I’m extra excited about this new Basque-style pintxos bar in Downtown Austin! Back in 2017, Nate and I honeymooned to San Sebastian, Spain, and we fell in love with the culture, particularly the adorable pintxos bars lining the streets of old town. Our airbnb was above the bars, and we’d walk down there, pop into a bar, order a glass of wine and a plate of a few bites, and stand out in the street enjoy our meal before walking down to the next bar. Rinse and repeat.
Since 2017, I’ve been itching to visit San Sebastian again. I’ve also been eager for someone to open an authentic pintxos bar in Austin, and (thankfully!) the dream team decided to take on the project: Kalimotxo is brought to us by the folks behind Emmer & Rye, one of my very favorite restaurants in Austin. (Click here to see all 20 of my favorites.)
Psst: what’s a pintxo? It’s a small snack, typically eaten in bars, from northern Spain. Pintxos are different from tapas, which are also small snacks, but are often put together to form a full meal. A pintxo is more of a small appetizer or snack to accompany a glass of wine.
There’s a beautiful outdoor seating area that overlooks Shoal Creek. I’m envisioning many happy gatherings with friends here!
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The interior is flooded with light and full of beautiful textiles. (That floor! That backsplash!) I ordered a Txakolina in the porrón (which holds about 2.5 glasses of wine, which I shared with Caitlin) and brought it outside to give it a try. I anticipated lots of spilling on my first go around with a porrón…turn out I was right. (Hint: order white instead of red if you’re drinking from a porrón for the first time!)
Then I went back inside and tried four different pintxos. They’re all so beautiful, and only $4-5 each, so it was hard to not try one of each.
The Spanish tortilla was absolutely perfect! Oh my soul, I’d love to go back to Spain right this very minute. (Psst: here’s a recap of our time in San Sebastian.)
They were all lovey, but this little pintxo was my favorite: octopus talo.
Kalimotxo is at the entrance to Hestia, Emmer & Rye’s new open-fire restaurant. If you have reservations to the restaurant, come 30 minutes early to stop by Kalimotxo for a porrón of wine and a few pintxos as appetizers. I’m so pleased with the beauty and quality of this lovely little bar, and I’m sure it will end up being a crowd favorite in Austin. Cheers!
