Civico 14 - San Sebastian

San Sebastian is the emerald city of food destinations. Known primarily for its Michelin rated restaurants and edgy pintxo bars, it can also surprise and delight in ways you aren't expecting. Like when you find a place like this. Wanting to take a break from the Old Town scene for one night, we stumbled upon Civico 14 and decided to give it a whirl. Man, are we happy we did. This is a superb Italian restaurant with fantastic food, great service and chill vibe. They make all their pastas, breads and desserts for one thing. The owners also travel back to Italy once a month to source new wines and ingredients, like the burrata I had the night we were in which was sublime. Giusseppe oversees the front of the house, and we had great conversations with him. Very nice guy. So take it from this native New Yorker who is very snobby about quality Italian food this place is the real deal. Make a point of going it turned out to be a highlight of our gastronomical adventures in this magical city.

Civico 14 is not a restaurant that you bump into while walking downtown San Sebastian. You have to look for it, you have to know it from its exclusiveness; and that 's what we did with a couple of friends... 2 nights in a row, during a long weekend in Donostia. We wandered in on a Friday night, and were immediately greeted by the friendly staff and incredible aroma of fresh pasta. The restaurant was filling up quickly (although it was only 8 pm) but we managed to snag a table. The menu is not overwhelming like those typical touristic places, there are a few options but carefully choosen and prepared, ingredients are fresh and seasonal (they just put up the spring menu) and there are always a couple of pleasent surprises not mentioned in the list. Between the 2 dinners we had, we went basically All in and managed to try a bit of everything. As a starter we had an extremally flavourfull white asparagus, that I have never tried before, then the smoked mackerel paired with blueberry vinegar which was succulent and finally the unforgettable beef tartare cleverly mixed with hazelnut, mustard and cocoa nibs. Then we moved on with the Pasta, my favourite was the Fusilli with lamb ragu, simply spectacular, the pasta was fresh, al dente, well seasoned and a good portion; on the second night I had Paccheri with monk fish and bottarga, another succulent and wonderfully executed dish if you like fish paired with pasta, like I do. At this point we were almost full but that Octopus on the menu was too tempting so we made the effort and we were not dissapointed, it is served with a cream of 'peperone crusco ' and a side of sea asparagus, two things I 've discovered for the first time. 'Dulcis in Fundo ' the desserts; I dont have a sweet tooth myself, but something as simple as strawberry and basil ice cream...yes basil, was incredibly smart and refreshing; then of course the chocolate panna cotta (which is not your average panna cotta with chocolate topping) which comes with raspberry crumbles and orange, in a beautifully presented plate. Finally the Tiramisu was the perfect ending of this food parade. As creamy as it comes, and as dreamy as it suggests...and not to be ignored, made fresh daily. This has been one of the most exhuberant culinary experience I have had in some time. All that being said, I highly recommend Civico 14 if you are near San Sebastian...it will definietly add more beauty to the already beautiful city.

Very good service and very good food at a price more than affordable. I recommend it up. Let's repeat! Thank you for your attention.

Very nice food in very nice atmosphere. very attentive staff, we will repeat!

Very good! excellent attention, cannoli to better than roma