Right in the city center of the most famous Basque city – Donostia / San Sebastián – sits La Cepa de Bernardo, a traditional restaurant originally started in 1948, featuring local ingredients like spider crab (Txangurro) and hake cheeks (Kokotxas).
We’ve been to La Cepa de Bernardo in Donostia / San Sebastián several times, over a span of years and it never disappointed. More than that, it might be our favourite restaurant in Spain, so far. The level of quality they offer through the ingredients and the cooking technique is among the highest we tried.
Like most places in Donostia / San Sebastián, La Cepa de Bernardo has a bar area where people go in for a quick bite and order pintxos, while also ofering a sit down area, where you can get full portions from the kitchen.
Both areas offer delicious food and have great atmosphere. You’d hear more locals than tourists, people talking about their day, laughing and enjoying their meal. The service is fantastic: quick and knowledgeable.
About La Cepa de Bernardo
- Location: 31 de Agosto Kalea, 7, Donostia / San Sebastián (link to Google maps)
- Phone: 943426394
- Website: http://www.barlacepa.com/
- Instagram: @lacepass
- Founded: 1948
- Chef: Bernardo Beltrán Calvo
- Style: Pintxo Bar with sit down restaurant area
- Best for: traditional Basque cooking, Jamon iberico de Jabugo and Pintxos
- One-line verdict: You’ll want to go to La Cepa de Bernardo in the city center of Donostia / San Sebastián for fantastic cold pintxos like Iberian cured meat, a variety of hot pintxos and amazing traditional Basque dishes showcasing local ingredients.
What to order
While you could just point and order anything, then enjoy a great meal – we especially loved to start with their platter of Iberian cured meats, out of which the star is the Jamon de Jabugo. It was great to share this at the bar high table, while drinking in the atmosphere.
Then we moved to the restaurant area, with white table cloth tables and menus – where we enjoyed their baked spider crab (Txangurro al horno) and Hake cheeks (Kokotxas de Merluza). To finish off, we got the Spanish version of the French toast (Torrijas) – which was also delicious.
1. Txangurro al horno – Baked Spider Crab
- Txangurro al horno is made with crab and vegetables, usually baked, served hot, and known for its creamy texture.
- This is one of the must-try tapas in Donostia / San Sebastián.
2. Kokotxas – Hake cheeks
Kokotxas are made with hake cheeks, usually slowly cooked in a clay pot, served hot and known for its delicate texture.
Kokotxas de merluza al pil pil
This is a must-try for people who want to experience an established top ingredient in the Basque Country.
Read moreWhat makes La Cepa de Bernardo worth visiting
The first time we saw La Cepa de Bernardo, we loved the traditional interior. We thought: “people must be eating really well here”. So we went in and stayed at the high table near the bar, then ordered the platter of Ibericos. And we loved everything about the experience.
The next day we came for lunch and stayed in the dining area. The menu listed so many delicious and new options for us, that it was hard to pick. Everything we got was amazing to the point that we kept talking about the experience.
Years later, we went in hoping to get a table and order that baked spider crab again. We were lucky and we were able to have an even better experience, by ordering the Hake cheeks (Kokotxas) for the first time and really enjoying them.
La Cepa de Bernardo is worth visiting because it hasn’t dropped its level of quality in the food and in the service.
How to order here
If you want to eat pintxos at La Cepa de Bernardo in Donostia / San Sebastián, you’d go to the bar and ask for what you want from the cold options displayed or from the list of hot dishes displayed on the chalkboard. You can also sit at the high tables in the bar area and the waiter would ask you what you want.
Otherwise, if you want to eat in the restaurant area and order from a menu, you’d go in and ask the waiter if there is a table available; then they would show you where you can sit. From there, it works like any restaurant: you order from the menu and pay at the end.
If there’s two of you, this is how you’d ask for a table: “Una mesa para dos, por favor”. Change the number based on how many of you there are.
La Cepa de Bernardo – watch our visit
Frequently asked questions
Jamon de Jabugo is an Iberian Ham produced and sold from the town of Jabugo. It is special because of the conditions it is cured: the wind, temperature and air humidity – which can’t be replicated in a different area.
You can’t book a table to get pintxos, but they take table reservations for the sit down area (link to Google maps), Phone: 943426394
