So if you know San Sebastián, you know the old part of town, where pintxo bars outnumber people and plates of food stack up like beauty queens vying for attention. What you may not know is Gros, the neighborhood across the river, where a few select bars compete for attention and serve up food as delicious if not better than that of their higher-rent-paying brethren.

These bars (Hidalgo, Mil Catas, Bar Zabaleta, Narru, El Lagar, Ramundo, etc) are amazing. They are also a welcome respite from the super loud and crowded bars of old town. Narru, in particular, has been a sleek, more modern alternative that had really just become a staple in the potear routine of the regulars.

Under the direction of Iñigo Peña, the pintxos and menu of Narru were based on seasonal products and fresh produce.

And....Narru is no more.

It's confusing, why one of the best bars/restaurants of San Sebastián could just close. Rumor has it that it is a fundamentally financial motive, a question of high rents and not as high returns. This makes me think of a path perhaps towards Hondarribia, or a similar gastronomic destination with fractional monthly payments.

Either way, along with the closing of Aloña Berri this past year, it's a sad, sad time for San Sebastián gastronomy. Is it the fate of a city with too much good food? I don't know. All I know is that I thoroughly enjoyed my last night, with bottles of 4 Besos from Manú, fried guindilla peppers, a salad of gratineed goat cheese and sun dried tomato, and parmesan gnocchi with a big heaping pile of perfectly timed MEAT.

 

narru: crema de queso sobre migas crujientes (cheese cream over crunchy crumbs)

This dessert was definitely the suprise underdog of the meal. Recommended especially by our waitress, it was most reminiscient of a liquid tarte de queso. Cheesecake you can drink? That's alright by me.

Agur.