A gourmet guide to ordering pintxos in Spain's Basque Country

Euskadi (as the Basque Country is called in Basque), a northern Spanish region bordering France, is one of the country's great foodie regions, known throughout the world for its offerings.

The Basque Country has more Michelin Stars than any other region in Spain with a total of 226, far above number two on the list – Catalonia with 49.

The pintxo capitals of the Basque Country are its most important cities – San Sebastián, Bilbao and Vitoria-Gasteiz, but you’ll find them all over the region, even in small towns like Guernica.

What is a pintxo?

Pintxos - or pincho in Castillian Spanish spelling - are typically small pieces of bread topped with all kinds of traditional ingredients and typically held together with a wooden skewer or a long toothpick.

Although the distinction between a tapa and a pintxo isn't that clear even according to Spain's Royal Language Academy, pintxos are more likely to be served on a piece of bread or through a skewer, whereas tapas are generally a bit bigger and served on a plate to and to accompany a drink.

Pintxos can be topped with something basic like a piece of tortilla (Spanish omelette) and a green pepper, or they could go more elaborate such as paprika-sprinkled pulpo (octopus) with fried potato and a cream cheese mousse.

However, to be a pintxo, it doesn't have to be on bread, sometimes pintxos can be served in mini glass jars, small plates, tiny frying pans or even just on a skewer. Many bars will compete to see who can make the most extravagant mini meal in a pintxo, while other places will keep it simple. 

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There are so many different types of pintxos, each bar has its own specialities, but you’ll find many repeated throughout the region.

There are many containing cod (bacalao) in particular as it’s a Basque favourite. You'll also find several with fried mushrooms, dripping in garlic butter, stacked on top of one another.

One classic pintxo that you’ll find everywhere is the gilda. It’s a combination of olives, pickled guindilla peppers and anchovies on a stick.

You have to try a gilda when in the Basque Country. Photo: Iñigo De la Maza / Unsplash

 

It is said that gilda was invented by Joaquín Aramburu, in San Sebastián at Casa Vallés around 1946 who named it 'Gilda', in reference to the character from the film of the same name starring actress Rita Hayworth (who was actually half Spanish). In reality, these three ingredients were put together before this but hadn’t been dubbed the ‘gilda’.

Like in the rest of Spain, you won’t find many vegetarian options. However, most bars have a couple to choose from. If you don’t see any, simply ask and many places will be able to make you something. These may not be the most typical ones ordered by the Basques, but many still have traditional ingredients such as Idiazabal cheese – a Basque speciality.

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Pintxos are typically laid out on top of the bar so you can see exactly what they have. Sometimes they’ll be labelled so you can see what they contain, but other times you’ll have to ask or just go for what looks good.

You don't automatically get a complimentary pintxo with a drink in the Basque Country. (Photo by GERARD JULIEN / AFP)

 

Ordering pintxos

When it comes to ordering, firstly, there’s no table service in most bars in the Basque Country so you’ll have to get good a wiggling your way up to the bar to get served. It’s not always easy as there’s no orderly queuing system and people will often push in front.

Pintxos are almost always paired with a drink, which you should order first. Typically, this would be a glass of tinto (red) Rioja wine, a local white txakoli (Basque wine) a beer or even a Basque cider (sidra).

Remember, there is also usually a list of hot pintxos which you can order separately. They’re typically made to order and are slightly more expensive than the ones are the bar, but will often be fresher and slightly bigger too. Many locals will do a combination of choosing some from the bar and then ordering a few extras from the hot menu.  

Pintxos are never given free with your drink like tapas are in Granada or Almería. You will typically be paying €2-€3.50 for each pintxo and slightly more for hot pintxos.

READ ALSO: Where can you get free tapas in Spain?

Not every pintxo is served on a piece of bread or held together with a skewer. (Photo by PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU / AFP)

 

It used to be that you’d ask for the pintxos you want and keep on going up for more until you were done. Someone would then come and count how many sticks were left on your plate and charge you accordingly.

In the last couple of years, however, that isn’t so common. Now it’s more likely that you’ll order and pay for the pintxos at the same time or you’ll order the pintxos and the person at the bar will keep a record of what you have, so you’ll receive an accurate bill at the end.

Basque pintxos bars don’t usually close their kitchens between lunch and dinner. They’ll stay open and you can usually stop for a snack at any time of day. Many of them are even open in the morning and a pintxo with a cup of coffee (or even a glass of wine) is a perfectly acceptable Basque breakfast. This may be a pintxo de tortilla, for example.

Remember that pintxo bars generally tend to close earlier than other bars in Spain.

You’ll find many close around 10:30pm on weekdays and slightly longer on weekends, even in busy areas such as the Casco Viejo neighbourhood of Bilbao.

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