The Basque Country runs on pintxos. These miniature culinary compositions, lined up along bar counters in gleaming rows as the bar’s only marketing, are a big part of the reason why the region is considered one of the best places to eat in the world. And at a couple of euros a pop, one of the most affordable for the quality, too.
The word comes from ‘pinchar’ (to pierce), though not everything gets skewered. That said, in some of the more traditional pintxos bars, you’ll want to keep those sticks for an easy totting up of your bill. You’ll see napkins accumulating on the floor of the best places, too; not a sign that they’re understaffed, but a tradition – the mark of a good bar busy with locals who’ve been coming for years.
Pintxos eating is a ritual, known locally as txikiteo. You lean at the bar, point at what looks good and eat it in a bite or two, then move on to the next place with your cuadrilla (the Basque term for your group of friends), digesting as you stroll, ready for what’s next by the time you arrive.
Getting to know the rhyme, reason and rhythm of pintxos bars will help you order with the necessary efficiency. Cold pintxos, usually stacked on a slice of baguette, sit ready on the counter; hot pintxos get ordered and cooked fresh, and arrive on a plate. A txikito (small wine), zurito (small beer) or glass of txakoli, the local slightly sparkling white poured from height, washes each one down. These are small pours, mind; a zurito barely fills a quarter of the glass, and ciders come in similar thimblefuls. The idea is to keep moving, not to settle in with a pint by the fire.
Bilbao, the Basque Country’s largest city and industrial heart turned cultural heavyweight, is where most visitors get their first taste of txikiteo. The scene here clusters around four distinct zones. The Casco Viejo (Bilbao’s medieval quarter, known locally as the Siete Calles or Seven Streets) is where you’ll find the highest concentration, with Plaza Nueva serving as the epicentre.
Cross the river to the 19th-century Ensanche district and you’ll discover the Diputación area, a small square behind the provincial government palace where bilbaínos gather after work, children play underfoot, and the pintxos – though perhaps less flamboyantly appointed – rival anything in the old town. Further west, the residential neighbourhood of Indautxu serves more locals than visitors, with prices and atmosphere to match. And Abando, home to the Guggenheim, offers a scattering of specialists worth seeking out.
With all that in mind, here’s where to find the best pintxos in Bilbao.
Diputación (Ensanche District)
The old town (Casco Viejo) might be where the majority of the most popular pintxos bars are found, but venture away from the main square and you’ll be richly rewarded.
Moyua metro station sits at the centre of the Ensanche, the elegant 19th-century district built across the river as Bilbao’s wealthy expanded beyond the medieval old town. A few minutes’ walk from the station, the small square on Diputación street – tucked behind the provincial government palace – is where suits and young parents congregate after work, drawn by two of the city’s finest pintxos bars and the rare luxury of space for children to run around while parents enjoy a glass of wine in relative peace.
El Globo
El Globo opened in 1997 – the same year as the Guggenheim, a ten-minute walk away, and the completion of Moyua metro station basically just outside the bar. Perfect timing, and whether deliberate or not, it does feel like the stars aligned to make El Globo the definitive Bilbao pintxos bar. They’ve since opened a second branch in Plaza Nueva, but the original Diputación location is our favourite.
Served warm, the txangurro gratinado (spider crab gratin) is their flagship: brown crab meat mixed with a light béchamel, piled onto crusty bread, and gratinéed until the top turns golden and the interior stays molten. It’s won them the txapela – the traditional Basque beret, awarded as a prize at regional pintxo competitions – for best traditional pintxo in the past, and rightly so. It’s the essential Bilbao pintxo, in our view.
But don’t stop there. You’ll see curled, inviting tentacles of calamari on slabs of bread, too, and they’re just so good with a crisp, perfectly formed little beer. They arrive lightly battered and squeaky-fresh, tangled with some caramelised onions and requiring nothing more than a squeeze of lemon to see them on their way.
Since it’s so convivial here, both inside the admittedly humid bar and outside in the square, you should stick around and order the pintxo de ensaladilla de atún (tuna and potato salad with a cross of red pepper strips) too. It initially looks overwhelming in its heft, but is featherlight and fulfilling.
Website: barelglobo.es
Address: Diputazio Kalea, 8, Abando, 48008 Bilbao, Bizkaia, Spain
La Viña del Ensanche
Three generations of the same family have run La Viña del Ensanche since 1927, and walking through the door feels like stepping into a preserved piece of history. The original furniture remains. Letters from travelling Basques still cover the walls, sent to the stamp-collecting founder. Hams hang from the ceiling like stalactites, glistening with salt and smelling, well, great.
The focus here is on premium products rather than elaborate preparations. The Joselito jamón ibérico de bellota (acorn-fed Iberian ham from one of Spain’s most prestigious producers) gets sliced on a vintage 1907 Berkel, the hand-cranked carbon steel blade working slowly to avoid heating the fat.
But La Viña isn’t just a standing-at-the-bar affair. Grab a seat and order from an actual menu, if you’re keen to take a load off. The warm pintxos, prepared upon request, are worth the short wait. Espárragos en tempura (tempura asparagus) arrives light and greaseless, served with three types of aioli, all looking identical but tasting quite distinctive. The hake, grilled on the plancha with Bizkaina red pepper sauce, is another highlight – the fish flaky and sweet, the sauce rich and deeply savoury.
This is a bar for sitting with good wine (the eminently affordable house red does the job nicely) and premium ham, or indeed something larger, watching the room fill with people who’ve been coming here for decades, and cooking up a plan to someday stand amongst them.
Website: lavinadelensanche.com
Address: Diputazio Kalea, 10, Abando, 48008 Bilbao, Bizkaia, Spain
The Casco Viejo & Plaza Nueva
The Casco Viejo, Bilbao’s medieval quarter, is a tangle of narrow lanes winding between centuries-old buildings, opening onto squares where the evening ritual plays out nightly.
The neoclassical Plaza Nueva, completed in 1851, is the heart of Bilbao’s pintxos scene. Its arcaded perimeter houses perhaps a dozen bars, all coming alive from 7pm when locals descend for their txikiteo.
The Basque Country keeps earlier hours than the south – the cooler climate means there’s no need to wait out the heat – so things wind down at around 11pm rather than into the small hours, which is still late enough to confound most British visitors, to be fair. But they start earlier too: many of these bars open at 7am for coffee, and by mid-morning the first pintxos are already on the counter.
On Sundays, a flea market fills the square, but on any given evening, the terraces fill with drinkers and the cacophony of conversation carries across the cobblestones. Do bear in mind that the early pajarito gets the worm – arrive late and the good stuff’s often gone.
Plaza Nueva
Gure Toki
‘Gure Toki’ translates as ‘our place’ in Basque, and given the near four decades this corner bar has occupied Plaza Nueva, the name feels earned. The current owners’ mother created the recipes still used today, including their celebrated oxtail croquettes, but we’ve found even more joy in the huevo poché con patatas (poached egg with chips), a real showstopper. Runny yolk coats stubby batons of golden potato and wild mushroom in something approaching textural alchemy, the kind of deceptively simple dish that separates competent kitchens from exceptional ones.
They’ve a wicked way with eggs here, it’s got to be said. Morcilla con huevo de codorniz y jamón ibérico (black pudding with quail’s egg and Iberian ham) stacks the pudding beneath a tiny fried egg and wisps of cured ham, while the brocheta de cerdo glaseado (glazed pork skewer) comes lacquered and sticky, stood in a shot glass of mashed potato, for some reason.
The accolades tell part of the story: Best Pintxo Bar in the Basque Country (2016), champions of the Casco Viejo rabas competition (2012), and, over the years, various single dish awards for pintxos like their Idiazabal cheese soup and their oxtail with candyfloss.
But it’s not awards that capture the essence of a Saturday evening here. Gure Toki is small and fills quickly, but there’s terrace seating overlooking the arcaded square, and frankly half of Plaza Nueva functions as their overflow dining room, ideal for when locals pack three-deep at the bar and the perimeter outside is just as boisterous. That’s where the real magic of Gure Toki lies.
Website: guretoki.com
Address: Pl. Berria, 12, Ibaiondo, 48005 Bilbao, Bizkaia, Spain
Sorginzulo
The name Sorginzulo means ‘witch’s hole’, a nod to the infamous Basque witch trials of 1609, in which the Spanish Inquisition targeted Navarrese villages and the caves used for alleged aquelarres (sabbaths).
The toad in the bar’s logo represents the creatures that accused witches supposedly kept as supernatural servants. Dark subject matter for a pintxos bar, and they’re missing a trick by not having frog on the menu, but Sorginzulo still does some of the best pintxos in Bilbao.
Chef Iñaki Lazkano has led the kitchen here for over twenty-five years, and his tortilla de patata, made with revered ágata potatoes and Euskaber eggs, the potatoes confited with red Biscayan onion, reached the final of the Bizkaia Tortilla Championship in 2024. The rabas (battered, fried squid) are essential, and Sorginzulo is one of the few bars serving them all day, every day, not just on Sundays, as is sometimes the tradition elsewhere.
Website: sorginzulo.com
Address: Pl. Berria, 12, Ibaiondo, 48005 Bilbao, Bizkaia, Spain
Café Bar Bilbao
Behind the blue-tiled façade (practically a landmark in itself) lies a Belle Époque interior that hasn’t changed much since Café Bar Bilbao opened in 1911; checkerboard flooring, ornate mouldings, mosaics, and a horseshoe-shaped bar that’s seen over a century of elbows.
The bacalao al pil pil (salt cod in emulsified olive oil and garlic sauce) is the house speciality. By 10:30pm on weekends, you can hear the bar from across the square, voices rising, napkins accumulating on the floor in the time-honoured fashion.
Instagram: @cafebarbilbao
Address: Pl. Berria, 6, Ibaiondo, 48005 Bilbao, Bizkaia, Spain
Antxoa Taberna
If anchovies are your thing (and after a few hours in Bilbao, they will be) then you’ll be in heaven at this specialist bar, as Antxoa Taberna stocks salted fillets from more than twenty different canneries, from Santoña to Getaria and beyond. Each is cleaned and hand-packed by expert artisans, and we’re convinced you can taste that dedication in the glorious anchovy-based pintxos on offer.
The octavillo tradition has been revived here: a special tin containing exactly eight anchovy fillets, served as an individual portion alongside regional wines. So settle in; there’s much more seating inside Antxoa Taberna than most Plaza Nueva bars, which counts for a lot when you want to linger a little longer and really savour your pintxos experience.
The matrimonio pairs boquerón (white anchovy, vinegar-cured) with antxoa (brown anchovy, salt-cured) and sweet piquillo pepper on the same bite: a marriage of two preparations, hence the name. The spicy pintxo de bonito (seared tuna with anchovy) with chipotle and gratinated aioli, is luxurious, and our favourite bite here. A glass of txakoli is the thing to drink against the salt and gentle pungency; a winning combination, if ever there was one.
Instagram: @antxoataberna
Address: Pl. Berria, 1, Ibaiondo, 48005 Bilbao, Bizkaia, Spain
Bar Zuga
Tucked into a corner of Plaza Nueva, Bar Zuga draws a more local crowd than some of its neighbours. There’s rock music on the stereo, and the vibe is relaxed and unpretentious, letting the pintxos (and the gently inebriated regulars) do the talking.
Chef David Asteinza has built a reputation for pintxos that balance innovation with tradition, and the bar has been recognised by the Academia Vasca de Gastronomía for both its classic and creative offerings.
The foie a la plancha (grilled foie gras) comes with a Pedro Ximénez reduction that suits the lobe’s inherent richness perfectly, the foie decadent and caramelised, the sharp-sweet interplay of the reduction cutting through the liver’s intensity.
Their Carolina de Roquefort is famous, too, taking the city’s traditional cream-filled pastry and reimagining it as a savoury cheese pintxo. The taco de bonito (tuna) is another regular order, and one that sells out as soon as it hits the counter.
Address: Goikolau Cueva Kalea, s/n, Ibaiondo, 48005 Bilbao, Bizkaia, Spain
Bar El Globo (Plaza Nueva)
At the Plaza Nueva branch of El Globo, the morcilla de León balls (a big ol’ ball of black pudding that’s been coated in peanuts) is excellent, and grilled txistorra sausage sandwich – semi-cured Basque sausage made from pork – delivers a spicy, oily kick.
Website: barelglobo.es
Address: Pl. Berria, 1, Ibaiondo, 48005 Bilbao, Bizkaia, Spain
Elsewhere In Casco Viejo
Mercado de la Ribera
Mercado de la Ribera, the Art Deco market building beside the Nervión River, has traded food since medieval times, though the current structure dates to 1929. At over 10,000 square metres, it held the Guinness World Record as Europe’s largest covered market. The 1983 floods devastated the interior; subsequent renovations added a gastro plaza on the ground floor where several pintxos bars now operate beneath the original stained glass.
La Bodeguilla specialises in the OG pintxo, the gilda (guindilla pepper, anchovy, and olive on a skewer), named after Rita Hayworth’s seductive character in the 1946 film for its/her salty, spicy, slightly provocative kick. They offer more than thirty variations on the theme, playing with different types of chilli, fish, cheese and other accompaniments while respecting the original’s essential character. The artichoke version is particularly enjoyable.
Vermuteka operates as a display area for Bacardi Martini products, which sounds more sterile than the reality. Instead, it’s one of the livelier spots on the gastro floor, with food that punches above its corporate backing. The tosta de bacalao al pil pil (salt cod in emulsified garlic sauce) is superb, while the crispy squid tentacles on a thick smear of aioli make for excellent drinking food alongside a well-poured vermouth.
It’s at this point that we should mention that you don’t always need to eat the bread. That squid can be hoiked right off its baguette bed and inhaled without the carbs, if it be your will.
Website: mercadodelaribera.biz
Address: 20 Bis, Erribera Kalea, Ibaiondo, 48005 Bilbao, Bizkaia, Spain
Berton Bukoi
One of three Berton premises in Bilbao’s old town, Bukoi occupies a stone-fronted building on Calle Jardines, a quieter street in the old town away from the Plaza Nueva crowds that runs south from the cathedral area and attracts a slightly more refined clientele, with bars that lean toward restaurant-quality pintxos rather than quick bites at the counter.
Bukoi boasts a small terrace for watching the street life drift past. Inside, the yellow walls and exposed brick give way to the kind of curated nostalgia you find in long-running family bars: a vintage Derbi moped suspended from the wooden beams, industrial pendant lamps, a 1907 Berkel slicer that handles the ham with a rotation almost as unhurried as the service here. The closed holm oak charcoal oven is the real draw, though – it gives grilled dishes an intensity that gas flames can’t replicate, and the chuletón, sold by the kilo, arrives with a proper char accordingly.
But we’re here for the pintxos. Foie features prominently: served with apple compote, served with padrón peppers, served atop sirloin in their signature txapelas de solomillo con huevo de codorniz (sirloin ‘berets’ crowned with quail egg).
But honestly, the best thing on the menu is the most humble. The pimientos del piquillo con ajo (red peppers with garlic) are rich and sweet and just wonderful. Running on a theme of ultra simplicity, small grilled prawns, lightly salted, require nothing more than fingers and napkins. The atmosphere is more refined than the typical pintxos bar – proper tablecloths, unhurried service – but the portions remain generous and the prices fair. There’s some ripe, ropey house red for just a couple of euros a glass too, which feels just right for a mid afternoon pitstop, somehow.
Website: berton.eus
Address: Jardines K., 11, Ibaiondo, 48005 Bilbao, Bizkaia, Spain
Indautxu
West of the centre, Indautxu is a residential neighbourhood where tourists are less likely to venture. They’re missing out, as here, the pintxos bars serve locals rather than visitors, with lower prices and relaxed ambience to match. This is where you go when you want to eat like a bilbaíno.
Bodega Indautxu
Established in 1945 and now in its third generation, Bodega Indautxu describes itself as ‘ajena a modas y modernuras’, which translates roughly as immune to fashions and modernities. This is a genuine neighbourhood bar in residential Indautxu, well off the tourist trail, frequented by locals who’ve been coming for years, and the pintxos have a more rustic quality that is really appealing in the context.
The anchoas rebozadas (egg-battered anchovies known locally as ‘pajaritos’ or little birds for their shape) won first prize at the Bilbao Classic Pintxo Championship. Served with padrón peppers, they’re extraordinary: the batter light and crisp, the anchovy rich and saline inside, the whole juicy. There’s a particularly bruising gilda too, which features ibérico ham and a huge wedge of manchego alongside the usual olive, and excellent pintxo de atún picante, the spicy tuna slicked across bread generously.
The vibe here is resolutely old-school, tiny pours of sagardoa, the local cider, are just a euro or so, and Bruce Springsteen is playing on the crackling tele that hangs above the door. We could stay here forever, quite honestly…
Website: Gregorio de la Revilla Zumarkalea, 18, Abando, 48009 Bilbao, Bizkaia, Spain
Abando
The Abando district sits between the Casco Viejo and Indautxu, home to the Guggenheim, the train station and some of Bilbao’s busier commercial streets. The pintxos options here tend toward specialists rather than all-rounders.
Café Iruña
The Jardines de Albia is a leafy square in the Abando district where Bilbao’s bourgeoisie once strolled. The grand cafés here date from the early 20th century and retain an elegance that the old town’s taverns never aimed for.
At Café Iruña, the extraordinary Mudéjar-inspired interior (300 square metres of polychrome ceilings, arabesque murals, and tilework that belongs in Andalusia rather than the Basque north) has barely changed since the café opened on San Fermín day in 1903. Miguel de Unamuno drank here. So too, Pío Baroja and Indalecio Prieto. We imagine they would today, were they still going. The 2020 restoration maintained what they call “the essence of 1903″, and honestly, not a lot has changed. Phew.
The pinchos morunos (Moorish lamb skewers) have been grilled on the same parrilla for over fifty years, and remain the headlining order, but be warned; they’re only available in the evening. The tartaleta de txangurro (spider crab in a shortcrust tart case) offers a different take on Bilbao’s beloved crustacean, and appears throughout the day, the perfect snack while you wait for those skewers to start turning.
Do note that the pintxos arrive in batches here, and there are quite significant lulls throughout the day when there’s barely a slice of bread on the counter. Time your visit wisely to catch a more bountiful affair.
Website: cafeirunabilbao.com
Address: Colón de Larreátegui K., 13, Abando, 48001 Bilbao, Bizkaia, Spain
Perita
From Inaz Fernández, who opened Bilbao’s first oyster bar El Puertito to bring affordable bivalves back to a city that had forgotten them, Perita applies the same single-minded focus to prawns and crustaceans from Huelva – the Andalucian province whose Gulf of Cádiz waters produce Spain’s most prized shellfish.
The décor (green and white, nautical touches) evokes the Spanish south rather than the Basque Country, but it works with what’s on the plate. It’s a small space with bar stools and a terrace on the pedestrianised street, open from noon until late every day, and despite the lack of cocktail sticks and display cabinets, the ritual is the same: standing at the bar, a cold drink, messy fingers, another round.
The gambas blancas (white prawns), gambas rojas (red prawns), and carabineros (giant scarlet prawns) are lightly cooked to preserve their natural sweetness. This is not a pintxos bar but for pure prawn pleasure, nowhere in Bilbao comes close. It deserves an honorary mention, then.
Website: peritabar.es
Address: Diputazio Kalea, 1, Abando, 48009 Bilbao, Bizkaia, Spain
Bascake
We simply had to end on something sweet. The burnt Basque cheesecake has conquered the world, but eating one fresh from the oven in its homeland remains a different experience entirely.
Bascake bakes their tarta de queso on site using locally sourced ingredients, serving slices warm so the centre stays soft and molten – actually collapsing – as it should. The space lacks the charm you’d expect of an establishment serving one of Bilbao’s best Basque cheesecakes, but this place isn’t a cafe – it’s designed for picking up your order and eating elsewhere (how about in the Jardines de Albia, just across the way?).
The classic version is essential; the pistachio variation is excellent too. Whole cakes require 24 hours’ notice.
Website: bascake.es
Address: Colón de Larreátegui K., 23, Abando, 48001 Bilbao, Bizkaia, Spain
The Bottom Line
Bilbao’s pintxos scene rewards both the systematic and the spontaneous approach. You could map out a route hitting every award-winner and beloved institution, or you could simply wander the Casco Viejo at 8pm on a Saturday and let the crowds guide you. Either approach works. The bars have been here for decades; most aren’t going anywhere. And you can taste that sense of history and pride in every pintxo.
For a taste of the Basque Country back in London, you can’t get much better than Lurra. Care to join us there?
