La Viña — Restaurant in San Sebastián

Avoid at all costs. If I could leave a negative star rating, I would. I’ve visited San Sebastián twice now and absolutely love the city—friendly people, amazing food, and warm hospitality everywhere… except here. This was hands down the worst experience I’ve ever had in a restaurant.

We had heard great things about local spots from Spanish chefs and had nothing but wonderful experiences until we came across this place, which had been mentioned in a few blogs. Unfortunately, we didn’t check reviews first—big mistake.

When we arrived, we asked at the bar if they served steak, like the smaller tapas style portions we’d had in every other bar. They said yes, so we ordered two glasses of Rioja and planned to stand by the bar area. The bar was busy, and the bartender ushered us quickly into the back dining area with tablecloths and tried to put down a bottle of wine.

Within seconds, we realized something was off. My partner went back to clarify, and we were told the steak was an 800g cut and had to be eaten as prepared. We immediately said that’s not what we meant—we had been expecting a small dish. What followed was surreal and quite scary to be honest.

An older man with glasses (possibly the owner) suddenly began screaming at us. He physically shoved both me (a 5’1” woman - into the wall) and my partner, trapping us in a narrow space near the kitchen. We were not allowed to leave. I repeatedly asked for someone who spoke English, but he just kept yelling “NO!” in our faces. He forced the chef and his other staff—who looked visibly uncomfortable—to bring out a steak that had somehow increased in size and price. There’s no way a 900g T-bone was fully cooked in around 30 seconds.

Thankfully, a very nice younger waiter with an earring stepped in and tried to mediate. He translated and attempted to calm things down while the older man continued to shout in our faces and push us into the kitchen.

As tourists in a foreign country and reasonable people, we felt very unsafe indeed and decided to just ask to pay for something—even though we never even touched a drop of wine or food—we just wanted to leave as the owner was so aggressive at one point that two younger staff members were trying to hold him back. To say this person has anger issues is a huge understatement.

I’ve never encountered such aggressive behavior in any public setting, let alone a restaurant. I sincerely hope no one else has to go through what we did. It is completely unacceptable to try and take advantage of customers/tourists and it is all together something worse to feel that you have so much power that you can physically lay your hands on other people.

Please, do yourself a favor and consider the above before deciding to support such an...

We absolutely loved this restaurant. We showed up for lunch at 14:30 and the bar was packed 3-deep with folks enjoying their famous pintxos (Basque tapas) and drinks. Everyone eats standing up in the local pintxos bars. Many others were enjoying pintxos and the uber popular tarta de queso (cheesecake) outside the restaurant in the street. The same was true for most if not all tapas bars: people ate standing up inside crowded bars or in the street. Great atmosphere, very lively, just a happy place 😄

My parents could not eat standing up and it was too packed anyway but they have a small dining room in the back. We were able to get a table for 4 but one must order at least one dish per person from their menu in order to also order pintxos in the restaurant dining room(whether an appetizer or meat or fish entree). I had the meatballs in a tomatoe sauce while my wife and parents had the fish soup, which they all loved and thought was very authentic and excellent. We then ordered a bunch of different pintxos, which were all excellent as well all Made with fresh ingredients . My wife loved the stuffed mussel in particular The highlight of the meal for me was their signature tarta, it’s not like any cheesecake I’ve had in the U.S. anywhere. It’s far better, but also less dense, just lighter to eat. The outside is brown but not hard, almost like a crème brulee and the interior is so so so creamy. It’s hard to explain but it’s top notch. One order came with two pieces. I’ll got back next year for sure. Within minutes of us sitting down at a table, the rest of the small dinning room filled up (maybe 7-8 tables ). Folks eat late there so best to either book a table ahead or get there prior to folks’ usual lunch and dinner times. They do have the tarta to go if that’s all you want and can take it to eat by the nearby harbor and beach for example. Finally service was good, the gentleman who served us was very attentive, smiling and overall very pleasant, he spoke French and English too. Our bill came to about $135 all-in for four people including four dishes, multiple tapas, 3 orders of the tarta, 2 bottled water and even a bottle of rose wine. Thanks what we’d spend in the U.S. for two for decent dinner with wine and dessert before tip. And it’s not comparable. Just much tastier and I presume better ingredients.

It’s definitely a place to try for authentic fresh basque cuisine and their outstanding tarta de queso. There are a ton and I do mean a ton of pintxos bars in the old San Sebastián with a very lively atmosphere too but this one was recommended to us by a Spanish acquaintance of my dad. It didn’t disappoint at all 😄 though I’m sure there many other...

As I made my way to the quaint bakery in San Sebastián, my anticipation for the "best cheesecake in town" was palpable. I had heard that this dessert was not only a local favorite, but that it could even rival the famous New York-style cheesecake. The thought of sinking my teeth into a creamy slice of heaven was almost too much to bear.

When the cheesecake arrived at my table, my mouth watered with anticipation. I could see the creamy filling peeking out from beneath a delicate crust. The aroma of vanilla and butter wafted up from the plate, and my expectations soared.

But as I took my first bite, disappointment set in. Something was off. Like when you accidentally trust a fart. The texture was akin to warm cheese, not light and fluffy like I had hoped. The flavor was lacking the tangy richness that makes a great cheesecake.

I couldn't believe it. This was supposed to be the best cheesecake in town, or in the world, but it tasted like it had been made by someone who had never tasted a real cheesecake before. Perhaps there had been a mix-up in the kitchen, or maybe my slice was just an anomaly, an outlier from the depths of Hades. Whatever the reason, I was left feeling let down and unsatisfied.

Despite my disappointment, I couldn't deny the beautiful presentation of the dessert. The crust was perfectly crisp and golden, and the filling had a beautiful, smooth surface. But looks can be deceiving, and in this case, it was like expecting a Ferrari to be...