estuary. You can find it at the rebuilt seaport.

A place well worth discovering! Check out our flights here.

By Laura Conde

You have three days off, and some money saved up. You’ve already visited the major European capitals and, although you would love to return to London or Paris, you just can’t afford to pay €4 for a cup of coffee right now. What to do then? Book a flight to Munich? We’re here to help and to answer your question. We took a flight to Munich to spend three days discovering the wonders of the third largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg, the capital of Bavaria, where people say goodbye with a cheerful “ciao”, have beer and sausages for breakfast, and worship both Guardiola and Duke William IV, who back in 1516 passed a law that would change the course of German history – the so-called Purity Law – which established that only water, hops, yeast and malt could be used to make beer. Why did he do that? Apparently, William IV was losing many of his subjects because they were drinking lethal homemade beer that contained all kinds of preservatives.

Drinking beer, as we can see at Oktoberfest, has always been and always will be a deeply-rooted tradition in Munich, which is one of the cities where the popular biergarten (beer gardens) appeared: they are outdoor gardens with long tables to share, and Bavarian music playing in the background; places where you can bring food and spend all day drinking beer. When the weather is fine, the biergarten fill with locals and tourists, but they are usually closed in winter. Beer lovers must come to the city during the Starkbierfest, the so-called “strong beer festival”, from 21 March to 6 April. It’s a kind of Oktoberfest, not as busy but just as fun, when the locals take to the streets with the same purpose in mind: to drink lots of beer!

Another famous William in the history of Bavaria was William V of Wittelsbach, whose huge wedding celebration was unique in the city, and it led to the creation of one of Munich’s largest attractions: the famous Glockenspiel in the Town Hall, which can be seen twice a day and is a really interesting event. That festive spirit from 16th century Munich, where everyone stopped working in order to devote themselves to that wedding, is still pleasantly alive today, in a beautiful and surprisingly lively city, where the locals are kind and cheerful. We walked through the city’s historic quarter, the trendy neighbourhoods and those new districts that are enjoying a boom thanks to the gentrification that increasingly affects the outskirts of wealthy cities, and we found what we think are Munich’s 15 hot spots. And after this, you won’t need to think twice: You have to go!

THE TRENDY MUNICH

1. Brunch at Cotidiano

In Gärtnerplatz, the trendy area in Munich par excellence, and one of the most bustling areas in the city, we can find this busy place, which is ideal for Sundaybrunch or just to spend the afternoon enjoying a large mug of coffee (which is actually served in a bowl!), and taste one of the sandwiches, homemade cakes or salads. Other things not to be missed in the square include the range of salads and other dishes that are available, which look absolutely delicious. The large window that looks onto the street is delightful on sunny days, which are unfortunately not very common in winter. But that’s part of Munich’s charm. There is no Wi-Fi in the café.
Gärtnerplatz 6

2. A stop to shop for clothes at Kauf Dich Glücklich.

Very close to Cotidiano we find a very interesting shop selling men’s and women’s clothes. Inside there is a small bar where they serve coffee. Outside there is a sort of terrace with a few recycled tables and chairs, and this shop is the ideal place to stop and purchase sophisticated, urban, stylish and affordable clothes.
Oderberger Straße 44

3. XXL cake at Kochspielhaus.

The size of absolutely everything in this café in the centre is incredible. Their idea of a portion is nothing like ours, so tourists who like to eat well will not be disappointed. Kochspielhaus, however, is not one of those tacky places where they serve huge portions of food and people talk in a loud voice: it’s a beautiful café, with impeccable decor, similar to Cotidiano, with a bakery inside. It’s full of young professionals, many of them accompanied by their dogs (if there’s a city that’s dog friendly, it’s Munich), where everything is gorgeous as well as huge. When you walk in, you find a selection of large and delicious cakes, that you can combine with an enormous latte, or a gigantic glass of fruit juice. The café is covered in wood and is a must if you want to discover the coolest side of Munich.
Rumfordstraße 5

4. Italian dinner in Sarfati.

We weren’t sure about visiting an Italian restaurant because after all, we are in Munich, and here people have beer and sausages for breakfast (we’ve seen it with our own eyes), and when you’re really hungry you can have pork knuckles. But there is such a strong Italian influence in this Bavarian city that you wouldn’t think that this colourful restaurant, Sarfati, situated in the hipster part of Munich, is an international restaurant. Many people in Munich speak Italian and any restaurant in any neighbourhood includes Italian dishes on the menu – tiramisu, salads or pasta, for example. In this context we find this restaurant/wineshop that puts a lot of work into its pasta dishes: all the ingredients come from Italy (you should order “burrata” if it’s on the menu), the pasta is handmade with excellent raw materials, and there is an interesting selection of wines. The house wine, an Italian Asinoi, is delicious. And you can eat excellent food for €25 each.
Kazmairstraße 28

5. Any time of day at Café Marais.

This is probably our favourite restaurant in Munich, both for the quality of a simple and delicious menu that is available all day, and for the fairy-tale decor, in a small area surrounded by small and charming boutiques selling clothes by local designers. It’s not very far from Sarfati, and it’s a friendly café with large cakes and tables to share, full of vintage details and an authentic atmosphere between retro and naive. Looking out the window while it snows outside is an amazing experience. Bear in mind that there is no Wi-Fi here.
Parkstraße 2

6. Brenner, Germany’s largest indoor grill.

As we were saying, the Mediterranean influence in general, and Italian especially, is ever-present in Munich. We can see this in one of the fashionable restaurants in the city: Brenner. It’s a large and busy restaurant situated in an old stable, and the average price on the menu is less than €25, while it is sophisticated and stylish. Mediterranean-style cuisine with a clear Italian influence and interpretations of traditional German dishes is what we find in a restaurant where you have to order meat, which is served with vegetables, and is cooked instantly on the largest indoor grill in Germany. They offer a wide selection of cakes, perfect for the sweet-toothed. There is no Wi-Fi, either.
Maximilianstraße 15

7. A coffee with the children at San Francisco Coffee Company.

It’s a very pleasant café chain, and we chose the one that is next to the amazing Verkehrszentrum, the transport museum, to stop for a drink, and at last! – we were able to use their Wi-Fi and boast a bit about our trip on Instagram (there aren’t many restaurants with Wi-Fi in Munich). Delicious coffee and cakes in a modern, attractive and child-friendly place – it was full of families with children, and there was even a play area.
Check where the cafés are at: www.sfcc.de

THE TRADITIONAL MUNICH

8. A litre of beer at Hofbräuhaus

This is a very interesting place: Hofbräuhaus. Don’t leave the city without coming here. It’s a large brewery, established in 1589 by… guess who? Yes, William V, the same man whose wedding lasted one whole week and produced the Glockenspiel in the Town Hall. This place is a paradise for tourists, a large temple of beer, served by the litre and drunk like water, while eating an XXL pork knuckle with potato dumpling at 5 pm. Hofbräuhaus is like Munich’s version of “Cheers”. It’s a place full of interesting characters, ranging from large blond men with bushy moustaches, wearing the typical Bavarian costume, to waitresses wearing the same traditional costumes. Look out for one thing: the knot on their dresses. If it’s on the right, they are married; if it’s on the left, they are single; and if it’s at the back, they are widows.
Platzl 9

9. Bavarian dinner at Augustiner.

One of the most popular beers in Munich, also known as the champagne of beers, has been brewed since the 14th century in a monastery in the city centre. It has an amazing restaurant where you can taste high quality Bavarian food for dinner, in an equally traditional setting, but less informal than the previous brewery and also less touristy. Although they serve a large range of Bavarian dishes, we also find international cuisine.
Neuhaustraße 27

10. Wasabi cheese (and more) at the Viktualienmarkt biergarten.

The Viktualienmarkt is one of Munich’s hot spots and it is worth flying to the city just to see this place. It’s an enormous outdoor market selling fresh produce and top quality food, and in summer a biergarten is set up here, which is very popular with the locals, who usually buy food at the market and eat it at the biergarten, washed down with a large beer. Although the biergarten is only set up in summer, the market is open all year round. As well as the outdoor market, the Viktualienmarkt has a large indoor area full of fresh produce where we can find many shops and food stalls.
Viktualienmarkt 3

11.Souvenirs from the Milka shop.

In the indoor market – where we don’t recommend stopping to eat, although everything there looks delicious, we can guarantee – we find one of the most popular souvenir shops in the city: the Milka shop. When we got to the till, a friendly shop assistant, in perfect Italian, convinced us to leave behind some badges we were going to buy, telling us they were too expensive and that why would you spend all that money on them (“troppo caro, amici”). It was probably just then, or maybe just before, that we fell in love with this place full of all kinds of interesting objects, from Milka-purple Bavarian dresses to slippers, chocolates, or one of our favourites: a 4.5 kg Toblerone!
Viktualienmarkt 15.

12. Beer by the litre at Oktoberfest.

It happens once a year but you remember it for the next eleven months. Marquees are erected next to the river, offering many places to enjoy beer exclusively, which is apparently drunk by the litre. Everyone in Munich, together with a large amount of visitors, takes to the streets to enjoy the pleasure of drinking beer: families with children, elderly couples, groups of students, businessmen, etc. It starts off early in the morning, so by midday the merriment is at its height in every corner of the city, the shy become bold and people strike up friendships that will last at least until the end of Oktoberfest.

13. The spring Oktoberfest: Starkbierfest.

Two weeks to celebrate strong beer, in several places in Munich, which locals usually call “Oktoberfest with no tourists”. The main venue for the festival, boasting plenty of beer and Bavarian music, is Paulaner, a brewery in Nockherberg, where apparently the first starkbier (strong beer) was made, called Salvator, which helped monks to endure their partial fast during Lent.

ART & SNACKS

14. Ella.

In the modern art museum, the Lenbachhaus, situated in the so-called “art district” with all the most important museums, we find a beautiful café with large windows that serves international food, especially Italian. It’s worth visiting just to take a photo next to its attractive seventies-style sign, although we do recommend visiting its collection of paintings by 18th and 19th century Munich-born artists, too. There’s more to it than just food!
Luisenstraße 33

WITH A MICHELIN

15. Star-quality traditional dinner at Pfistermühle.

Munich has several restaurants with a Michelin star. Some of them serve international cuisine, like the interesting and prestigious Japanese restaurant, Toshi, but we decided to stop at Pfistermühle, situated in an old 16th century ducal mill, to taste star-quality food, for less than €60. It’s right in the city centre and in fairy-tale surroundings, and especially offers interpretations of Bavarian specialities.
Pfisterstraße 4

AND MORE

Staying at the Schiller 5.

We chose this 4-star hotel in the centre for several reasons: it’s close to the station, which makes it easier to get to the airport; five minutes from the Marienplatz square, also in the centre; and in an area full of hotels, so there were restaurants open all the time, and all kinds of services in general. The hotel is sober, modern and comfortable, with a kitchen in the room, and the owner, a friendly elderly gentleman, goes round the tables at breakfast to ask guests if they are happy at his hotel.
Schillerstraße 5

A must (especially with the children): Deutsches Museum

Apart from all our food recommendations, we advise you to visit the most popular museum in Germany. The best way to get there is by walking along the river, which has a good place for swimming, very busy in the summer. It’s one of the most important science and technology museums in Europe, and has a section on transport (ships, aeroplanes and all kinds of motorised contraptions), space, musical instruments, ceramics, pharmacy, metal, physics, etc. We would need about eight days to visit it all! A good place to have a cup of coffee is the café inside the shop.
Museumsinsel 1

Makes you want to go, right? Do it! Check out our prices here!

Fuerteventura’s cuisine is as contrasted as their landscapes. A cuisine based on simple but very tasty products with a culinary tradition that goes back centuries. It has taken advantage like no other the agricultural and livestock resources and has preserved the traditions for processing. It is the case of "gofio amasado", the diet of the ancient inhabitants of the island that has been developed with flour from grain toast from long ago.

The typical dishes are the papas arrugadas (wrinkled potatoes)-a variety smaller than the common boiled with salt until the skin is wrinkled-, and served with a spicy sauce called Mojo. The word comes from the Portuguese molho, which means just gravy. There are generally two types of mojo: green prepared with green pepper and that is usually accompanies fish and the red mojo, with paprika that gives meat flavor.

The Majorero Cheese is elaborated in Fuerteventura, one of the most popular cheeses everywhere because of its very aromatic milk fat that majorera goats produce roaming freely around the fields.

Between the products of the land stands out the majorero tomato, grown with care in a fertile land with volcanic stones, which give an intense flavor and a great consistency and color.

But its flagship product comes from the sea. The fish is prepared in Fuerteventura in every conceivable ways: fried, roasted, sauteed or cooked and in classic recipes such as the Sancorcho, that you definitely have to try if you visit the island.

The commitment to sustainable fisheries has been successful and has allowed the proliferation of many species. Some typical are the amberjack, the dentex, the red fula , the “morena” or red pomfret, that you'll find really fresh in their restaurants.

To have a good meal in Fuerteventura, you should get away from the tourist areas and into the island. In small towns of the interior, it is still possible to find places to try truly traditional food.

To have a good meal in Fuerteventura, you should get away from the tourist areas and into the island. In small towns of the interior, it is still possible to find places to try truly traditional food.

Casa Isaítas
Calle Guize 7, Pájara
www.casaisaitas.com

Great majorera cuisine based in fresh and seasonal products. Try the local cheese, salads with products from the garden, the grilled cheese with green mojo, goat meat with sauce or a version of a dish, as it is the Ropa Vieja, but vegetarian to please everyone. To have between stone walls or in its interior and enjoy the best majorero environment.

Restaurante la Playita
Muelle Chico, La Oliva

From the sea to the stove. This area is rich in fish and at the Playita Restaurant they prepare them great. Try "la cabrita", deeply fried with good oil and from wich you can eat everything from the head and bones. And with stunning views to the sea as it is practically on the sand of the beach.

Casa Santa María
Plaza de Santa María, Betancuria

A farmhouse from the XVII century now restored and converted into a restaurant that has been awarded as the most beautiful of the island. In the historical center of Betancuria you will find this cuisine that blends traditional and experimental. Try the house specialty, the roasted kid.

Casa del Queso
Betancuria

There is also an ideal place for a quick stop and to try some of the specialties of the island in Betacuria. The Cheese House is a small venue that is located off Betancuria on the way to Pajara where you can taste the cheeses that are made in the village. If you're interested, they will explain the features of each, and if you want to take a piece home, they will vacuum pack it for you.

Picture mojo verde by Abhay Kumar | Mojo rojo by Fernando Carmona Gonzalez | Sancorcho by Canario1

A place well worth discovering! Check out our flights here.