Kokotxas de merluza al pil pil from La Cepa de Bernardo are a delicacy you should try when you go to Donostia / San Sebastián. Not only because it showcases the iconic Basque ingredient of hake cheeks, but because it is prepared beautifully by this restaurant.
Quick facts about Kokotxas
- Also known as: Hake cheeks or Cocochas
- Definition: Kokotxas is a Spanish tapa made with hake cheeks, usually slowly cooked in a clay pot, served hot and known for its delicate texture.
- Where we ate it: La Cepa de Bernardo, Donostia / San Sebastián
- Context: a Basque classic, internationally renowned.
- Served: hot
- Texture: delicate, slightly gelatinous
- Flavour: savoury
- Pronunciation: koh-koh-chas
- One-line verdict: One of the must-try tapas in Donostia / San Sebastián
Why it’s worth ordering
Kokotxas de merluza al pil pil from La Cepa de Bernardo is something you want to try because hake cheeks are so iconic for Donostia / San Sebastián. This ingredient and the way it’s cooked became so popular that a lot of restaurants around the world, including the USA, started serving it in the 1960s.
It’s also a new texture to try. Discovery is part of the travel experience, so don’t be afraid to try new things.
Taste and texture
With the Kokotxas de merluza al pil pil from La Cepa de Bernardo, you can expect it to have a fish flavour. It’s not strong, and it’s delicious because it feels fresh. The point is to make the hake cheeks the star of the dish and not cover them with other flavours. They do add olive oil when they cook it and a bit of garlic, then finish it with fish stock, but the main flavour is the essential taste of hake.
In terms of texture, you should see how they cook them; they shake the fish in the pot with some olive oil until it releases the gelatin it has inside. Only once that is done, they add a bit of the stock and make an emulsion. So, when you get it at the table, you take a piece along with that sauce, and you feel how delicate everything is made to be.
You can eat it like this, or you can dip some bread in the sauce. In any case, this is a dish you share and then get something else, like the Txangurro al horno (Baked Spider Crab).
How to order it
Since this is a dish you order in the restaurant area and not the bar, it’s pretty straightforward to order it. You’ll see it on the menu, so when the waiter comes, you just say “las kokotxas, por favor”.
Watch it
Quick decision guide
You’ll like it if: you like fish
Frequently asked questions
The term refers to the ingredient: fish cheeks. It can be hake or cod. As the dish featuring this ingredient became popular, especially internationally, people started referring to “kokotxas de merluza al pil pil” simply as “kokotxas”.
But the ingredient is prepared in other ways, like breaded and fried.
Like a lot of popular dishes, the main ingredient of Kokotxas de merluza al pil pil was considered low quality – either thrown away or left for people who couldn’t afford the quality cuts. So people had to come up with a tasty way of eating them, thus trying the pil pil emulsion method.
Then somebody from the high class tried it and made it popular. Thus, restaurants and high-end establishments had to offer it, so Kokotxas became fashionable and part of the culture.
Not really. It depends on your taste, of course, but quality fresh fish has a pleasant flavour. That’s how Kokotxas de merluza al pil pil from La Cepa de Bernardo tastes.
