Boroa is a modern basque restaurant in Amorebieta, Bilbao.
Boroa in a 15th-century Bizkaian farmhouse 20 minutes from Bilbao holds one Michelin star for Javier Gartzia's tradition-and-avant-garde Basque cooking.
Signature dishes: Tasting menu, Cantabrian fish, Bizkaian classics
Must order: The full tasting menu; ask for the bacalao if you order a la carte.
Tip: Twenty minutes by car from central Bilbao; closed Sunday night and Monday. Book the farmhouse upstairs room for the quietest seating.
Address: Caserio Garai 11, 48340 Amorebieta-Etxano, Bilbao
Ola Martin Berasategui in the Tayko hotel by the Nervion in Bilbao holds one Michelin star for Raul Cabrera's reading of the Berasategui canon.
Signature: Martin Berasategui tasting menu, La Bodega de Ola, Seasonal grill
Order: The Martin Berasategui tasting menu; La Bodega de Ola for the wine-pairing service.
Tip: Closed Mondays and Tuesdays plus Sunday dinner; book two weeks out.
Atelier Etxanobe in Bilbao's Abando is a 20-cover Canales-and-Poblacion gastronomic room in a former glass factory holding one Michelin star.
Signature: Atelier tasting menu, Cabracho, Bonito de Bermeo
Order: The full Atelier tasting menu; the cabracho course is the signature opener.
Tip: Closed Sundays; book three weeks ahead for the smaller dining room.
La Despensa in Bilbao is Etxanobe's Michelin-Guide bistro side beside the Atelier, with a Bilbao tasting menu and traditional Basque a la carte plates.
Signature: Cocido de garbanzos, Bacalao al pil pil, Txuleta
Order: The Bilbao tasting menu; the bacalao al pil pil if you order a la carte.
Tip: Open until 22:15; quieter lunch service. Closed Sundays.
Casa Rufo on Hurtado de Amezaga in Bilbao since 1955 grills the canonical Bilbao txuleta over open flame, between deli counter and dining room.
Signature: Txuleta, Bacalao al pil pil, Pimientos del piquillo
Order: The txuleta from the grill; the bacalao al pil pil as the starter.
Tip: Lunch 13:30 to 16:00, dinner 20:30 to 23:00; closed Sundays. The deli counter sells the same hams and cheeses.
Aitor Elizegi's Bascook in a former Bilbao salt warehouse runs a modern-Basque kitchen with the Bilbao 7 Cucharas old-recipes tasting menu set.
Signature: Tortilla de bacalao, Sea bass, Bilbao 7 cucharas
Order: The Bilbao 7 Cucharas tasting menu of old-Bilbao recipes; the tortilla de bacalao if you order a la carte.
Tip: Closed Sunday and Monday; ask for a table in the brick-arched cellar room. The chef occasionally cooks in the dining room.
Berton on Calle Jardines in Bilbao's Casco Viejo runs a standing pintxo bar and a Basque dining room with rabas and hand-cut Iberian ham daily.
Signature: Rabas, Iberian ham, Bacalao
Order: The rabas (fried squid) at the bar; the bacalao at the table.
Tip: Open continuously from 09:00 to 23:00; jam-packed at txikiteo hour, calmer after 21:30 in the dining room.
