How Many Sticks?

Pintxos

I love it when you find a restaurant that is so good, anyone you bring to it is equally impressed and loves it too. Whilst living in Barcelona, Irati Taverna Basca was that restaurant for me. It’s a small and intimate tavern, serving traditional Basque cuisine with a modern twist. You don’t sit down. You walk in, stand by the bar, drink a glass of wine or cava, and get stuck into some pintxos.

The restaurant sits in the heart of The Gothic Quarter, where you are surrounded by overpriced tourist traps. When I first arrived, I got lucky. I found this place among the distractions. When you walk in, it’s always packed. Customers occupy every space possible, eyeing up the selection of pintxos along the bar. The front-of-house staff are charming and well versed in handling Brits, you’re sipping a glass of wine or cava in seconds.

Cold pintxos are laid out along the bar, with chefs coming from the kitchen every 10 minutes to serve hot ones. It’s a simple procedure, you grab a plate and help yourself. Each pintxo dish has a toothpick stuck into it. You eat as much as you like of whatever you want but keep your sticks. When you’ve had your fill, the barman counts them and charges you accordingly. Each pintxo is roughly €2. Honesty is key here.

I’m ashamed to admit, that in my poorer days living in Barcelona, I would occasionally drop a stick or two. Truth be told, I shouldn’t have been eating out at all. But occasionally when I had a bad day, or a friend or family member visited, I couldn’t help myself. The goat’s cheese and duck pâté pintxos were too tempting.

I don’t live in Barcelona anymore, but there aren’t many days I don’t think about Irati Taverna Basca’s food and the look on someone’s face when they take their first bite of a pintxo.