There’s not much to be said about Gandarias except that it represents a sublime amalgamation of the best things we found throughout the old town in San Sebastian: a lively crowd shuffling for standing room, immersed in good wine and conversation, endless platters of delectable bites on display at the bar (with more stuff from the hot kitchen on order), fat legs of jamon strewn up from the ceiling, good wine flowing from the bar, boisterous and funny bartenders serving that good wine, some indeterminate music in the background but drowned out by laughter and shouts and wine-fueled lines from men and women romancing each other and friends reveling in being in San Sebastian and old-timers watching these rambunctious visitors over a glass of red or white.
Here, we sampled the goods:
 This is by far the most beautiful thing we ate at Gandarias, and one of the culinary highlights of the entire trip, to be honest.  We’d seen the txuletas being passed back and forth in the bustle and din of Bar Nestor and were definitely craving one, and with a little bit more space at the standing bar in Gandarias, we ordered one.  Good god, look at this.  The char, the perfectly juicy red meat, the roughshod crackling of sea salt.  And the drifting smell of that highway of fat rendering in the kitchen.
Somehow, we found room for a slice of tortilla as well.  Buttery goodness in egg-and-potato form.  I didn’t get a chance to compare to the version at Bar Nestor, but I’m sure it would’ve held its own. 
Gandarias Jatetxea
31 de Agosto Kalea, 23
20004 Donostia, Gipuzkoa, Spain
(map)
House of Hao's 