Sadly, at this point, I'm not so sure! :(
Nonetheless, I thank mikelg for bringing the issue to our attention.

But the Basques are still very, very welcoming to tourists, or at least that has been my experience. Let's compare this to Japan, where there are many well-regarded sushi restaurants/bars that will not even take a booking from a foreigner because we do not know the proper sushi etiquette and, heaven forbid, might dip the fish into the soy sauce the wrong way. No matter how boorishly a tourist might behave in a Donostia bar, I've never seen anything but graciousness on the part of the bar staff.

I think Cuchara de San Telmo had long tables outside the bar, which were mostly occupied by foreigners last time I passed by there. Are those for raciónes, or for tourists, or for tourists having raciónes??

Ah yes, I had forgotten about raciónes. Undoubtedly what I was eating in Pamplona. Am I allowed to eat those sitting down? (So true about Japan, applies to ryokans as well.)

Cuchara de San Telmo
 

The long tables outside are for anyone who wants to sit. Cuchara de San Telmo does attract a lot of tourist, but most will not enter once they see the crush of the crowd on a typical evening.

Raciones are not pintxos. Raciones are had sitting down, at a table, and sharing among several (it´d be weird to order a ración for each, they are normally ordered to the center of the table and everyone picks with a fork). There´s a difference between tapas, pintxos and raciones, it´s not the same thing :)

So. I travel solo. I have borderline hypoglycemia and I cannot defer dinner until 22:00 or 23:00. If I eat pinxtos I have to stand up to eat them AND keep fighting my way into a series of over-crowded bars, which also means more wine than I want or non-alcoholic drinks. But I can't eat raciones either because I haven't brought along a bunch of people to share. I think I'll stick to the French side of the border.

Hahaha...if you´re on your own you should have raciones just for yourself, unless you want to be the friendly visitor that invites everybody to join his table! :). You can have dinner at 0900pm in most places now, and in San Sebastian (due to the demand of tourism), many restaurants open at 8 or 0830pm. The French side of the border is more "European" in eating schedules...but also much more boring ;)

Sorry this topic stirs such controversy, but I'm still somewhat confused about pinxtos and tapas. Having been to various cities that offer tapas, I an confused whether you pay for each, or none. I recall a bar in Cordoba where the tapas were free when I ordered a beer. We sat at a table and the barkeep brought us a small plate of various tapas. We were not charged. Went to another bar where we stood at the bar, and had a couple of tapas, for which we were charged. What should we expect ? Happy to pay if we want to eat, but prefer not to offend. Any pointers ?

As another solo traveler, I must admit that I had no trouble, whatsoever, in finding delicious foods while in Spanish Basque areas. I knew the pintxos norms, and didn't want to stand in a bar by myself, so I joined a tour for a pintxos crawl in Donostia, and it was delightful! I'm not saying that's a solution for everyone, but it worked for me. For my main meals, I had no trouble finding excellent sit-down restaurants where I had a wide range of options of various portion sizes. In fact, the difficulty I had in that part of the world was choosing which of the many wonderful restaurants to visit -- and I thank mikelg and kimhe again for helping me select some excellent and affordable options.

Tapas may be free or may be not. If the bartender offers them right away, practically without asking, they are normally free. That does not happen all over Spain, for example, we don´t offer or have tapas at the Basque Country. It´s pintxos and it´s not the same thing, and always paid for. I´m spending my vacation right now in Palencia, two hours southeast of Bilbao, in Castilla y León. They are giving me some peanuts or chips with my drink, that´s all. No tapas in most bars, free or not. In the south (Granada, Seville, Jaén, Huelva...) it´s normally free tapas (something not too elaborated, off the counter), but if you ask for something specific you´ll be ordering a "ración" and it´s not free.

I always manage to be the very touristy person who shows up at the bars when they open and often snags a seat, if there are any, at the bar. Going early lets you chat with the bar staff, too. I have no problem going alone. And if I go to a restaurant, with partner or friend, I am also the one who basically opens the place. Again, better service and I get to eat as early as possible, usually 9pm, so I can go to sleep on the early side.

But I have another question: What are the times that most bars are open for pinxtos in Donostia--after noon and evening? Would this be the same in the south? (Hoping to be in Andalucia, solo, this winter).

Pintxos are normally best from 7 to 0930pm, and in the morning between around 1230 to 2pm. In Andalucía is pretty much the same, maybe even a bit later too.

In Donostia we found a wide range of tapas available for breakfast.

https://weblogs.eitb.eus/basquetouri...-not-a-racion/

;)

No doubt the author is right about pintxos, but s/he is wrong about tapas always being free.

https://www.tripsavvy.com/pintxos-pi...-tapas-1644384

I´m the author. And Mr Corrigan is not totally correct...In Seville some tapas are for free and some are not. Those not free are listed and if you don´t order any, you´ll be offered a small tapa as a courtesy. By the way, the word "pincho" or "pintxo" comes from the stick they (not all) normally come from, inserted through the food all the way to the bread below.

Mike: Besides the stick, what is the difference between tapas and pinxtos apart from the region in which they are served? I've had a tapa of foie with apple in Sevilla, for example, and I've had one in Donostia..

Current tapas and pintxos are the result of the evolution of gastronomy towards a more elaborated cuisine. When I was a kid, pintxos were much simpler than nowadays, and tapas (in other parts of Spain) were a piece of cheese, some ham, maybe meatballs or some cured meat...At present, it´s cooks that make pintxos, and also the more elaborated tapas. The Basque Country, probably the most "culinary" region in Spain, has developed a huge world around pintxos and it´s now one of our signs of distinction. Seville has always been (as Almería and Granada, for example) famous for the quality of its tapas, which originally were (and in many places still are, if simple ones) for free, but they´ve somehow adapted the tapas to the current gastronomical tendencies, and in many places they offer elaborated tapas that they offer but you have to pay for them. In any case, two very different worlds.

If you were the author you should have said so, instead of linking the post as if it were by an authority backing your argument. And you need to correct it, since, as you now say, tapas are not always free. I distinctly remember paying for tapas in Madrid in 2004 (and eating them standing up - I was younger then, lol).

I find your explanation of the difference between tapas and pintxos unhelpful. In both cases they are pieces of food served to accompany drinks - just like cicchetti in Venice. Or for that matter, bar snacks in a lot of places. Sometimes simpler, sometimes more elaborate. In Spanish Basque country you seem to have combined pintxos with the Italian passeggiata but that doesn't affect the food.

Times change and cultures change. At one time British pubs didn't serve food, or only things like Scotch eggs and pickled onions :( Then they progressed to ploughman's lunch (bread and cheese) and then things like fish and chips and stuffed baked potato. And now we have gastropubs. No doubt some old timers complain that there are proper dining tables, and the food is brought to the diner (although you still likely order at the bar) but I suspect most people find it an improvement.

Change is not always bad. Would you really want to live the way your ancestors did two hundred years ago?

Thursdaysd, in post number 14 on this thread I clearly state that the link I provide is mine. And I repeat it above with a friendly wink to another poster, as he says tapas referring to pintxos. Hope you´re happier now. And the post you brought about tapas and pintxos is not correct either...I just tried to make it easy to understand (but Spain, luckily, is very heterogenous and "tapas" are not the same thing everywhere, even within the same region) for all publics. By the way, you probably paid for raciones and not for tapas (they are offered for free in Madrid, as a general rule).

The main aim of this post was to show what locals (many) feel about the big changes that tourism is producing in the world of pintxos (and, by extension, to many other worlds). We just don´t like it, and that´s why some people have done a video to show foreigners how to do it properly, or at least "the local way". That´s it, we have the right not to like changes and to protest and to do things to help people understand how things are done. Not everything is acceptable always, anywhere, just because things are "evolving". And evolving does not always mean "improvement", at least not in this case. Do as you like, eat as you want...but it´ll be the wrong way according to our standards. As easy as that.

But I still don't understand how the foie pinxto in Donostia is different than the foie tapa in Seville. I'm not talking about the custom or tradition and not talking about free tapas. I mean just the hot foie on a plate.

I did order tapas in Seville, not raciónes, cause all the blackboard showed the prices for both these sizes. I liked this place (there was only one, at a different location) when I was there about 6 years ago; you can see the prices for various sizes of portion.

LA AZOTEA SEVILLA | Restaurante Calle Zaragoza

It is unreasonable to expect that someone clicking on a link in post 54 will notice that it is the same as a link they may or may not have clicked on five days earlier (and remember who the author was if they did click on it). Plus a number of readers don't read every post. The attribution should have been given.

I entirely agree that mass tourism is a scourge. (But do you not make your living from tourism?) However, I still fail to see how me sitting down to eat two raciones keeps you from standing up and eating one pintxos. Perhaps you should be addressing your concerns to the bar owners, not to a handful of independent travelers, if you object to the provision of tables and plates.

Ekscrunchy, there are two types of pintxos in San Sebastian and other parts of the Basque Country: cold ones from the counter (some have to be reheated) and hot ones made on order. The counter in San Sebastian will be full of cold pintxos and there´ll be a board showing those that can be ordered hot. Size matters here, and they are eaten (normally) with a fork and a knife. In Seville there won´t be pintxos on the counter, and they offer three different sizes (size!) of the same thing: tapa (small one), media (half) and ración (a big one, normally to share). In SS you´ll only be offered a pintxo, not other sizes. And yes, I agree, they´ll look very similar, but in Seville they call tapa (when it costs money) to the small portion of a ración (it´s common to hear the bartender asking "¿Tapa o ración?"). In the same way, you´ll get a free tapa of something simpler if you just order a drink. Kind of complicated, I know :)

thursdaysd, as we say in Spain, and regarding my post on pintxos and tapas, you get the last dime (meaning "yes, ok, fine, whatever", I just don´t understand why I should apologize or give more explanations when I´ve already said it, it´d be redundant or pretentious to say again that it´s my post). Regarding mass tourism, it´s quite far from my personal and business interests, I prefer to live in and show a land that has not been yet discovered by mass tourism (if we exclude SS in certain times of the year, and even so it´s very far from being a tourist resort as in the Mediterranean, for example). The difference is that, normally, you will not be offered raciones in many places in the Basque Country and you´ll be offered pintxos. In those places offering raciones, you´ll sit down, yes. For raciones. For pintxos, locals prefer to have them standing. Visitors can do their own way, of course. And regarding bar owners, I´ve had endless discussions with bartenders objecting to the plate and leaving the bar (even when working with visitors). If I show the local way, I show the local way.

Speaking now of txuletas, or maybe spelling is wrong. Sorry for that.

Asador San Martin in Orio? I saved that on my reading list..should it remain there as a place to visit in the future? Thank you, Mike!!

Can´t be of help, haven´t been to it! But Xixario and Katxiña are among my favorites in Orio!

And, almost 1 1/2 year later, this is what´s going on...
 

As a local involved in tourism in the Basque Country, and considering that this region of Spain has been vastly ignored by tourism until very recently, I´ve noticed a few changes this year:

- More and more menus written in English (which will be considered very practical by many).
- Locals fleeing from the old quarter during high season, some bars (i.e. La Viña in San Sebastian for its famous cheesecake, only foreigners now)
- Prices going up in the touristy areas, still cheap for many visitors coming from more affluent countries, but starting to be kind of expensive for locals.
- Michelin starred restaurants (we have the highest concentration of these restaurants in the world, in relation to our size) just for visitors
- A few Basque bars have started to offer meals and drinks that are not Basque at all (i.e., paella and sangría, the latter mainly only for tourists all over Spain), but are associated with the standard idea of Spain in many countries. Business is business, but the faces of deception of diners are big, as quality is obviously not good.
- Dinner and lunch times are adapting to the rest of the world, we are losing one of our singularities.
- I´ve even seen a "bailaora" (flamenco dancer) in the streets of Bilbao, so funny.
- Hotel prices have increased, new hotels are opened every year.
- Plenty of "free" tours, everywhere.
- And pintxos becoming the main meal for many visitors (a lost battle :):))
- And sadly, more crime in some areas, attracted by the increase in the number of visitors, robbing (mainly) mobile phones seems to become more frequent...(no violence in any case, though)

In any case, it´s always good news to see that your country attracts the interest of so many!

Thanks for the update, mikegl. We are headed back to Donostia this spring for at least a week and very much looking forward to it.

As an aside I will just say that as much as I love to eat, and adore pintxos, there is no way I can ever eat a meal after devouring a couple of them. And I'm certainly no expert, but there is no way I'd ever order paella or sangria in the Pays Basque, or seek out flamenco dancer.

Hoping to spend more time in Bilbao on this next trip.

Well, not really, so far the Basque Country does not live on mass touristm and it stays quite "virgin" in a vast majority of places. But I see changes and I just wanted to make them public, as I´m very aware of how thing change so fast.

I think it a sad irony that people who want to visit places to experience their unique elements so often end up undermining what is actually unique, while bolstering the influence of homogenizing forces. I'm glad I saw San Sebastian / Donostia (and other parts of the region) when I did. Thanks for the update, mikel.

It happens everywhere. Amsterdam and bar snacks: same.

Interesting! I hadn't thought the significance of bar snacks to Amsterdam's culture commensurate with the significance of pintxos to Basque culture (or San Sebastian / Donostia specificially), nor had I thought the changes to Amsterdam's culture that have been brought on by tourism (as devastating as the impact of tourism has been there) commensurate with the changes to Basque culture that mikelg describes. My limited understanding has been that most of the changes in Amsterdam have been the consequence of the number of tourists per se, rather than actual changes to the culture. What Mikel described seemed to me to involve actual changes in the cultural experience -- when meals are served, what foods are served, what entertainment is offered, etc. -- and all in a context where culinary experience has been a particularly important unique distinguishing feature. But I readily admit that I'm not in a position to understand. I'm curious and would be interested in learning more, but I don't want to derail Mikel's thread.

"I think it a sad irony that people who want to visit places to experience their unique elements so often end up undermining what is actually unique, while bolstering the influence of homogenizing forces."

The inevitable effects of mass tourism.

Just like immgration. A small amount of immigrants may enrich your country, but mass immigration will destroy your culture on the long run.

It may help to resist, buy being proud of your traditions and not altering it for the sake of tourists or immigrants. This is the way we eat pintxos here, if you don't like it go to the McDonalds. or We like to eat pork in this country and if you're offended by this go home.

I can understanding being proud of your traditions but in the end, resistance is futile. You can't engineer culture. It evolves how it evolves. We have airplanes. We have the internet. We have a million TV channels from all over the world. We have Youtube.

Three or four years ago it would have been very unusual to hear meetings or business calls start off with "Hey guys..." in the UK. Youtube has changed that. Too bad. That's life. Get used to "hey guys" (and the next 'hey guys' and the next...) or go live somewhere that's insulated from global culture. North Korea, anyone?

I don't mean as snippy. just making the point.

I should also maybe mention the effect of tourism in San Juan de Gaztelugatxe (a.k.a. known by many visitors as Dragonstone, if you´re a follower of Game of Thrones, and formerly one of my favorite places). What was previously a beautiful, unspoilt place in a protected natural area is now overriden by buses and cars and people, that mainly visit this so symbolic place for us Basques as it was one of the main places in season 7 of GOT. The meaning and symbolism of the place is lost, in spring and summer there´s a compulsory (free) ticket to climb the steps to the church, and traffic restrictions have been applied. There´s currently a project for a new parking in the area, heavily protested by many, organized now in a "SOS Gaztelugatxe" community.

While tourism is always welcome, it must also mean a respect and an understanding of the places to be visited. We have to learn a lesson here...the Basque area never was a major tourist destination and becoming a "trendy" place has its consequences.

"There´s currently a project for a new parking in the area, heavily protested by many, organized now in a "SOS Gaztelugatxe" community."

Good luck, my friend!

It should be a no brainer to anyone(other than politicians and the construction mafia) that money is better spent on a good public transport link than on covering a huge plot of land with asphalt. A bus can take 50-100 people and turn around immediately, compare that with parking place for 50 cars.

One of the quirky things about tourism is that it inevitably ends up reversing on itself. People start flocking to someplace and turn it into a theme park and the locals all jump on the bandwagon because there's a ton of money to be made, and meanwhile everyone is bemoaning the loss of their heritage and traditions, but they turn their traditions into money-making enterprises - come to the Périgord and feed the geese, learn to make honey, take a cooking class or paint on the banks of the Vézère, learn to knit like the old women of Belvès, gather walnuts and chestnuts and hunt for truffles, bla bla bla...yes, it's trendy and isn't it wonderful that people can partake in all this? I suppose so, and I'm sure all of them have wonderful holidays here, but I really don't think there's much respect involved. Or even much knowledge about the history other than superficialities.

And to add to mikelg's listing of the recent effects of mass tourism to the Basque Country, there's the San Sebastián Old Quarter "Pintxo Gate", reported by Marti Buckley (author of the new cookbook, The Basque Country) in the Telegraph.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/d...e-than-locals/

The 60-year old, much loved bar/restaurant Cueva on Plaza Trinidad must close on January 20, as the building has been sold to the Beti Jai/Nagusia Lautrec group, mentioned above, to build a new hotel.

Article about this "Pintxo Gate" in Spanish here if you're able to access it (may be behind a pay wall)*
https://www.diariovasco.com/gipuzkoa...200958-nt.html

One problem with generalizations is that they are, well, generalizations. The people who turn a place into a theme park (or cruise ship destination or whatever) and who reap the vast majority of the financial benefits of so doing aren't necessarily the same people who are most deeply affected by those decisions and who bemoan their loss of heritage and traditions. Those people may have no choice but to try (at least) to turn their traditions into money-making enterprises -- and they shouldn't necessarily bear the blame for a process they may have opposed from the start.