Good food, great waiter. Very friendly which can be hard to find. Basque steak is good, different…read morecut than you are accustomed to in the US. Menu says filet mignon, but it is not tender like I'm used to, but good flavor. Nice quiet street and pleasant outdoor dining.

Some of the tastiest pintxos in Bilbao! They offer a great…read morevariety of classics, but each has a unique twist. I recommend the squid, crab gratin, and chorizo. The service was a bit of a mess lol people everywhere trying to get into the queue to order. However, the staff did their best and delivered everything as quickly as possible. I recommend going at off-peak hours... Unless you want to experience ordering like the locals XD

The restaurant is one I found to be recommended for pinxtos (small, bite-sized snacks often on a…read morepiece of toasted bread). We sat outside and were told to order food inside. The thing about sitting outside is that there are smokers. :/ The pinxtos are premade and just heated up. We tried txangurro (spider crab) gratin, artichoke in tempura, and crispy squid with onion. I was a bit disappointed, because I didn't care for any of them. The bread was quite crusty. I guess pinxtos aren't my thing.

This place is unreal! Always packed with locals around breakfast and lunch time. They serve some of…read morethe best Spanish omelette I've had and the pinchos are on another level. If you're in Bilbao this place is a must!

What a find in Bilbao. Do not understand why there are not over 100+ reviews at this place. Easily…read morethe best Pinxtos and Spanish Omelets in the city. Very affordable and great atmosphere.

Food: This is THE BEST place in Bilbao for Cochinillo (Suckling Pig)!! The wagyu beef burger (€10)…read more is cooked to perfection as well. The combination of the egg and wagyu is such a deliciously meaty combination. And of course there's the cochinillo. The crispy skin, succulent meat will make your mouth water and hungry for more. It comes in 2,3 and 4 person portion (starting from €30). Service: the staff is warm and attentive. Although he cannot really converse with us in English, he does his best to explain the menu to us and has the friendliest demeanor. In fact he gave us appetizers on the house in light of Xmas (lkr?)! This is a textbook hidden-gem in Bilbao. Do be sure to hit up this place for a Spanish meal you will never forget!!!

Come here and have the t-bone, a bottle of sidre (cider), a super fresh salad, and relax. This is a…read moreBasque style steakhouse. The restaurant provides bread and a little tapas (or pintxos) to get you started. This was fresh crusty bread with a soft fluffy center and a small place of sausages. Sidre is the drink to order! I think a whole large (wine bottle size) bottle is only 8€. It's fun to watch it being poured from a height by your server to aerate the beverage for enhanced flavor. It's like apple juice but tart, sour, and so refreshing. The salad of butter lettuce and thinly sliced sweet onions with olive oil and vinegar was perfection. It was so fresh and the dressing was perfect. The main course, the T-bone steak for two was sheer excellence! The steak came on a sizzling platter and was served with potato frites, perfectly simple but delicious! The steak platter continued to sizzle throughout lunch, so the precut steak pieces could be seared or cooked longer if that was desired. The meat is served medium-rare automatically, so the sizzling stone allows you to adjust the cooking of the steak after its served. This was by far the best meal I had in all of Spain. After dinner the server brought over pacharrán shots, an herbal plum-based after dinner aperitif to help with digestion. It's served in frosted shot glasses. We had one and thanked him for it, then maybe we had one more. What a way to end a great meal-with a buzz. This place is a little pricey, but very much worth it. So glad we came here and dined. It's looks humble but the food is the star of the show here!

This is a wonderful restaurant! We had been driving all day and were exhausted, hungry, and hoping…read moreto find a place that could make us feel at home. La Gabarra was the perfect place at the perfect time! The owners were very patient and helped us with our selection. We shared a T-bone steak that was beautifully cooked and delicious, a green salad, and a bottle of wine. We finished the meal with a nice cheese and jam board... If we are in Bilbao again, we will most certainly return to this restaurant! Great food, simply prepared, kind and friendly owners... just can't say enough nice things about this restaurant!

The Jake with stuffed seafood was excellent, the hake with pil pil sauce was bad. Slimy little…read morepieces of fish cheeks in a yellow emulsion sauce. Supposedly a local dish so someone must like it. Side dish of potatoes were served cold and service was poor. There is a fish dirty fish tank in the dining area that they pull live seafood to cook, not very appealing.

Delicious seafood. We had crabs, scallops, prawns, clamps etc. the only thing, that I prefer…read morescallops slightly cooked with butter without any sauce. But still it was incredible. As per meat - bask's meat is well known. Here it was medium grilled and it was very tasty. They have menu in english and french as well, but the stuff speaks mostly spanish. Nevertheless, the stuff is very friendly.

Another spot, another cerveza and another pinxtos. Indautxu'ko Batzokia is on a short dead-end…read morestreet. Not much for windows on the outside though they do have shaded tables outside. Inside, it's a little dark and that makes for a nice pub feel. I was here for about an hour with two beers and a pinxtos while I caught up on the Internet with their free wifi. Cold Amstel and something on bread with shredded cheese and a slice of iberico. Tasty beer and tasty bite. Service was great and they had no problem with me taking up a table for an hour.

Wonderful tapas bar right in the heart of town. The vino kept on flowing and the atmosphere was…read morefabulous. The pimientos were perfectly salted and wine selection was excellent. But let's face it, you'll get fabulous wine all over Spain, right? That said, this spot was perfect for a snack and great company.

We came here late night, on our last evening in Bilbao…read more Most kitchens close quite early in this area, and Ad Hoc was open at least an hour later than anyplace around. The place is clean and modern looking with a beautiful chalkboard and a friendly waiter who was happy to accommodate our late-night drunken and broken Spanish. We had delicious and piping hot croquettes with a creamy interior spiked with salty ham. Their anchovies were standard but really delicious. Finally, at the bartender's recommendation, we had some Morcilla (blood sausage) with a lovely creamy puree. There is so much amazing food in Bilbao, it's sometimes hard to choose where to go to get your fix. In this case, Ad Hoc's unusually extended hours made the decision for us and i'm really happy they did!!

This is a one star restaurant for the Guide Michelin, and it deserves it. It is located at the…read moreMelia hotel, not very far from the Guggenheim museum. The place is quite modern, with divided in three rooms; of which I prefer the last one as it is cosier. We chose the "degustación" menu to discover the Chef's cooking clearly inspired by Basque cuisine and seafood. We tasted 2 starters (grilled oyster and crispy king prawns), 2 fishes (barbecued octopus and roasted monkfish), 2 meats (seared foie gras and pigeon) and finally 2 deserts (cream ice and withe chocolate mousse). Everything was perfectly cooked with a precise and delicate dressing. A special mention for the octopus and the monkfish, 2 products very difficult to perfectly cook; and it was the case. Service was really caring. The only point is that you east too much, so it is quite difficult to really appreciate deserts. To be noticed that wine list is specialized on spanish ones, with very affordable prices. If you spend some time in Bilbao, do not hesitate, this is the place to go.