I've heard good things about Café Bilbao, and I wanted to see it for myself. I arrived just when rush hour (14:00) was dying down, and I managed to get a table next to the colorful blue-and-white tiles. Seriously, come for the interior architecture itself: very photo-worthy! The food was to die for. In fact, I loved it so much that I had two rounds of it! Serving both pintxos and tapas, Café Bilbao serves high-quality, bite-sized dishes that's sure to live in your dreams for the rest of your life. I highly recommend the codfish with Hollandaise sauce on bread, along with goat cheese and jam on bread. Paired with a glass of wine, and you've got yourself an incredible tasting experience. Not to miss while in Bilbao! read more

Café Bar Bilbao - Goat cheese-jam, fried croquette, and codfish with Hollandaise sauce. - Basque Near Me - Bilbao, BI

Bilbao is full of unassuming Cafe Bars like this. This one is inhabited with friendly staff and locals. It's located on a pedestrian square without cars. Good Cappuccinos and Pixtnos. We has a Tortilla and some toast. Whole thing was less than 20 euro for two. read more

Café Bar Bilbao - Tortilla - Basque Near Me - Bilbao, BI

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We had the most amazing food experience here that we came back for more. Love all the pintxos that we tried. Everything was so fresh and delicious. Service was very fast and efficient. Nice bar, very fast paced. read more

Café Bar Bilbao - Assorted pintxos - Basque Near Me - Bilbao, BI

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Only got to sit for an hour to enjoy the view, beer, and tapas. Had a great little snack of bread and meat. The servers were very friendly and helpful, despite my poor Spanish. Wish we would have had all afternoon to try the many, many great tapas you see on display inside. read more

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We saw this place as we were walking around town and one of my friends said he heard about it from somewhere so we decided to try it out. The place was pretty busy and we waited for a little bit before we got a seat. You have to just wait until somebody leaves and then you snag the table. We ordered the pintxos, the calamari, and the special platter. I had never heard of Pintxos but they were delicious. It's just small bites of different items and they were all good. The calamari was cooked perfect and with some good seasonings. The service is different but good. You sit down and a waiter will come to your table with a menu. The drinks were good too. I tried a local beer (La Salve) which was tasty. The restaurant is in a plaza area along with other restaurants. If you are in the area you have to come check this place out. read more

It was tasty! They squeezed us in at the last minute, without a reservation, and had a pleasant lunch. Yeah it's crowded, you feel a bit rushed, but overall, the dishes were flavorful. read more

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Fantastic pinxtoe! service was topic notch as were the drinks. A classic cafe on the square With great ambiance.

Ive tried spanish tortilla at various places. I enjoyed it very much along with the gracious customer service. They offered to make me something special from the kitchen since vegetarian options were few. read more

Café Bar Bilbao - Just cant get enough of The tortilla - Basque Near Me - Bilbao, BI

Fun place. Very busy and for good reasons. Located in a beautiful courtyard away from traffic.

A life saver in the morning. They open before 7 am for the crowd that is still drunk or for the folks who have to leave town early. All the food here was much better than average and the breakfast choices were excellent. read more

Charming decor but so-so food. I had high expectations but was disappointed in the tapas. It's in the big square with a dozen other spots, worth stopping in on a tasting cruise, just for the scenery and decor. read more

One of the best little places to grab a bite to eat. Located in the Plaza Nueva with lots of little restraints and a cute courtyard surrounded by a beautiful building. It tends to be busy so prepare to wait for a place to sit. Highly recommend! read more

Café Bar Bilbao - Basque Near Me - Bilbao, BI

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If there is one place in Bilbao which simply must be visited, it is the Café Bar Bilbao. This attractive, small bar is covered in hand painted tiles and is just brilliant to look at, both inside and out. You should graduate from simply gawping at it, however, since the huge range of tapas available inside is just great. The bar is full of people wandering around looking at all of the freshly made tapas on offer, deciding what to try next, and it is great fun deciding, comparing your choices with your friends and taking a piece of each of theirs to see if you made the right decision! This place is such an institution that it is the only place in our travels through Cantabria and the Pais Vasco that we met some fellow English! Its location, on the northern edge of the Casco Viejo (Old City) and on the south side of the Plaza Nueva, is perfect for beginning an evening tapas crawl through the winding alleys and passages of the Casco Viejo and around the Siete Calle. Just make sure this is where you kick your evening off though, the Café Bar closes ridiculously early, around 2200 most nights. read more

Café Bar Bilbao - Basque Near Me - Bilbao, BI

A charming little pintxos bar in the heart of the old city, Cafe Bar Bilbao is well worth stopping in. One of my favourite things about Bilbao was hopping between pintxos bars sampling little bites and drinking far too much wine, but whereas I have no dietary restrictions and was happy to grab nibbles at will (even if I might not know their contents) my travelling partner was pescatarian and needed a place that was a bit more english friendly to navigate the food on offer. Cafe Bilbao proved to be a happy medium - though no one seemed to speak a lick of english, they were charmingly and hilariously good natured in dealing with our broken Spanish - even while facing down a throng of customers - and we happily tucked into wine and some of the best pintxos of our trip after a simple exchange. It's one of the oldest bars in the square and though the tiles inside are worth gawking at, but we preferred to sit outside and people watch while we gushed over the goat cheese pintxos and planned our next culinary attempts. If we had been staying in the old city for the remainder of our trip, I would daresay this place would become a safe staple in our evenings. read more

I was very underwhelmed by the food here. Maybe my expectations were too high, but I found most of the Pinxtos I had to be pretty mediocre, forgettable. The duck confit was good, and the duck larange would have been perfect if it wasn't coated with so much sauce. The atmosphere is fine, and the wine is good, but it was easily the worst pinxtos I had all day. read more

One of my favorite pincho bars in Bilbao. The mussels were out of this world. They go fast when they are out. Relaxed atmosphere and friendly service. Fantastic location to plan your next stop. 10 out of 10. read more

Charming place, service was good and good variety of tapas. Tables outside are limited so be prepared to wait.

Nice people, tasty pintxos but nothing faa cy out of this world. Did not try the raciones