The best restaurants Basque Country

Approximately ten minutes walk from the centre of Lekeito, next to the beautiful Zubieta Palace, this restaurant is undoubtedly the best address in the area for the quality of its fish and seafood, but also for its good traditional recipes. In an authentic and warm setting, you can enjoy an excellent fish soup, chipirons in ink, prawns, octopus, clams, and good fresh fish grilled a la plancha. A delight!

A superb 17th century farmhouse surrounded by bucolic gardens, where the waitresses are dressed in black and white. The setting, imbued with authenticity, offers an ideal backdrop for tasting traditional Basque cuisine. Under a sturdy frame, its elegant tables are the setting for many family celebrations. On the menu, excellent fish from the ports of Mundaka, Bermeo and Ondarroa, as well as brasa grilled meats. Also a wide choice of menus!

Good table managed by Patxi and Alejandra, a young couple from Laguardia. In a rather classic decor, they taste traditional recipes that have been brought up to date with talent. Situated on the outskirts of the city, the restaurant offers beautiful views of the vineyards and the Sierra de Cantabria. Some suggestions to whet your appetite: goat's cheese gratin with apple-grape compote or cod carpaccio with aioli sauce as a starter; grouper pil-pil, grilled beef steak or roast lamb as a main course... and surprise for dessert!

A country restaurant that enjoys a privileged hilltop location with panoramic views of Bermeo. Founded in 1975 on Mount Sollube, this typical asador is appreciated for its parilla grilled meat and fish, especially its chuletón (prime rib) served on a charcoal grill and the delicious octopus "a feira". The tables on the terrace offer a privileged setting for a meal in the open air with a view of the bay.

Here they serve some of the best pintxos in the region! With its inventive or traditional, but revisited recipes, the Sagartoki is unanimously acclaimed. The idea here is to combine delicate and inventive small portions with maestro cocktails composed by the renowned Raúl Fernández. On certain evenings, especially at weekends and in the summer, DJs come to brighten up the atmosphere. Don't leave the premises without tasting the tortilla de patata, pintxo de huevo frito or parmesan croquettes. To be enjoyed at the counter or in a more formal venue.

5 kilometres from the centre of Plentzia, on the heights of Barrika beach, here is a good address to enjoy fresh fish. Here, it is the raw material that counts, and the preparation of the dishes is at the service of the product! Thus, clams a la plancha, txangurro (crab), mussels, hake, turbot or sea bass are cooked in their simplest form. A tip: save room for homemade desserts, especially pantxineta, made with almond puff pastry and cream. A pure delight.

Next to the old bridge of Ondarroa (Zubi Zaharra), this restaurant is a great place to enjoy fresh fish specialities. In the kitchen, the young chef Haitz Bengoetxea prepares seafood specialities with his personal touch. Here, the quality of the product is paramount, both in the bar, where pintxos are served, and in the restaurant area. Not only is the hake a la Ondarresa (hake), the house speciality, but also the txipirones encebollados (chipirones with onion) and zamburiñas (black scallops) are a must try.

The Ariño restaurant is a charming comedor, rustic to the core with its large wooden beams and old stone walls decorated with antique paintings or equally old painted ceramic plates. It is in this typical Basque country canteen atmosphere that we share with the locals an unpretentious but copious menu, always prepared with care. Usually you start with a salad and then move on to a solid rib of beef or fish cooked with skill. Beautiful wine list and warm welcome!

Five minutes by car from the centre of Bermeo, this family restaurant offers traditional Basque cuisine in a rustic caserío built in 1850. The restaurant is famous for its good meat and fish grilled parilla, but it also offers more modest dishes such as garlic soup, kidney beans, talo with chorizo (a kind of wafer) and so on. In winter, an excellent sarteneko (potato-egg-chorizo) typical of the region is eaten by the fireplace.

Located in the centre of Zumárraga, very close to Plaza Euskadi, this restaurant is run by the friendly Juanma Hurtado. He offers excellent traditional cuisine as well as more innovative recipes. His credo is "kilometre zero", i.e. products from his vegetable garden, which he picks every morning before going to the restaurant's kitchens. The three dining rooms offer you different atmospheres - rustic, design or romantic - to enjoy the excellent menu of the day or a tasting menu. A very nice address!

Just 500 metres from the Arantzazu sanctuary, this authentic Basque caserío is an obligatory stop for fine gourmets visiting the region. In this hundred-year-old establishment, tradition and modernity are fused to offer a cuisine that is both rooted in and in tune with the spirit of the times. Alberto Elorza, the third generation of the family, serves an excellent foie gras with apple cream and a stew of carrilleras (pork cheeks) with piquillo mousse. Its elegant salons regularly host weddings and celebrations of all kinds.

A 10 minute walk from the historic centre, a beautiful rustic casona that hides well by its diversity and the quality of its cuisine. Several rooms inside, one haughty in parade clothes, white tablecloths, antique chairs... the other more relaxed under a covered veranda where stone, wood and large bays compete for space. As for the kitchen, it is the work of Natxo Gracia, who knows how to play with simplicity with good recipes from the past mixed with an ounce of modernity and originality.

A warm family restaurant, much appreciated by the locals for its excellent quality-price ratio. Here, the kitchen is open to the dining room: you can see how the dishes are cooked. Opened in 1983 by the Ameztoy-Alfaro family, this restaurant has been given a new lease on life under the direction of the young chef Xabier Zabala, who offers an innovative cuisine that is nonetheless very much rooted in the land. On the menu: red tuna tartar and mango gazpacho, rice with chipirons, cod with three sauces, suckling pig... Opt for the menu of the day!

Inaugurated in 1962, a stone's throw from the church of San Salvador, Kaia Kaipe is today a classic in Guetaria, renowned among the locals for its excellent fish à la parilla. On its pleasant terrace with views of the port, you can enjoy hake, sole, turbot or grilled sea bream, but also excellent seafood from the house's own fish tank... All of this is served with a chilled txakoli or a bottle of wine chosen from the restaurant's huge selection, whose bodega has some 1,000 references. A sure value!

Twice winner of the national gastronomy prize and three times Michelin starred since 1989, the address for fine gourmets combines new cuisine and traditional cuisine. Nec plus ultra of San Sebastián, the address nestles however in a discreet villa. On the menu: chipirones in black ink, monkfish cheeks in Txacoli sauce, lobster with peaches, red fruit cake on white chocolate... And a cellar whose richness is due to the quality and diversity of the great traditional wines of France and Spain, but also to new wine-producing origins.

A classic and elegant restaurant on the road to Mount Igueldo, renowned throughout the city for its superb bodega and refined cuisine. Founded in 1964, Rekondo occupies a pretty stone villa, whose renovated living rooms offer a very pleasant setting to discover its excellent traditional cuisine: artichokes with foie gras, baked txangurro (crab), hake in green sauce, rice with clams ... With more than 4,000 references, the restaurant has one of the finest wine lists in the world. Charming terrace for lunch in the shade of the plane trees.

The best address in the city to enjoy a good meal or pintxos in a nice rustic setting, with stones and exposed beams. Mushrooms (in season), seafood and grilled meats are the protagonists of an ingrained cuisine, with a special emphasis on seasonal products. The house is also famous for its delicious chuletón (grilled prime rib). Informal atmosphere around the bar or on the terrace, and white tablecloth tables on the restaurant side!

This typical four-century-old caserío proudly stands out amidst the modern buildings on the outskirts. In addition to its beautiful rustic decor of stones and exposed beams, presided over by huge kupelas (barrels) of cider, the place has been famous since 1982 for its beef ribs and fish grilled in the parilla. Also on the menu, local delicacies such as Tudela's cogollos (sweetmeats), endives with salmon and txangurro (crab), scrambled eggs with kokotxas (cod)... A good address for a traditional meal.

On the Paseo Nuevo, nestled against Mount Urgull, this restaurant offers a privileged location next to the aquarium and facing the Bay of La Concha. It is a modern and minimalist glass cube that opens out to the ocean with its beautiful terrace. In the kitchen, chef Mikel Santamaría creates creative and iodised dishes: tuna belly with green Ibarra peppers; Donostiarra soup with clams, monkfish and lobster; scampi ravioli and sautéed scallops. For a more modest price, enjoy the cafeteria area.

Close and yet far from it all, this restaurant is well worth a detour on a visit to the Montaña Alavesa. It's to a local boy that we owe this native, star-studded gastronomic proposition. Cultivating an identity where the wild ardor of the surrounding nature meets the refinement and warmth of a nostalgic cuisine, the chef and his team love to invent and surprise. As the only authorized wild boar hunting area, game is one of the star ingredients here, but not the only one! A breath of fresh air in Basque cuisine.

Francis Paniego, owner of the restaurant Portal de Echaurren runs this gourmet restaurant (1 Michelin star). Awarded by the national price for gastronomy in 2012, the young chef from La Rioja offers an inventive cuisine and close to local, in the sumptuous decor which Marqués de Riscal offers to him, avant-garde building designed by Frank Gehry. The wines are obviously a choice place throughout the gourmet experience.

The unmissable restaurant of Bakio, facing the peninsula of San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, in a superb caserío built in 1816. Here you can enjoy traditional cuisine in a very pleasant environment, with huge gardens all around. Under the beautiful rustic frame, you will be served a txangurro (crab) salad, clams a la plancha, and a fine selection of fresh fish a la parilla. Those who are curious can take a look at the restaurant's small ethnographic museum. For a more modest budget, delicious pintxos in the restaurant's bar.

One of the Parte Vieja's must-visit tapas bars: the celebrity photos, press articles and numerous awards hanging on its walls testify to its deserved status as an institution! Manu Marañón, the current owner, inherited this maritime bar from his grandparents. He continues to prepare the house specialty: boquerones, anchovies marinated in vinegar. Must-tries: pintxo d'antxoas con crema de centollo (anchovies with crab cream) and jardinera, made with red and green peppers and onion.

In a very minimalist decor, the NH Collection Aránzazu hotel restaurant has forged its own identity thanks to the inventive and contemporary dishes signed by chef Martín Aristondo. Located opposite the Zubimusu Park, less than 10 minutes walk from the beautiful beach of Ondarreta, this restaurant with its uncluttered setting is very popular with the locals. In addition to its excellent tapas and raciones, Kukuarri stands out for its always innovative market cuisine. Favour the tasting menu, which offers good value for money!

A Parte Vieja classic! This traditional house, founded in 1948, offers two charming atmospheres: a very nice tapas bar where you can taste various pintxos, and a restaurant run by Aitziber which offers a culinary journey around Basque cuisine, with specialities such as chuletón (prime rib), hongos a la plancha (sautéed mushrooms) or anchoas fritas (anchovies), with an excellent regional wine list. For dessert, don't miss the delicious tarta de queso (cheesecake). A good address and good value for money.

Very pleasant terrace overlooking the port, this port where the chef of Jokin supplies himself made from fresh fish to serve a seasonal cuisine and quality.

The younger brother of a bar of the same name in Melbourne, this restaurant was born out of Gerald's passion, originally from Australia, for the cuisine of northern Spain. In the heart of Le Gros, it is a singular place, with its wooded decor and jazzy music, its cuisine sometimes international, sometimes rooted. Depending on the season and the market produce, you can enjoy a steak tartare of pikaña (a very tender piece of beef), sole meunière or red mullet with leeks. The most intrepid will give the chief carte blanche. A place with a soul!

Notice the little house with blue shutters, in the district of La Marina: it is the former fishermen's brotherhood. Since 1938, excellent maritime cuisine has been served in this picturesque setting, to be enjoyed in an always very friendly atmosphere. The house is famous for its fish soup, renowned throughout the region! But you will also taste excellent fish à la parilla (grilled), and as a dessert, a divine caramelized torrija.

Specialties of meat and fish to plancha. Well located for lunch, before or after the visit of the cave.

Located in an 18th century mansion, this restaurant offers several atmospheres on each of its floors. On the ground floor there is a pub area with barrels and wooden tables which hosts concerts at weekends. Around the counter you can enjoy pintxos and tapas of all kinds. The upper floors house the restaurant and private lounges. In the kitchen, traditional recipes are served with a modern twist. Groups and families appreciate the restaurant with its friendly tables and children's play area.