Café Kursaal — Restaurant in San Sebastián

San Sebastián is an extremely restaurant-dense & food focused town. The old town area has some good pintxos spots, but the selection is overwhelming & many of the options are underwhelming & over-priced. We had dinner at Kursaal Cafe on a friend’s recommendation. It was such a welcome change after many of the above described pintxos experiences. The owner is Mexican but has lived in Spain for many years. The food is authentic, creative, and high-end Mexican with Spanish influences. The cocktails are very creative and really delicious. Kursaal serves many more locals than tourists but they are very friendly to both as they are located just over the walking bridge from the old town & commercial districts of San Sebastián. Our hotel was in the old town area & the total walk to the restaurant was about 15 minutes. We loved the restaurant, food & service. We found it to be a wonderfully authentic example of the international culinary and cultural influences present in...

Fantastic spot! We found this place through the Pintxos app, and they really went above and beyond. Despite being fully booked, they managed to squeeze us in with a time frame that worked for everyone. This place has a buzzing Mexican vibe—fun, vibrant decor, and a colourful energy that really pulls you in.

The service was friendly and full of energy, clearly a team that loves what they do. The nachos (we had the pork) were incredible, and at one point, I found myself wondering if I'd ever actually had nachos done properly before. And the margaritas? Probably the best I've had, leaving me questioning whether I'd even experienced a real margarita until now! Tried a mix of their pintxos—solid for fans of Mexican flavours. Personally, it’s not my go-to cuisine, but the rest of my group was thoroughly impressed. I’d happily return for those nachos and margaritas alone! In fact, going again...

Apparently the taco craze has exploded in San Sebastián recently, but Cafe Kursaal was the first in town. Chef Juan is from Mexico City originally but has firm roots in San Sebastián as well. The tacos are outstanding, he sources hard to find ingredients straight from Mexico and they have a charcoal burning oven, which adds an incredible depth of flavor to the dishes. In addition to several outstanding tapas options, they also have a full menu and ample seating, as well as some classic bar-top pintxos. The chef is there behind the bar and is more than happy to geek out about tacos and Mexican ingredients (thanks for putting up with me, chef!) The service is excellent all around, and they even have some great mezcals at the bar, which are virtually impossible to find anywhere else in Spain. Highly recommended, even if you can find...