Zeruko

Like nearby A Fuego Negro, Zeruko has a really exciting experimental menu. The cod is genuinely one of the best things I have ever eaten and one of my top 5 favourite things I ate on my trip to San Sebastian. It’s basically raw (but salted) and then you smoke it on your own little grill with some kind of delicious dip. It was outstanding.
We also really like the scallop and tuna we had.
The only negative was that at peak time on a Saturday night it was incredibly busy, which is to be expected but they really didn’t have enough staff or a good system to cope with it. As a result when we tried to order a second round of the cod it never came (in fact I am pretty sure it accidentally went to someone else) and it took us ages to get the bill which in fact under charged us, so it really is in there interest to sort themselves out a bit!* Would really recommend overall though, just get there early as other reviews have suggested.
*have also now noticed this happened to another reviewer!

This was one of my very favorite pintxos bar I have ever tried. Its modern approach and quality in every creation make this place second to none. Every pintxo I tried was not only a piece of art, but also very tasty. Some pintxos were very elaborated, compared to the traditional ones, but everything had a reason behind how perfect each pintxo was. Honestly, this was a unique experience, a must visit when in San Sebastian. I would highly suggest asking the staff to provide some recommendations, you will be taken to a culinary joy ride. It’s a small place, like any pintxo bar in town, but totally worth the wait. Again, one of the best places to visit in town.

This was my birthday dinner and the meal on my Europe trip I was most looking forward to.
It was almost worth it for the sheer little-​kid-​on-​Christmas excitement I felt when I walked in and saw the absolutely gorgeous, colorful, and varied display of tapas sitting on the counter. It looked like a ball pit, or a wedding cake, or a library/​museum of gastronomy. It was chaotic and beautiful and delicious-​looking. See any photo posted if you want a literal illustration.
However, this was the quintessential example of great presentation and little attention to flavor.
The sea urchin filled to a bursting bubble with a creamy substance tasted just like that — cream.
The snow globe of mushrooms tasted good but had this nauseating texture of too much aspic, and was lukewarm besides. Actually, everything was lukewarm, which was weird since they make a point of taking your plate to prepare everything after you hand it to them.
The blood sausage was mealy, the quail egg on top rubbery, and the bread just oil barely held together.
Where Zeruko performed best were the simple skewers, found at tapas bars around the country: octopus chunks on a skewer, sardines folded on a skewer, shrimp and artichokes on a skewer. These were good, but you may as well get them somewhere less fancy and crowded.
At the end of the meal, they tried to charge us only 19 euro instead of the 34 euro we were meant to owe, but we are nice so we pointed it out.

I thought this place was a little overhyped. I came by and had the squid in ink, super bland and was served cold. It was one of the few times in Spain where I thought something needed more salt and just overall flavor. I also tried the La Hoguera (smoked cod dish that came with a shot of juice) and the Bob Limon (spongecake, a kind of sweet and sour chewy thing, and a bursting ball of passion fruit, that was probably the best part). The smoked cod was too salty and the Bob Limon was good but nothing amazing. The presentation on these dishes were really cool, but I’d rather have really tasty food without all the gimmicks. I don’t mind gimmicks, but there was just better food to be had for cheaper in San Sebastian.

Las reseñas positivas de este local son numerosas y realmente Zeruko eleva el concepto de pintxo a otro nivel. Son unas elaboraciones muy curradas, algunas de ellas muestras vivientes de alta gastronomía.
Desde luego, la famosa «hoguera» es un claro ejemplo de refinamiento y reflexión en escasos centímetros cuadrados. La hamburguesita de chipirones es ambiciosa también pero por desgracia no llega al clímax esperado.
Si no he dado mayor puntuación a Zeruko es porque las condiciones del local no son las adecuadas para este tipo de degustación. Me explico, una cosa es comerse un pintxo de xistorra de pie, en cualquier bar y otra cosa es intentar escuchar las explicaciones de cómo se debe comer cada preparación en medio del bullicio, la incómoda y hacinada barra y todo esto con el estrés de los pocos camareros que pobres, desbordados van.
Creo que es un gran formato, de obligatoria visita si uno está en Donostia ya que contiene muchos pintxos y platillos de interés. No obstante, también pienso sinceramente que merece una reforma del espacio para hacerlo más comprensible y funcional, de cara a buscar el máximo disfrute del comensal.

Mezcla de sabores que se deshacen en la boca dejando una sensación en el paladar inigualable. Gran variedad de pinchos en la barra cada cual más apetecible. Qué decir de la gran profesional que tienen tras barra y alabar a todos los cocineros por su excelente trabajo. Cabe destacar los pinchos calientes que preparan al momento escritos sobre un frontal de pizarra del que recomiendo sin lugar a dudas «la hoguera». Como aspecto a mejorar el espacio del local pues en ocasiones puede llegar a ser agobiante.

Entramos recomendados por la guía, es verdad que la calidad del producto se paga, cuando volvamos pediré la rosa, chupito de aroma de rosa con hojaldre verde y la flor tenía buena pinta. Lo vi tarde. pedimos un erizo, bacalao, croqueta de morcilla con piñones. calidad y diferente a la tipica tapa

If someone told me that I could only eat at Zeruko for the rest of my life, I would die happy. Of all the pinxo places I ate at in San Sebastian, this was my far my favorite (albeit the most chaotic), It’s hands down the best for fusion /​modern pinxos and not to be missed.
The first night we came here, my friend and I made the mistake of coming during prime rush hour. It was a stressful, chaotic mess that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. Even though I loved the food, the fact that it took hours to be able to get a table, sit, order, eat, etc had me exhausted by the end of the night.
We executed the second night perfectly, which is why Zeruko gets a 5 star in my book. Here’s what you have to do:
1. Get there early. Seriously. If you can get their before 8:30, you’re solid. You might even score a table (like we did!) and the waiter will come to you instead of you having to elbow your way to the bar.
2. If something is a special on the chalkboard, order it. It’s guaranteed to be good. For us, that meant the rosa (infused lobster), hamburguesa de chiripon (squid sandwich in its own ink) and bacalao (cod on a little charcoal grill). They also sell sea urchin, amongst other spectacular things that we didn’t try. My taste buds were in heaven from those three pinxos though.
3. Don’t get things off the counter. They’re fine at best. But the gems are made to order, in the kitchen.
And last tip — if you get there when it’s crowded, squeeze up to the bar and park yourself there. Order, eat and pay and then leave. If you leave your spot, you’re doomed to fight for your right to eat… or pay your bill.
Either way, this is the best pinxo bar in San Sebastian, so don’t miss out!

Just had the most fabulous lunch of our lives to date at this bar. To say it was good does not do it justice. Call the food and the presentation sublime would be more accurate. We ordered the tasting menu of 7 (they served us 8) courses. With 3 glasses of wine each and mineral water it came
to 83 euro for 2. An exceptional value, I thought.

This place is a mad house if you come late. Go early to try some fusion and modern pintxos! You have to be aggressive if you want to get your order in and a drink. Everyone is crowded towards the bar and it’s loud.
The pintxos were good. A little heavy so I wouldn’t order too many of them. Had the foie, carpaccio and their grilled special. All really good flavors and planning on heading back again tonight… But much earlier this time.

These experimental pintxos take the cake. This is molecular gastronomy at its most affordable, and it is one of my top three favorite pintxo bars. Some of my favorites in order of deliciousness: smoked cod (bacalao) — best bite of food ever, the lobster flower over smoke, the solomillo (grilled steak) with foie, grilled duck breast, and shrimp tempura.
Unlike other pintxo bars that only let you sit if you get a dinner menu, the tables here are free for all — you just have to be patient, and they are one of the few pintxo bars that take credit card.
Note: they don’t have sangria, but they can make you something very similar (wine and some sort of lemon soda). Don’t judge me for drinking sangria, ok? When in Spain…

Zeruko doesn’t post their hours outside, but there was someone inside while the restaurant was closed so I sent my Spanish-​speaking boyfriend in to ask about the hours. They open for lunch around 2:30pm until 4pm and again for dinner at 7:30pm.
They stop refreshing the pintxos and serving food from the kitchens about half hour before closing so be sure to come earlier if you want a wider selection of dishes, and to try their special which is an incredible cod dish that comes on a metal grill. When the waiter brought the fish over, he explained the three part dining experience of toasting the piece of cod over a hot coal, eating it with a small toast piece, then taking what tasted to me like a wheatgrass shot.
It’s hard to know what you’re eating since there are no signs for the different plates but everything we tried was absolutely delicious. Pintxo bars will not be good for vegetarians, as many of the dishes are made with fish, anchovies, foie gras, octopus or squid.
I truly believe the Basque people have perfected the art of keeping tabs on pintxo bars because you just take a plate, fill it with whatever you want, give it to the bartender so they can heat up the hot items, and repeat until you are ready to pay and leave. I’ve asked locals at a couple different pintxo bars and it seems that the custom is not to tip so you just pay for what you eat.

Bar Zeruko serves modern pintxos, the place is always packed as the quality, variety & creativity of the pintxos is unrivalled. The prices are very low, all the pintxos displayed at the bar are € 3, whilst the other hot tapas that can be ordered from the menu are € 4-​€ 5. The signature dish at bar Zeruko is the grilled cod fish (€ 4.5) served on a mini grill. Other notable items are the lobster rose water (€ 5) and sea urchin (€ 3).
This was our favourite pintxos bar, we returned for a 2^nd time the following night, my only regret was that we went so late that the kitchen was closing around midnight so we were unable to order the grilled cod or lobster again!

This is the best tapas bar in San Sabastian by far. Has a plethora of choices, sure to satisfy any craving you may have. Each small plate is truly a work of art. Looks so nice you don’t want to eat it all up, but when you do you will not be disappointed.

I love seeing all the food on display and seeing what other people order. There was a menu on the wall, but it was way more fun to just explore the stuff across the counter. We basically ordered by saying «I want what that person has!»
— Tosta de bogarante: lobster toast (8 Euros) — lots of lobster on toast, very flavorful, but the bread got very oily
— Rosa de bogarante (5 Euros): lobster on a crisp served over a shot glass of rose water that was misting and added the scent of rose (don’t drink this!)
— Bacalao: everyone seemed to have this thin piece of bacalao skewered and placed on a hot mini grill. You keep it over the hot surface for 10 seconds on each side, then put onto a mayo topped crostini and then drink the test tube of green cucumber flavored «soup.» This dish had a lot of flavor and textures and was a lot of fun
— Shisito pepper: with a super oily toast (I could have done without this) and a flavorful gumbo. It sat in a shot glass at the counter but was plated when they brought it to the table
Ordering at the counter and seeing everything was fun, but they have tables inside, too. Ordering at the counter and eating at the table is probably less stressful.
The dishes were definitely interesting, but each one was quite heavy. Don’t miss the bacalao and rosa de bogarante!

Protip: Go early for lunch. The place is packed later on. Ask for creations not out on the counter (ex the lobster shot on rose water).
Pretty amazing place. And the prices are more than fair given their reputation.
I’d call it one of the must-​sees in San Seb.

Es uno de los bares de pintxos más increíble de los que he visitado. La barra esta abarrotada de pintxos realmente creativos y sabrosos. Alcachofas doradas, lingotes de morcilla y foie, pisto con yema al punto y gelatina de jamón…las presentaciones más bonitas y apetecibles de la calle pescadería, sin duda. El zurito es 1,10 € y los pintxos estàn entre los 3 y los 8,5 €.

Great-​tasting/​looking pintxos on little plates. They are work of art. [I liken it to Japanese aesthetic meets tapas] And you know that the chefs put their heart into each of them. Most of the 4 pintxos we chose needed warming up. And each was plated as if we were at a casual Michelin restaurant. Which it is…
HINT: aim to visit for lunch –as in the case for most pintxo bars in DONOSTIA– most items are freshly made, from the kitchen.

Pintxos de gran calidad. Muy recomendable probar el bacalao a la hoguera y el cochinillo.

Mezcla de pintxos típicos (como las gildas) con otros muy innovadores y gourmet (como el de bacalao).
El local tiene barra y mesas, aunque he de decir que es difícil acceder a algunos pintxos que tienen en la barra porque están todos muy juntos y a distintos niveles. Tienen muchísima variedad y a veces hay que fijarse mucho para poder ver los distintos que tienen y elegir.
Además, tienen algunos calientes. Son muy rápidos en servir.
El bacalao muy original, un imprescindible si vienes al Zeruko. De todos los que probamos, el único que nos decepcionó un poco fue el de champiñones sobre morcilla.
Creo que es una muy buena opción a añadir si vas de pintxos y te apetece probar algo diferente y más creativo.

Wow. Zeruko is somewhere that you do NOT want to miss. This pinxtos restaurant is a step above the rest. The variety in dishes, flavors, colors, and technique are mind-​blowing. You’ll get some classic pinxtos dishes with a different spin, but most of the dishes are unique and ones that I only saw in Zeruko. Every dish seems thoughtfully and artfully crafted. When I think about San Sebastian’s pinxtos culinary culture, I think about Zeruko as the exemplar. You can’t go wrong with any of the dishes here. Be adventurous and try as many as you can — you won’t get these dishes anywhere else!

Este es uno de esos maravillosos casos en los que te dejas guiar por las buenas reseñas y el resultado es extraordinario.
Me sorprendió, debí de llegar antes que el resto del mundo. No había nada más que dos japonenes y yo con un platito eligiendo (en un momento de colapso de deseo) los pintxos que me iba a comer en la barra. Me pedí un vino (verdejo blanco) y lo siguiente que recuerdo es que el restaurante se lleno en décimas de segundo hasta la bola. Cinco pintxos y dos vinos, cinco de los cuales no recuerdo el nombre, me dejó traumado el de bacalao que presentan en una lata (nunca he comido un bacalao tan rico). subi las fotos por lo mismo… muy curioso el de huevo con pisto la presentación de la yema sorprende y tambien la textura una vez que lo has mezclado todo.
Un sitio muy recomendable, sobre todo si lo pillas con un huequecito … me quedé con las ganas de preguntar por algunos … pero con tanta gente creo que no era momento.

Wirklich super kreative Küche. Mal was ganz anderes im Tapas Dschungel. Kann ich absolut empfehlen und hat Spaß gemacht.

Zeruko is a masterpiece of modern Basque pintxos. The colours and atmosphere are unreal. The quality and variety for just one restaurant is astoundingly vast.
Not a lot of space to move around once it fills up. It gets really loud and pushy.
Here you have to be proactive if you want to get served. Begin by asking the barman for a plate and go around picking pinchos that look interesting. When ready, give them to the waiter, and he will send them to the kitchen for preparation.

I enjoyed some of the best food I’ve ever had at Zeruko.
We ate here on our first night in San Sebastian. On our second night, we had a snack at a different place, which was not that good, so we decided to come back to Zeruko for dinner for our second and last night in San Sebastian.
Fun Fact: This place serves pintxos (pronounced «peen-​chos») which are basically tapas. In Basque Country, they are apparently called pintxos because it means spike in Spanish, and most of the food is «spiked» with a toothpick or skewer.
Anyways, the food here is so unique that your taste buds will not even know what is going on. Upon getting a spot at the counter, ask for a plate, and then just start ordering whatever catches your eye, because it is all delicious.
You Must Order (I don’t remember the exact names):
— The Lobster on Toast
— Calamari with Foie Gras
— The Bogavante Rosa (Lobster served atop a smoking glass)
This place is heaven — don’t miss it.

It’s a feast for your eyes and imagination here. Smoking little vials, strange Alice in Wonderland type concoctions. This is a must stop spot for your pintxos crawl. I visited it for lunch and dinner and had a grand time socializing with fellow Americans looking for food adventures.
Must try the cod over the grill with accompanying shot of green sauce in a vial, and the uni served in the shell. Yum! Yum! Wash it all down with the local wine, which is made with young green grapes, called txakoli. Such a great pairing and really can’t be beat.

The best tapas you will ever have anywhere, ever.
The tapas here are exactly what give San Sebastian its well-​deserved reputation as a culinary goldmine.
Everything we tried was so fresh and full of flavor that it’s difficult not to order another of whatever you try (I may or may not have eaten 7 of the mackerel sticks).
There really is not a reason to explain each dish further — just try whatever you see!
Tip: Like many first-​timers, we were confused and a bit intimated by the ordering procedure. The servers are moving very fast, helping a lot of people at once, and knowing what to do to get started is a bit intimidating.
1) Find a spot at the tapas bar (or as close to it as you can get).
2) Ask for a plate.
3) Don’t just grab tapas without having a server acknowledge (many of the dishes need to be heated, and it’s embarrassing to eat a dish cold that needs to be warmed up)
4) Once you get a server to acknowledge (be bold), they will then be your only point person the rest of the evening. Once you point at a dish, they will acknowledge and they will grab it for your if it needs to be warmed up.
5) Keep grabbing as many dishes as you want, and just be sure to just point to it and make eye contact with your server first. Believe it or not, they somehow are keeping track of the dishes you order.
Enjoy, you are lucky to be here.

What a great Pinxtoes bar this is… the food is stunning and we loved indulging in so many of these great tapas dishes. The sea urchin was simply off the pleasure scales… so good, the pulpo (octopus) was right up there, the pork, the meat balls on a skewer and so it goes on — were all really good.
This experience is all about the taste, the texture and the simplicity of presentation… and as the dish sizes are small so it means you can try a wide variety of the dishes.
The wines simply set the dishes off even better… this was perhaps our favourite of all the Pinxtoes bars. Absolutely outstanding eating at an economy price… service is good too.
And if you cannot read Baske or Spanish ask for the menu in your language… do not let the language stand in the path of a great foodie experience!

My first stop on my pintxos crawl and loved it.
If you’re looking for modern molecular gastronomy, this a great place to visit. The service isn’t super friendly but I enjoyed the pintxos served here.
The Spanish are sticklers for manners, I couldn’t throw my napkins on the floors as other did and I also didn’t limit myself to two dishes — the food was so good, I limited myself to four dishes!
I wished I returned before leaving San Sebastian. I’ll be back Zeruko!

Sólo tienes que probar la rosa de bogavante y el bacalao. Saldrás siendo otra persona. Muy buen trato. Es solo degustación de sabores muy bien logrados.

Sus pintxos elaboraus stan muy buenos, pero me parece excesivo el precio… deberían de bajar el precio un poco…

Gran variedad de pintxos, excelentemente presentados. Mucha gente pero merece la pena hacerse un hueco para alcanzar la barra.

No es barato pero es muy elaborado y está bueno. Para mi gusto debería mejorar el servicio, a los camareros parece que les moleste decirte de que es cada pintxo, y hay uno muy olvidadizo… Pero, aún así, merece la pena ir. No hay q dejar de probar el bob limón para el postre!!!

Para mi gusto, uno de los mejores bares de tapas de San Sebastián. Está en la Parte Vieja, aunque no en la zona más turística. De todas formas en verano vant ambién bastantes extranjeros.
Los pintxos están muy bien presentados y son de buena calidad. Solo verlos en la barra ya se te hace la boca agua y te entran ganas de empezar a probarlos todos. No es especialmente barato, pero están muy ricos y merece la pena acercarse a tomar un par de pintxos y un txakoli.

This pinchos bar is very good, they have incredibly good jamón and other special tapas that you must taste if you are in San Sebastián. The ambient is more practical, people use to stay there and have their drink and pincho at the bar, there are four small tables and there is a screen on which you can see or soccer or different teasers for the nice pinchos they make here. We went there on January and they kept the door open when we get in. At the beginning we kept our coats on because they didnt want to close the door. After a time it was clear why: around 8 p.m. people startet to get in and the bar was full of people. You will not be served but take your food from the bar. Very tipical and when we were here this week only natives here which were all very nice. Pricing is on a normal level, for 5 persons we spent about 100 EUR. I must if you visit San Sebastián.