34 Best Restaurants in Bilbao and the Basque Country, Spain

One of the world's great culinary meccas, award-winning Arzak embodies the prestige, novelty, and science-driven creativity of the Basque culinary zeitgeist. The restaurant and its high-tech food lab—both helmed by founder Juan Mari Arzak's daughter Elena these days—are situated in the family's 19th-century home on the outskirts of San Sebastián. The ever-changing dishes (€240 for four courses or €270 for the tasting menu) are downright thrilling for their eye-popping presentations, unexpected flavor combinations, and rare ingredients. The best seats in the house are in the newly renovated upstairs dining room.

This idyllic fourth-generation asador in a centuries-old house draws the crowds with its flawless tortilla de bacalao, txuleta de buey, and local game and fish of all kinds such as besugo a la donostiarra (roast sea bream with garlic-vinegar sauce) and, when in season, becada (Eurasian woodcock) cloaked in meaty wine sauce. Fizzy Txakolí is the standard tipple, but there's also a surprisingly deep list of Champagnes and international bottles to choose from.

Of all the three-Michelin-star temples in Spain, Bittor Arginzoniz's Etxebarri is hands down the most exclusive, since it serves only lunch and reservations are limited. Here, grilling is elevated to an art form, with various types of woods, coals, and handmade tools carefully selected for the preparation of each dish. The obligatory €264 tasting menu (no vegetarian option) generally includes Etxebarri classics like homemade chorizo, smoked caviar, and—if you're lucky—baby elvers. 

The immersive gastro-experience at the envelope-pushing eco-restaurant by renowned Basque chef Eneko Atxa starts with nibbles in the indoor garden, continues on to the kitchen with a quick tour, and culminates in the dining room with a conceptual tasting menu featuring dishes like "dew water" and "essence of the forest."

Museum restaurants tend to be underwhelming, overpriced tourist traps, but Bistró—with its exuberantly colorful dining room and meticulously prepared modern Basque cuisine served by a knowledgeable waitstaff—is a blissful exception to the rule. Tartares, roast meats, local seasonal vegetables, and top-grade seafood are the building blocks of the three set menus, the most expensive of which is a five-course degustación for a paltry €40.

A Gros neighborhood stalwart, the ever-bumping Bodega Donostiarra is famous for its down-home dishes centered on Basque conservas such as oil-packed anchovies, pickled hot peppers (piparrak), and bonito del norte (albacore). All three of these find their way onto the "completo," a locally famous mini-baguette sandwich that's deliciously tart, juicy, and salty all at once. 

Charming and cozy, this centenarian Bilbao institution is essentially a series of nooks and crannies tucked into a fine food, wine, olive oil, cheese, and ham emporium. Leave it to the affable owners to recommend specialties such as txuleton (gigantic T-bone steak), which pairs wonderfully with the house Rioja or any number of pours from the 1,000-bottle-strong wine list.

Don't be put off by the slightly outdated decor of this Parte Vieja stalwart—the kitchen at Casa Urola is easily one of the city's most adroit, whether you post up at the informal bar or sit down to a multi-course meal. In the dining room, savor appetizers made with hard-to-find regional vegetables like cardoon, borage, and tiny de lágrima peas before moving onto entrées like seared squab, presented with a pâté of its own liver, and roasted hake loin, served with white wine and clams. Save room for the signature torrija, custardy fried bread crisped in brown butter and dusted with cinnamon sugar.

Textbook-perfect Basque classics draw a local crowd at this Ensanche restaurant run by a seasoned husband-and-wife team on the cusp of retirement—so visit while you still can! Seasonal Basque delicacies, like earthy perretxico mushrooms, meaty fresh anchovies, and tender white asparagus, round out a perennial menu whose star dishes include squid braised in its own ink and hake in salsa verde.

This busy bar and sedate downstairs restaurant near Plaza de la Constitución is run by the third generation of the same family. Exquisite minimalist morsels range from white Huelva prawns to homemade foie gras to roast squab and—the house specialty—wild mushrooms topped with an egg yolk.

You'd be hard-pressed to find a more pleasant outdoor lunch in Bilbao than at this chic little pintxo bar with sunlit tables smack on the charming Plaza Nueva. Fried rabas (squid strips), croquetas, and locally made txistorra (smoky chorizo sausage) never come off the menu for good reason.

This inviting white-tablecloth taberna established in 1959 serves soul-satisfying cuisine in a cabinlike dining room decorated with taupe curtains, blond-wood chairs, and original artwork. Steak frites is the go-to here with roast turbot coming in a close second.

For pintxos that deftly toe the line between traditional and experimental, there is no better bar than this Parte Vieja cubbyhole renowned for its seared foie gras, braised veal cheeks, and garlicky razor clams a la plancha. Throw a few elbows, order a couple glasses of txakoli, and get ready for pintxo paradise.

Littered with used napkins and furnished with simple wood tables beneath hams hanging from the rafters, this lively, deceptively simple bar attracts locals and tourists alike for its exceptional pintxos and affordable breakfasts. Don't pass up the deconstructed Galician-style octopus on a bed of mashed potatoes laced with pimentón (paprika) or the appetizer of house-made foie gras with three preserves. For a more exclusive (and pricier) fine-dining experience, reserve a table at the abutting El Taller, and be sure to peruse the gourmet food store stocked with local conservas, cured meats, wines, and cheeses.

Consistently delicious, shockingly affordable, and unapologetically old-school, Pentxo is the sort of restaurant Bilbaínos like to keep to themselves. Whether you pop in for a pintxo at the bar (the flash-fried antxoas rellenas, or stuffed anchovies, are a must) or come for breakfast or a €16 prix-fixe lunch (opt for whatever seafood main is listed), you'll leave wishing you could be a regular.

Hidden in the lush, hilly countryside southwest of Tolosa—and many miles off the tourist track—is this idyllic agroturismo comprised of a restaurant and five-room bed-and-breakfast housed in a traditional caserío (Basque farmhouse) perched on a hilltop. After snapping a few pics of the jaw-dropping views, tuck into a soul-satisfying Basque feast of roast chicken (raised on the property), stewed game meats, or fresh fish.

This traditional sagardotegi 7 km (4 miles) south of San Sebastián is where the region's top chefs—Juan Mari Arzak, Martín Berasategui, and Pedro Subijana, to name a few—ring in every cider season with a resounding ¡txotx! ("cheers" in Basque). Removed from the tourist track and open from mid-January to late April, Zelaia invites guests into its barrel-lined warehouses to chow down on an à la carte menu of bacalao-centric dishes, thick-cut steaks, and—for dessert—local cheeses with quince preserves and walnuts (vegetarian options are also available).

The Txapartegi brothers—Mikel, Kepa, and Gorka—are the decorated chefs behind this restaurant in elegantly restored house with a sunny terrace. Count on seasonally rotated combinations of carefully chosen ingredients, from fish and duck to vegetables.

The sagardotegi experience is a must in the Basque Country, but if you can't swing a trip to one of the huge cider houses in the countryside, Arriaga is a fine urban stand-in. Expect unlimited sidra al txotx (cider drawn straight from the barrel), sausage stewed in apple cider, codfish omelets, txuleta de buey, and Idiazabal cheese with quince preserves. Reserving a table is a good idea, especially on weekends.

With a wood-paneled dining room awash with antiques, this family operation is a longtime local favorite for top-quality fish and meats cooked over coals. In the open kitchen, wild lubina (sea bass), rodaballo (turbot), and other regional delicacies from land and sea cook to crackly perfection.

The narrow stone rooms of a defunct banana warehouse are now one of the finest spots for modern Basque dining. There's an affordable weekend tasting menu that hinges on what's in season, though dishes like seared txuleton and hake in white wine sauce with clams never come off the menu for a reason.

A little-known culinary gem on the ground floor of the 15th-century Torre de Anda, this down-home wine and cheese bar with three high-top tables is always stocked with smoky Idiazabal, limited-production Rioja Alavesa wines, and tart gildas.

Eleven km (7 miles) south of Mundaka and 1 km (½ mile) northwest of Gernika, you'll find this restaurant in an idyllic 18th-century caserío, or traditional Basque farmhouse. Garlands of red peppers and garlic hang from wooden beams in the cathedral-like dining area, where loyal guests tuck into hearty yet refined fish and meats cooked over a wood-fire grill.

The kitchen is open until midnight in this unfussy Casco Viejo pintxo spot. The industrial design—think tables with a green polyethylene finish and exposed pipes—belies a comfort-food-heavy menu with star dishes like octopus brochettes and juicy grilled steaks.

Hiding in the basement of a timber building in the heart of the Parte Vieja, this restaurant—where world-renowned chef Martín Berasategui cut his teeth—toes the line between traditional and contemporary Basque cuisine. A recent menu included Navarran white asparagus with hollandaise, poached hake with clam-and-pea sauce, and brûléed torrijas (Spanish "French" toast).

This Nueva Cocina Vasca (New Basque Cuisine) favorite houses two concepts: La Despensa, with vibrant, internationally inflected raciones served beneath neon lights and Edison bulbs, and El Atelier, the sedate, white-tablecloth restaurant serving ultra-high-end seafood-centric tasting menus. Both are terrific in their own right; spring for whichever your budget will allow.

This family-friendly restaurant off the tourist track serves a wide range of classic, lovingly prepared dishes ranging from creamy squid croquetas to griddled European lobster. The best value is the €15 weekday menú del día (prix fixe), which can be made vegetarian upon request.

If you find yourself in Getxo, the beach town north of Bilbao where the Puente de Vizcaya is located, treat yourself to a meal at this graceful mansion serving mouthwatering dishes like rice with squid and salsa verde and oxtail in Rioja wine sauce. Set menus, ranging in price from €15 to €75 per person, are a good value whether you're looking to save or splurge.

Make a beeline to this gastro bar on the ground floor of the eponymous mercado to satisfy your Basque food cravings after you've ogled all the shimmering fresh fish, plump jamones ibéricos (Iberian hams), and sweet-smelling fruit. The menú del día (price varies) is usually a good deal, and the highbrow pintxos are consistently tasty.

Opened in 2019 in Mercado de San Martín, Maun is not your typical no-frills "bar de mercado" but rather a gastronomical food counter whose mouthwatering dishes—such as fish stew, squid in ink sauce, and heirloom tomato salad—are made with ultrafresh ingredients sourced steps from your table.