What to say! Currently my favourite restaurant in Bilbao. Every time I drop by for holidays (4-5…read moretimes a year as I'm originally from Bilbao) I go here. My recommendations: - tan tan men: they say it's spicy but not at all. Very similar to the Paitan but with some "spicy" mince meat. Extremely tasty and my go to. - Paitan: a more pure flavour to the broth and extremely tasty and with great body. I would recommend it any day it's just a tinny wee bit under the previous one. Something else I want to say is that while I have tried the chintan, and I'm not all that keen on it due to a more "fishy" and thin broth, it is still full of flavour

Great service and good prices but the sushi didn't taste super fresh when I had it. It was fun to…read moretry the different flavors though, you can order one by one from the bar and the toppings were different than the usual American rolls have. The sides all looked great, I really enjoyed my wakame (seaweed) salad.

Very fresh fish, no complaint with this price. Rice tastes a bit too sweet though. Can't wait to go…read moreback to check out their another branch while it's closer to where we stay.

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.

Tasty sushi at a reasonable price. Nice and clean restaurant. Staff is friendly and…read morespeak/understand English.

Bilbao has just a handful of Japanese restaurants, and I was looking to try out a new one this…read moreweekend. I found out about Mao after a bit of poking around on the web, and decided to give it a go for dinner. The interior of Mao was impressive: a water water gurgled on one side of the room, a large hibachi grill stood in the corner of one dining room, and the decor was minimalistic and modern. The service was quick and professional. I started off with the miso soup--not hard to mess up, and this one did not disappoint. Later I moved on to some specialty rolls: Hot Philadelphia, Dragon and Kani. The latter two were the best: fresh, delicious, and beautifully presented, while the Hot Philadelphia was just ok. Later I ordered a plate of chicken teriyaki, which I was not impressed with. It was strips of dry chicken breast doused in a watery teriyaki sauce--I've had much, much better. Lastly, I had dessert: green tea ice cream, and fried chocolate-banana rolls. Both were delicious. Washed everything down with a nice glass of house red--excellent for 2.50 a glass! Overall, the ambience was great, service was good, and there was some nice sushi to be found.