LA CUCHARA DE SAN TELMO We visited La Cuchara de San Telmo, San Sebastián, one of our favourite pintxo bars in the old town, tucked away in a side alley off 31 de Agosto Kalea, at the back of the historic city. It’s definitely worth seeking out, so don’t hesitate to go in, even if it’s busy. La Cuchara de San Telmo is known for its traditional Basque spoon dishes, which differ from pintxos — small portions of food often served on a slice of bread and sometimes held together w

SA TRENKA RESTAURANT We decided to take a trip up north of the Island from Sant Antoni (San Antonio) to a beach and restaurant we had not been to before. We found Sa Trenka Cala Martina Ibiza on a stunning beach: a charming, unpretentious chiringuito with a great vibe, specialising in rice dishes and seafood. The perfect ‘alternative’ Ibiza to some of the trendy, expensive places in the south of the island. We booked a table for 2 pm and then walked along the beach. Current m

I wanted to explore the traditional café bars in Sant Antoni de Portmany (San Antonio) to find out the current cost of a basic breakfast. These establishments are primarily popular with locals, along with a few tourists. We ordered the same food and drinks at each location for comparison. Zumo de naranja recién exprimido (freshly squeezed orange juice). Café con leche (coffee with milk). Tostada con tomate, aceite de oliva con sal (toast with tomato, olive oil and salt). CAFE

ANYWAY WINE BAR Mark Walsh visited Anyway Wine Bar in Málaga City, founded in 2018 by local entrepreneur David Camino after returning from working abroad to pursue his idea for a wine-centric concept in Málaga. It is a wonderfully cool place for serious wine drinkers, quite near the paseo marítimo. It’s the perfect spot for an early evening drink after work, popular with the city’s creative crowd. With over 200 wines, all served by the glass, the list is quite extraordinary

Pamplona/Iruña is the historical capital of Navarre/Navarra and was the capital of the medieval Kingdom of Navarre. In the early 16th century, Castile conquered the southern part of the kingdom and later incorporated it into the Crown of Castile. The city is famous worldwide for the running of the bulls during the San Fermín festival, which is held annually from July 6 to 14. This festival gained literary renown with the 1926 publication of Ernest Hemingway’s novel, The Sun A

CASA JULIAN In 2026, we revisited Casa Julián Tolosa, this remarkable, easily overlooked little restaurant, now famous on TV, located in the Basque countryside town of Tolosa, which is 28 km inland from San Sebastián. Tolosa is a town and municipality in the Basque province of Gipuzkoa, northern Spain. It sits in the Oria River valley, which runs through the town. When you arrive at the restaurant and step inside, you might initially feel like you’re in the wrong place. You’l

A FEW DAYS SPENT IN AND AROUND HARO IN LA RIOJA We arrived from Bilbao Airport and checked into our hotel in Haro, the splendid HOTEL LOS AGUSTINOS Calle San Agustín 2, 26200 Haro, La Rioja +34 941 31 13 08 Founded as a convent in 1373, the building has been through various guises, including: 1809 – Guarnición militar (Military garrison). 1811 – Hospital militar (Military hospital). 1839 – Cárcel (Prison). 1989 – Hotel. This beautiful building is steeped in history. It inclu

RESTAURANTE SACHA This isn’t the most straightforward restaurant in Madrid to find, even with GPS. It’s tucked away in a corner on the right-hand side of the building, set back from the street. Everything looks great: small but cosy, busy, and traditional as you enter. The restaurant opened in 1972 and was founded by Carlos Hormaechea and Pitila Mosquera. Their son, Sacha Hormaechea, now runs it, after whom the restaurant is named. It is located in a neighbourhood just north

LA RIOJA - LOGROÑO PINCHO BAR CRAWL On our recent trip to La Rioja, we decided to go on a pincho bar crawl down the famous Calle Laurel. These were our favourite bars and bites on this hectic but pleasant November evening. Our Logroño pinchos crawl took us through some of the city’s best-known traditional pinchos bars. BAR CID Travesía de Laurel, 1, 26001 Logroño, La Rioja It’s truly a hole-in-the-wall spot and easy to overlook. Traditional Bar Cid features vines and grapes h

GANDARIAS JATETXEA We returned to Casa Gandarias San Sebastián, one of the best-known pintxos bars in the Parte Vieja, for our regular fill of pintxo de solomillo and red wine! We had a bottle of El Lagar de Isilla Paraje Peñalobos Tinta del Pais 2018 DOC Ribera del Duero. This was a good match with the solomillo. Solomillo pintxos. The famous Basque Gildas. Guindilla pepper, green olive and fresh anchovy - named after Rita Hayworth (hot, tall and spicy). During this visit,