The Somebody Feed Phil Basque Country episodeis, by general acclamation, the best one. Phil cries. The cider flows. Somebody's mom is involved. The food list inside that 50 minutes is bigger than most cities, and the geography is just kind enough that you can almost — almost — do the whole thing in one day.
Here's how. Donostia (San Sebastián) is small; the old town is a 15-minute square. Three of the places are out of town — Getaria, Orio, Astigarraga — and one, Asador Etxebarri, is genuinely two hours away and worth its own day. We'll do the doable in a day, then add the pilgrimage.
The Donostia day (everything walkable)
All Parte Vieja stops are within 3 minutes' walk of each other. Don't book anything except dinner. Bring stretchy pants.
Pastelería Otaegui
Start with a pantxineta and a slab of Basque cheesecake. The pastry shop is the size of a doorway. Eat your pantxineta on the bench out front; do not, under any circumstances, take it back to the hotel.
Bar Txepetxa
An anchovy specialist in a family-run room. Order the anchovy with sea-urchin foam and the one with jardinera (a 100-year-old vinegar relish recipe). It's the most concentrated piece of San Sebastián you'll eat all day.
Bar Nestor
Tiny room, four tables, ~12 chuletas per service. The list opens at 12:00. Get there at 11:45, write your name on the list, and come back for lunch at 13:00. This is the only reservation system in town.
Walk La Concha, drink a vermouth
You have an hour. Walk the bay, find a bench, order a vermouth from any old-town bar. This is what San Sebastián is actually for: walking and looking at the water and thinking about your next meal.
Bar Nestor (chuleta)
The chuleta is bone-in ribeye, charred outside, blood-rare inside, served on a wooden board with coarse salt. Share between two. Add a tomato salad — it's deceptively perfect.
La Espiga
One of the oldest pintxo bars in the city. Cured anchovy with vinegar, a glass of txakoli, watch the locals come in for their afternoon snack. This is the version of the day that's about people-watching.
Casa Urola
Two restaurants in one building — pintxos bar downstairs, formal dining room upstairs. Book upstairs 1–2 weeks ahead. The seared scallop with almond cream and coffee vinaigrette is the dish you'll remember on the plane home.
The 'just one more' finale
If you still have a stomach lining left at 22:30, taxi 15 minutes to Astigarraga.
Sidrería Zapiain
A barn full of cider barrels. Communal benches, kitchen-sink menu: chorizo cooked in cider, bacalao tortilla, big slab of chuleta, finish with cheese, walnuts and quince paste. When someone shouts 'txotx!' you grab a glass and run to the barrel they just tapped.
Day 2: head west to the coast
If you have a second day, the move is Elkano in Getaria. 25 minutes by car, easy bus. The whole grilled turbot is the dish — every review from every visiting chef and critic lands on the same word: elemental. Book via email at reservas@restauranteelkano.com or call during their booking hours (Tue–Sat 10:00–17:00). Lunch is the move; the dining room faces the harbour.
On the way back, stop in Orio at Bodegón Asador Joxe Mari for an open-air late-afternoon plate of grilled sole and a cold glass. It's 15 minutes from Donostia. You can walk it off on the beach.
Day 3 (if you're brave): the Etxebarri pilgrimage
Asador Etxebarri is in Axpe, a village in the Atxondo Valley about an hour's drive south. It's one of the hardest tables in the world. Reservations open on the 1st of each month at 10:00 CET for the following month and sell out in minutes. Set an alarm. Once you're in, you get one of the great meals of your life — Victor Arguinzoniz cooks everything over fire, including the milk for ice cream, and somehow makes each ingredient taste more like itself.
On a Sunday you can also turn up for pintxos outside without a reservation. That's the Phil-secret move.