"We stumbled upon Topa while researching alternatives to Basque pintxos establishments. (I say “stumbled” because the chef who founded Topa is the 3x Michelin-starred chef at Mugaritz and, even in San Sebastián, you cannot really be that ‘under the radar’ when you are founded by such a celebrated chef. Unlike most places in San Sebastián, making reservations online was very simple [their webpage is available in English, Spanish, Basque, and French], with almost instantaneous confirmation via e-mail. While the cuisine is primarily South American-inspired — with a nice selection of mostly Chilean and Argentinian wines to boot — the overall concept remains that of shareable small plates (pintxos-style . We tried the cheese and seasonal mushroom wheat quesadillas (2x/order , the “al pastor” Basque-style fried Hake tacotalos (2x each/order , the txoripan sandwich (made with Basque chorizo (2x half-sandwiches/order , and the grilled avocado (2x halves . We thought the “al pastor” tacotalos were the best of the bunch — complex enough to make it interesting (it has pico de gallo, a dollop of guacamole, and a small [we believe] sweet potato , without being too clever by half. The txoripan was next-best; a respectable Basque-ing up of the Argentine classic. The Hake tacotalos were a bit one-note — only the fish absolutely doused in Veracruz tartar sauce — and the avocado, while good by itself, was not helped by the faux-pit added to its center. The quesadillas were uninspiring. Finally, our servers were quite good and, while we spoke Spanish as much as we could, one server’s English was ostensibly fluent; she was also very helpful and accommodating. The space is modern and airy, with decent space between tables."
