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Eating is one of the things the Basques do best. Most of Spain grudgingly concedes that Basque cuisine is the peninsula’s best, the San Sebastián twilight shimmers with Michelin stars, and chummy all-male txokos gather in private to swap recipes and cook up feasts in members-only kitchens. But what strikes the visitor first are the pintxos, a stunning range of bartop snacks that in many cases seem too pretty to put your teeth in . Basque cuisine is based on seafood, with that Spanish staple the merluza (hake) featuring alongside bacalao, dried salt cod that is definitely an acquired taste but occasionally is delicious. Ingredients used to spice these and other seafoods and meats are typically garlic, peppers and olive oil. See the food glossary for a more detailed run-down on Basque edibles and potables. Eating hours are later than most of Europe, although not as much as in other parts of Spain. Lunch is normally served between 1330-1530, although this runs later at weekends.
Most restaurants offer a menú del día, a three-course meal with wine; this is usually unremarkable but excellent value, costing between €5 and €10. A handful of places offer a similar menú in the evening too. At about seven or eight, while northern Europe is halfway through dinner, everyone is on the street, strolling up and down in the paseo, ducking into bars for a swift drink and a pintxo, or sitting on a terraza somewhere nursing a coffee or a vermouth.
Most restaurants don’t open in the evening until 2030, but most people won’t eat until 2000, later at weekends. On weeknights the Basque country shuts down fairly early, but at weekends the pintxo bars and restaurants keep buzzing well into the madrugada.
Bilbao’s Casco Viejo is undoubtedly the best place to head for pintxos and evening drinking, the best areas being the Plaza Nueva and around the Siete Calles. There’s another concentration of bars on Avenida Licenciado Poza and the smaller C García Rivero off it. The narrow Calle Ledesma, a street back from Gran Vía, is a popular place to head for after-work snacks and drinks. There are some good restaurants in the Casco Viejo, but also plenty of options scattered through the New Town and Deusto.
Travel Guides | Bilbao | Eating And Drinking Bilbao
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