23 Best Restaurants in Bilbao and the Basque Country, Spain

Tuna carpaccio with pickled Basque peppers, battered hake cheeks, tripe and pork jowl stew—these are some of the classics you'll find on the menu at Antonio, a neighborhood standby that serves unpretentious pintxos at fair prices. Ask about specials, which vary depending on what's in season.

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.

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.

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.

This centrally located, no-frills bar is almost always crowded, drawing busloads of tour groups as well as locals, who come to try the worth-the-hype "burnt" cheesecake with an oozy core. This silky, creamy dessert pairs perfectly with a cup of coffee, while, on the savory side, the underrated pintxos—red peppers stuffed with bacalao, croquetas, veal meatballs, what have you—sing alongside a glass of Rioja.

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.

Tondeluna has six communal tables (with 10 seats each), and all have views into the kitchen, where cooks plate dishes novel and familiar like glazed beef cheeks with apple puree and Getaria-style hake with melty panadera (thinly sliced and roasted) potatoes.

The unassuming interiors of this Casco Viejo standby belie a sophisticated kitchen that has won numerous awards for its knockout pintxos including txangurro gratinado (crab gratin), gildas (olive-anchovy-pepper brochettes), and rabbit ravioli. Order and pay at the bar, then carry your nibbles outside to the first-come-first-served patio.

Winner of many a miniature cuisine award (don't miss the prawn-filled txalupa tartlet), this Gros neighborhood standby offers outside-the-box takes on traditional tapas and pintxos. It also serves more substantial dishes for sit-down meals.

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 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.

This boisterous tavern established in 1948 has ceilings dangling with jamones, walls covered with old photos of San Sebastián, and a dining room packed with locals and tourists in equal measure. Everything from the Iberian ham to the little olive-pepper-and-anchovy combos called "penaltis" will whet your appetite, but those who opt for a full meal shouldn't overlook the dry-aged txuleton.

You may have to throw an elbow or two to get into this teeming bar, but it's worth braving the sardine-can digs for outstanding pintxos like mushroom-and-Idiazabal risotto and seared foie gras with Basque cider compote.

Rub shoulders with small-town riojanos as you tuck into a bowl of caparrones, a local stew made with Riojan red beans, sausage, and fatback. The house wine is an acceptable and inexpensive Uruñuela cosechero (young wine of the year) from the Najerilla Valley. Families will appreciate the children's play area and Saturday activities.

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.

Even the bread is homemade at this wildly popular Basque restaurant on the Left Bank that's renowned for throwback dishes like goose foie gras with raspberry coulis, dry-aged T-bone steaks, and house-made morcilla (blood sausage). A list of small-production and organic wines rounds out the hyperlocal dining experience.

You'd be hard-pressed to find a homier pintxo bar in San Sebastián. Ormazabal has been luring a mostly local crowd for decades with its juicy tortillas de bacalao and burst-in-your-mouth croquetas.

Nearly a secret, this quintessential Basque spot has big wooden tables and a monumental bar filled with cazuelitas (small earthenware dishes) and tapas of all kinds. It is in the center of town but tucked away downstairs.

This buzzy Latin-Spanish fusion restaurant in Gros is the brainchild of Andoni Luis Aduriz of two-Michelin-star Mugaritz. A breath of fresh air on the local dining scene serving colorful cocktails and saucy dishes to the backdrop of Cuban jazz, Topa prides itself on making everything from scratch, from its nixtamalized tortillas to its "thousand-day" mole (originally a gift of Enrique Olvera of Pujol).