Casa Urola

We ate upstairs. It was so great! Had the Octopus dish, which was fantastic. And then the Sea Bream for two. Best fish in a long time! Would highly recommend!!!

We ate downstairs for tapas and Ribera de Duero. Came here based on recommendations from acquaintances, but unfortunately had a bad experience with super chewy octopus skewer. Mine was delicious and tender with what tasted like a bed of creamy mashed potatoes. But my friend’s was inedible and had been chewing for several minutes. Service was a bit stoic. Not bad, but not very friendly, either. Seems like other reviews of this restaurant are glowing. Perhaps an off day for them and for us.

Veal cheek wow. Roasted scallop beautiful. Octopus orgasmic. It’s a bit mental when you arrive, but find a perch and you’ll figure it out pretty quickly.

Cualquier cosa que pidas está espectacular. Como hago siempre que voy de pinchos en San Sebastián, me harté a comer gildas. Hemos pedidos foie con albaricoque, que estaba perfecto y es lo que más me ha gustado (y creo que es un imprescindible del sitio). El resto de pinchos que hemos probado también de diez, y el servicio impecable. Hay que venir!

Good food no doubt about it. Disappointed that a couple of fish courses were not available and that no everyone got their meals at the same time but overall very good. Not cheap.

Wow, the best way to describe my experience here! We made a reservation for upstairs and were greeted with smiles and a friendly welcome. We were given the wine list and the menu, both carefully selected by the family run restaurant.
We chose of bottle of delicious Rioja to have with dinner and started with the cod and runner beans and a portion of roasted peppers. We could not have chosen better, the food was phenomenal. The peppers were so simple but perfectly prepared and the runner beans were cooked perfectly.
For the main course, we both ordered the fillet of beef which was out of this world. It was served with a sea salt crust and accompanied with some fried vegetables. It was so deliciously that I’m still thinking about it!
We shared the dessert which was bread pudding and coffee ice cream — absolutely amazing.
I cannot recommend here enough, if it were up to me I would have eaten here every night.

Their seasonal vegetable pintxo (it’s written on the board) is always a winner. The last few times I’ve gone, it’s been white asparagus with ham.
Their fresh seafood specials (often times, large, beautiful shrimp) are also delicious, albiet a little pricier. They also make a mean octopus brochette.
Bonus points for being one of the few pintxo bars open late on Mondays.

Recommended by an excellent chef at La Cabrera in Madrid, Urola exceeded our expectations with incredible langosta, chuleta, and many other pintxos that warmed our bellies.
We arrived relatively early in the evening and somehow stayed three hours just ordering more and more food, assisted by great company and a lively atmosphere that made our first night in Donostia a magical experience.

Wow! What an amazing restaurant! I’m surprised from the lack of reviews as this restaurant was recommended to us by Chef Victor of La Cabrera in Madrid! And true to his word this was one of the best restaurants that we have gone to so far!
Here is what we had by pictures:
1. Smoked and pickled sardines on toasted bread
2. Lobster and salmon roe salad
3. Scallops with fried seaweed
4. Foie gras with side salad and caramelized pearl onion
5. Grilled octopus with Panko break crumbs and a Japanese style sauce
6. Jambon and cheese croquettes
7. Seared cod with sundries tomatoes and potato scallop
8. Salted cod in a tomato stew
9. Beef cheek with roasted vegetables and leek foam
10. White asparagus with pink salt
11. French toast with cocoa ice cream! (Amazing dessert)

Stopped in for lunch (the upstairs restaurant, not the bar area) and it was fantastic. Lots of locals, and I think that says something.

Of all of the eating and drinking I did in San Sebastian, Casa Urola was by far my favorite pintxos bar in the area.
The crowd is a little bit older and more refined than the clientele at some of the other bars in the area. But at this point on my trip, I was sick of dodging 17 year olds drinking kalimotxo and Mahou beer in paper bags. This is not to say that Casa Urola lacked life; the bar was positively buzzing and apparently got that way fairly early in the evening, at around 8pm or so. The waitstaff at the bar politely made small talk with me; at this point I was accustomed to rather gruff barkeeps, so I was happy to feel welcome.
The by-​the-​glass wine list is impressive and covers many of the wine-​producing areas of Spain. I felt that drinking anything other than a glass of txakoli (the effervescent white wine that is ubiquitous in this area of Spain) would be a serious error. (The wines here are so nice that to water them down to make a tinto de verano would be a sin.)
The pintxos deviate slightly from tradition and are much more gastronomic and upscale than what one normally finds at a pintxos bar at this price point. I ordered a bacalao confit pil pil in a gernika (the green pepper typical of the Basque region) sauce. The bacalao was delicate and flaky and the sauce turned out to be so good that the waiter brought me extra bread to sop up the remnants in my dish, which was quickly empty.
I also had a slice of tortilla, which I watched the cook make (I told him that the first slice was mine!). I subsisted on tortilla pintxos on this portion of my trip, some good and mostly bad, and Casa Urola had one of the best: moist without tasting raw and perfectly salted.
I probably won’t get to be a San Sebastian beach-​bum for many months, but when the opportunity presents itself, my first dinner and drinks upon my return will be at Casa Urola.