A feast at a Basque cider house! [VIDEO]

I’ve drunk a lot of Spanish cider in my time. We serve in on some of our tours, and I’ve stood agape and watched as waiters pour it from a great height directly into a glass in Oviendo, Asturias. Spanish cider is acerbic, crisp, bubble-less and absolutely delicious. It’s what you get when you ferment apples, not when you ferment apples, add sugar and carbonation. But my cider experience has long been incomplete. I’d never been to a cider house. I’d heard about them, in the mountains of the Basque Country or Asturias – two north-western regions of Spain. I’d heard the cider is served from enormous barrels, I’d seen images of it spurting out of those barrels and into the special fat, wide glasses. And I’d heard about the food – the salt-cod omelettes, the walnuts, the sheep cheese and… the enormous T-Bone steaks, served warm and bloody as hell in the centre.

So, on a trip to San Sebastian with Devour Tours colleagues Cyra Alcock and Lauren Aloise (we were researching and meeting with people in order to launch Devour San Sebastian), we decided to take a night off, jump into a taxi, and hit a cider house.

We got everything I expected and more. Because what I didn’t expect was the camaraderie, the sense of celebration or… the exquisite singing.

I hope you enjoy the video! And if you decide to go, the cider house we went to is the family-run Zapiain and the price for the full meal was €35. I highly recommend it.

Oh, and check out these 7 key things to know before getting to San Sebastian! and 7 fabulous museums to check out in the city.

Txotx!