This three-Michelin-starred restaurant is all about family; father-daughter duo Juan Mari and Elena Arzak are at the helm at this favoured taverna. The tasting menu rotates, with new dishes fresh from an in-house research and development laboratory joining old favourites, like the delicious "cromlech-egg balloons" that are filled with meat, then dusted with onion and coffee powder.

When you need a break from pintxos or the hangover is hitting hard, follow the eclectic local crowd to Arenales. This diminutive spot on the Old Town's main street boasts one of the town's best natural wine lists, with bottles from the likes of Partida Creus and Matassa. Small plates are meant for sharing and step out of the Basque tradition, as is the case with the black pudding-stuffed brioche bun, served warm with a romaine and yoghurt salad.

Set midway up the Igueldo mountain (the city peak that juts into La Concha Bay) is Rekondo. While its leafy terrace is prime seating in summer, a table in the cellar is the real coup. Choose from over 120,000 of the world's rarest wines. Overwhelmed? We'd order a 1964 Rioja. Watch as sommelier Martin Flea burns the neck off your choice bottle with fire-hot tongs, then sip on a bit of oenological history.

Don't like anchovies? This is the place for you. Txepetxa's famous dishes have absolutely nada in common with the dank brown things people tend to discard from their pizzas. Instead, top-quality Cantabrian anchovies are cured in vinegar, and the rest is a family secret. Pick from a menu featuring the silvery fish atop toasted bread with any number of toppings. Choose from blueberries, spider-crab cream or local favourite the jardinera (a mix of onions and green and red peppers).

This labour of love opened in the mid-1980s as just another pintxos bar. Today, it's a shrine to the best products that the Basque Country has to offer. On any given day, the counter is scattered with gigantic porcini, fragrant chanterelles, bright-green guindilla peppers and other seasonal produce. The seafood here is top quality, so order several plates and eat the pintxos way - standing up with a cool glass of txakoli in your hand.

Borda Berri's motto is "here we braise". Meat and fish - from beef cheek to cod tripe - are slow-cooked to perfection at one the city's best pintxos spots. Choosing a favourite on the menu is difficult, especially since the tender cuts of meat are dressed with deeply flavoured sauces and jus. The cheese risotto, actually a saucy orzo dish, is an excellent vegetarian option.