Somebody stop Phil
TV presenter and comedy writer Phil Rosenthal has joined the long list of film makers who over the years have caused the culinary circus in some of San Sebastián’s finest bars. Queues stretch around the block at these places, lines of folks who are under the impression that if they don’t experience the food they saw on TV they’ll regret it.
In episode 2 of the eighth series of Somebody Feed Phil, Rosenthal visits Basque Country, and of course San Sebastián is a focus. He’s guided by the irrepressible expat American, San Sebastián resident Marti Buckley, whose job seems to consist mainly of showing other Americans around town, most recently Eva Longoria.
Where do they go to eat? Bar Espiga, Casa Urola, Txepetxa, Bar Nestor. Just like Bourdain, Stein, Longoria and everyone in between before them. I’ve written before about our take on the city’s best bars, observing along the way that for every Bar Nestor there are three places nearby that are as good if not better and don’t have any tourists in them.
Ironically, even Buckley herself has a list of places she’d rather eat than those she took Rosenthal to.
So, I’m curious. Resident foodies and former ones like us (an 18-month stint through 2023–24) know to avoid the flogged-to-death tourist traps – so why do the celebs seek out the same ones time and time again?
Is it a conspiracy among the owners of these joints, who seemingly have local guides like Buckley in their pocket? Or is she actively keeping her favourite places secret so as not to spoil them for the locals? Or is it lazy research on the part of the show producers, who merely look up where former celebrities went and decide they can’t risk doing differently?
You’ll also notice that the celebs, their guide, and an unseen TV crew of another three or four seem to have plenty of room inside these places and enjoy personal attention from the host. That’s misleading at best, and utter bullshit in reality. Did I mention the queues? What do you think it’s actually like inside these places, particularly when you consider an eating pattern where people stand up more often than sit? The celebs, of course, have been given a cordoned-off area, or perhaps visit out of hours on arrangement with the owner. For the rest of us it’s like a mosh pit, made worse by the majority of patrons being pintxo virgins and having a rough time making their order.
So ignore Phil and his ilk. He’s luring you into a trap. Follow your nose and go with your guts – you won’t find anywhere in the world like San Sebastián and you don’t want to spend your time here standing in line.
Here’s some more info …
