A scary foreshadowing of what may come to the UK, that has already seen the appearance of its first "Reform pub". Normalisation of vigilantism is the precursor to fascism.

Over 9 days in Spain & Basque Country 🇪🇦🇨🇵 we visited 64 bars finding 33 new guide entries! 🗺️ We hope you enjoyed the journey with us! Our Highlights! • Chai Ramina, Bayonne • 4Pedres, Badalona • Etxeberria, San Sebastian • Pottoka, Zaragoza Now the task of writing these up! ✍️

The Calthorpe Arms, London 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 1st visit. Harvey's pub that seems to have received a lush trad refurb. Thick carpet, gloss ceiling, fireplace 🔥. A proper cosy boozer with 6 Harvey's Ales on cask and Pilsner Urquell from a sidepour. Not extortionate either. Well impressed 🍺👍

Final biere in Caps, Biarritz 🇨🇵 before the airport. It's a good one. My word, this is what IPA should be. Alive, hefty, the spice and herb singing in your mouth then a drying fresh bitterness that encourages you to dive in for another mouthful. Brewed in Anglet nearby 👍🍺

Yesterday's scores! 1st visit 🔹 New Guide Entry ⭐ Biarritz 🇨🇵 Caps 7.3🔹 La Tireuse 7.6🔹⭐ Bayonne 🇨🇵 Dirty Old Cave 7.9🔹⭐ Chai Ramina 9.1 🔹⭐ Black Pig 7.3🔹 La Petrolette 8.2🔹⭐ Patxoki 8.3🔹⭐ Our trip ends later today 😢

Patxoki, Bayonne 🇨🇵 1st visit. Wow. Gatecrashed a Basque separatist evening with live music and projected art. Cider and beer €2 a throw. One of those moments in Europe where it all comes together. 🍏 🍺👍

La Petrolette, Bayonne 🇨🇵 1st visit. Really well put together late bar with a really good tap and beer selection from Basque to Belgium, retro nik naks and a lively tempo. One that was a fair bit better than I was expecting. 👍👍🍺

Chez Ramina, Bayonne 🇨🇵 1st visit. One of the best bars in Europe (and I've been to a few). Long standing rugby pub with fishtank behind the bar and a lifetime of memories strewn around. Seating area behind a bar jokingly called Les Rampartes. Amazing, highlight of the trip👍🍺🏉

Dirty Old Cave, Bayonne 🇨🇵 1st visit. Bottleshop bar with a nice warm, personalised interior and friendly service. They serve platters from a small kitchenette at the back of the room. Beers from the Basque country, South West France and beyond. A very good find 👍🍺

Yesterday's scores from San Sebastian 🇪🇦 1st visit🔹 New Guide Entry ⭐ Bar Txepetxa 7.7🔹⭐ Casa Vallas 7.3🔹 Meta Edabeak (Astigarraga) 7.3🔹 Bar Desy 7.8 Etxebe Taberna 7.6🔹⭐ Aralar Taberna 7.5🔹⭐ Akerbeltz 7.5🔹⭐ Entxante 7.3🔹 Now Biarritz & Bayonne for the final day!

Aralar Taberna, San Sebastián 🇪🇦 1st visit. Pintxos bar with a wide selection, more seating than normal but still a casual atmosphere. Staff are very cool here. 👍🍺

Etxebe Taberna, San Sebastian 🇪🇦 1st visit. Wandered into a local institution here. Captain Birdseye/Uncle Albert running the show with what seems to be his wife. Bolleke De Koninck on tap! Other Belgian beers in the fridge. Kind service and a nice casual tavern environment 👍🍺

Meta Edabeak, Astigarraga 🇪🇦 1st visit. Centre of cider production in Spain and we're....at a beer brewery. Industrial estate warehouse with taproom. 6 taps, they focus on sours and saison. The Xaman was superb, gold standard. Now time for some cider elsewhere 🍏....

Casa Vallas, San Sebastian 🇪🇦 1st visit. More space than the old town pintxo bars, modernised to an extent but communal benches keep it feeling social, as do the old guard having a crack on. Affordable, friendly and delivers a very well-poured (if rubbish) lager. 🍺👍

Bar Txepetxa, San Sebastian 🇪🇦 1st visit. My new fave pintxos bar in the city. Seafood specialities, anchovies dominate but crab, squid etc also available. Cosy beamed interior with bench seating and space at the bar too. Keler lager on draft. Service friendly. 👍🍺

Yesterday's scores from Vitoria-Gasteiz / San Sebastian 🇪🇦 1st visit🔹 New Guide Entry ⭐ Parral 7.3 🔹 Dazz 7.2 🔹 -- Bar Desy 8🔹⭐ Manojo 7.7🔹⭐ Mala Gissona Beer House 7.1🔹 Basqueland Izakaia 7.3🔹 Etxeberria 8.4🔹⭐ Museo Del Whiskey 7.2🔹 Altxerri 7.4🔹

Etxeberria, San Sebastian 🇪🇦 1st visit. My favourite so far. C. 1983 tavern in the old town with stone walls and a thick patina of personalised beer and wine related décor, some memorialising a previous owner. In many ways the type of bar Bilbao should have, yet doesn't🍺👍🍷

Basqueland, San Sebastian 🇪🇦 1st visit. A better effort than Mala Gissona though also, nothing outstanding in terms of décor or atmosphere (sorry but honest opinion is what you'll get). A decent place I'd pop back into if I lived here. Their ESB is not a patch on Imparable 👍🍺

Mala Gissona Beer House, San Sebastian 🇪🇦 1st visit. Commits the typical taproom sins I'm afraid. Unusually cold with bland indistinct decoration. You could be anywhere. Service decent but pintxo presented as though it was free (it wasn't) and the beer, Wit style wasn't good. 🍺

Manojo, San Sebastian 🇪🇦 1st visit. Natural wines in an intimate space. A glass is affordable (€2.70-4.50) and they have a kitchen pumping out Primi sized dishes that change every day. Proof that quality can be delivered casually 🍷👍

Bar Desy, San Sebastian 🇪🇦 1st visit. A good start! Tiny bar with specialist beers on tap and in fridge and Basque pintxos 🍺🍢 Helpful service. Pretty touristy which didn't ruin it but sure is a shock after the tourist-free Bilbao weekend of Nov 2nd. Basqueland IPA lovely 🍺👍

Train delays 🚂 and unexpected bar closures led to an all too brief hour or so in Vitoria-Gasteiz 🇪🇦 Visited Parral for pintxos and Dazz for a drink, fine but not especially noteworthy. 🍢🍷👍 Basque language has primacy here over Spanish. On to San Sebastian!

Yesterdays scores from Zaragoza 🇪🇦 1st visit🔹 New Guide Entry ⭐ Casa Agustin 7.4🔹 La Tipica Tasca 7.4🔹 Bar AMblas 7.4🔹 La Republicana 7.5🔹⭐ Bodegas Almau 7.8🔹⭐ El Sol 7.5🔹⭐ Hoppy 6.9🔹 Taberna Pottoka 8.3🔹⭐ Rock & Blues Café 7.3🔹 Ragtime 7.5🔹⭐ Bonanza 7.8 On to Vitoria-Gasteiz & San Sebastian today

Taberna "Pottoka", Zaragoza 🇪🇦 1st visit. Definitely one of the highlights so far. Basque country intruding on Aragon here with Cider, punk alternative tones and a pintxos range for everyone. Activist boozer that's instantly casual, friendly and likable. 👍🍏🍺

El Sol, Zaragoza 🇪🇦 1st visit. Beautiful interior inspired by Iberian tiling, renaissance art &- j grand café fittings. Large space with a club for salsa downstairs. The operation is struggling to fulfil its potential though, a little tacky, but plenty to enjoy still 👍

Bodegas Almau, Zaragoza 🇪🇦 1st visit. Famous institution in 'El Tubo', the beating heart of the city's nightlife. Humble, local and up-market options with helpful staff. Enjoyed the casual drop-in nature of the format and atmosphere. I would strongly recommend a visit. 🍷👍

Bar AMBlas, Zaragoza 🇪🇦 1st visit. Retro delights at a frozen in time café bar. 100% local rhythms, a kitchen pumping out food like caracoles 🐌 Very cheap. €4 for what's pictured. Kind service too. 👍🍺🍷

La Tipica Tasca, Zaragoza 🇪🇦 1st visit. Tiny corner bar. We were first in then locals started arriving within 10 mins. Owner knew what to serve them without asking. Most bizarrely a tribute carved into the floor in English "In memory of David Byrne, writer from Ireland" 🍷🍺👍

Casa Agustin, Zaragoza 🇪🇦 1st visit to this bar dating back to 1905. Superb spread of pintxos and the first time I've spotted the coloured flag skewers used to calculate the bill. Not even Bilbao uses those anymore. Clearly a local institution, fair prices. 🍺👍

Yesterday's scores from Zaragoza 🇪🇦 1st visit🔹 New Guide Entry ⭐ Taberna Fausto 7.2🔹 Gran Cafe Zaragozana 7.3🔹 La Cebada 7.4🔹 Los Victorinos 7.8🔹⭐ Bar Bonanza 7.5🔹⭐ Bar Estudios 7.5🔹⭐ El Callejón de la Música 7.4🔹 Taberna De Blues 7.5🔹⭐

Bar Los Edustios, Zaragoza 🇪🇦 1st visit. The most cheese 🧀 focused bar I've been to, dating to the 1970s. Lively, a genuine vibrance to it. Local options that will not break the bank.🍷👍

Los Victorinos, Zaragoza 🇪🇦 1st visit. Super tapas bar with bullfighting ephemera (this is Aragon) and fantastic array of food. Good lively atmosphere and kind service. 🍷👍

Gran Cafe Zaragozano, Zaragoza 🇪🇦 1st visit. A kind of saloon rather than a Grand Café. Relatively tasteful but just a little bit ersatz. Was one of the central bars open this time of day and a city institution, so it was worth a try. Keep it as a backup. 🍺👍

Taberna Fausto, Zaragoza 🇪🇦 1st visit. The most low key of beginnings. North of the Ebro river. Social daytime hangout. Server spoke English and was very welcoming. They offer a range of food but specialise in croquetas. 👍🍺

Yesterday's scores from Barcelona 🇪🇦 1st visit 🔹 New Guide Entry ⭐ Bodega Montferry 7.6🔹⭐ Bodega Sant Medir 7.4🔹 Bar Amadeu 7.4🔹 Bodega Armando 7.9 Quimet & Quimet 8.3🔹⭐ Bocadilleria Jazz 7.5🔹⭐ Gran Bodega Salto 8.4 On to Zaragoza for 2 nights!

Gran Bodega Salto, Barcelona 🇪🇦 2nd visit. Despite visiting in the evening it is still Monday, so quite quiet around Poble-Sec. Another of the genuinely visual standouts in the city, with live music and a bizarre update on an arch-traditional concept 🎶 🍺 🍷👍

Quimet & Quimet, Barcelona 🇪🇦 1st visit. Tiny bar in Poble-Sec that is known, shall we say. Service a little bit gatekeepingy, but when you're in it's a nice space and the quality of food and drink is a step up. 🍺🥃👍🍷

Bodega Armando, aka Celler D'En Frank Peterssein, Barcelona 🇪🇦 2nd visit. Had to politely knock on the door as the bar guy was having his dinner during down time. Really a nice space with ambience whether quiet or busy. A friendly spot where service puts you at ease. 👍🍷🍺🥃

Bar Amadeu, Barcelona 🇪🇦 1st visit. Time capsule. Kind service, local life, customers who have visited for years. Antidote to gentrification. Humble, affordable. Guests eating hearty late lunches & socialising. Rioja & Mineral Water €5. A few craft beer bottles too🍷👍🍺

Bodega Sant Medir, Barcelona 🇪🇦 1st visit. Sants. Vermuts and wines. Authentic interior with the classical features. Modernised wine selection lately and friendly service. 🥃🍷👍

Bodega Montferry, Barcelona 🇪🇦 1st visit. Sants district. Long-standing classic. Cannily mixes authentic offering with modern choices. When busy you can linger at the bar until seats become available. 🥃🍷🍺👍

Yesterday's scores from Barcelona 🇪🇦 1st visit🔹 New Entry ⭐ Bodega Sopena 7.6🔹⭐ Bodega Iturre 7.6🔹⭐ Bodega Luis 7.7🔹⭐ Bodega La Capitana 8.1🔹⭐ Bar La Principal 7.1🔹 4Pedres 8.7🔹⭐ Antic Teatre 8.2🔹⭐ Vermuteria Santa Caterina 7.5🔹⭐ El Bosc De Les Fades 8.4 Kaelderkold 7.5

El Bosc De Les Fades 🇪🇦 2nd visit. 8 years since our last. One of those eye-openers that inspired the guide. Despite all reason to ramp prices up to max they barely seem to have moved at all. Quite reasonable for one of the more touristy venues. Fantastical experience that can enhance a holiday 👍🍺🥂

Antic Teatre, Barcelona 🇪🇦 1st visit. Beautiful courtyard bar part of a culture centre. Near the extraordinary Palau de la Musica Catalana. Don't let this city become passé. It has an ability to keep on surprising you 👍🍺🍷

4Pedres, Badalona 🇪🇦 1st visit. A real one-off. Family run 'museum' to beer. 10 specialist taps and a host of bottles from trad to modern. Interior highly personalised and cosy. Complimentary tapas with each drink. Last stop on the L2 metro. Do not miss this out! 🍺👍

Bodega La Capitana, Barcelona 🇪🇦 1st visit. Sepia-toned elegant bar decorated with portraits of dancers. Long room widens at the end. Good selection of sherries. Croquetas impressive. Lively this PM with dancing in the backroom.

Bodega Iturre, Barcelona 🇪🇦 1st visit. Small winery near Sagrada Familia. A lively, relevant feel partly due to the pleasant young servers. Bomba €3 giving some fishy spice to enjoy alongside a beer (or wine). A truly likeable place 🍷 🍺 🍢

Bodega Sopena, Barcelona 🇪🇦 1st visit. In Clot district. Authentic winery with seating by upturned barrels. Savvy enough to stock some craft beers and ciders. Old lady at the front, young helper in the back. Vermut from the barrel👍🥃

Yesterday's scores from Barcelona 🇪🇦 1st visit🔹 New Guide Entry ⭐ Les Gens Que J'Aime 8.5🔹⭐ Bar Del Toro 7.8🔹⭐ Bodega D'En Ruben 7.4🔹 Bar Marsella 9.6 Bar Pastis 8.5 La Confiteria 8.5

Bar Pastis, Barcelona 🇪🇦 3rd visit. Formerly known for its belligerent anti-Erasmus owner and folk nights, in the 8 years since the venue retains its charm, but it's a push to move on from such a distinctive operation. 👍🍸