Maitea

Choosing at a pintxos counter is rather like packing for a weekend: plan strictly, or keep adding until sense gives out. I attempted discipline, torn between something crisp straight off the plancha and something slow and saucy, and predictably finished with both, plus a few bites I never meant to order. No regrets on any front. This Basque-leaning room is open-handed in the old way, warm without any fuss about it, and the cooking runs sharper than its modest profile suggests, exact when it must be and comforting the rest of the time. Prices are frankly a small scandal in the kind direction, considering what nearby blocks charge for less. Tourists rarely find it, which suits everyone already inside. I shall keep coming back at respectable intervals, no excuse required.