The plates that define Bilbao: what they are, and where to eat the canonical version.
The plates that define Bilbao. what they are, where they came from, and where to eat the canonical version.
Bacalao al pil pil is a Bilbao invention: salt cod slow-cooked in olive oil with garlic and dried chili, then emulsified by shaking the pan until the gelatin and oil form a thick yellow sauce that coats each piece.
Where: Casa Rufo, La Despensa del Etxanobe, Mina, Bar Charly
Price: €24-38
Marmitako is the Basque fisherman's tuna stew, made with bonito (Atlantic bonito tuna), potatoes, peppers, tomatoes and onions in one pot, cooked aboard small boats while the catch was still warm.
Where: La Despensa del Etxanobe, Casa Rufo, Anboto Gastroleku
Price: €18-26
The gilda is the original pintxo: a single skewer of pickled anchovy, green olive and green guindilla pepper, named in 1946 after Rita Hayworth's film character because it was 'green, salty and a bit spicy'.
Where: Bar Charly, Bar El Globo, Sorginzulo, Gure Toki
Price: €2-3
Txangurro is Basque spider crab, traditionally pulled from its shell, mixed with onion, tomato, leek and a splash of brandy, then gratineed under the broiler in the cleaned crab shell.
Where: Bar El Globo, Casa Rufo, Mina
Price: €18-35 (restaurant), €3 (pintxo)
Kokotxas are the throat lobes of cod or hake, gelatinous, ribbed and silken when slow-cooked in oil with garlic and chili. The Basque pil pil sauce binds the gelatin and oil into a thick emulsion.
Where: Mina, Casa Rufo, La Despensa del Etxanobe
Price: €22-34
Txuleta is a thick Basque ribeye on the bone, dry-aged from an old work-ox or mature dairy cow, salted only and grilled over a vine-wood or oak fire until the fat caramelises and the inside stays rare.
Where: Casa Rufo, Asador Etxebarri, Berton
Price: €45-65 per kilo
Talo is a flat Basque cornmeal bread, traditionally cooked on a hot stone or griddle, then folded around fresh chorizo (txistorra) or cheese. It is the canonical Santo Tomas market street food.
Where: Feria de Santo Tomas, La Ribera Gastro Plaza
Price: €4-6
Txakoli is the Basque white wine: high-acid, lightly effervescent, made from the indigenous Hondarrabi Zuri grape, traditionally poured from height at the bar to release the natural spritz.
Where: Cork, Gure Toki, Bar El Globo, Xukela
Price: €3-5 (by the glass)
Bacalao al pil pil is a Bilbao invention: salt cod slow-cooked in olive oil with garlic and dried chili, then emulsified by shaking the pan until the gelatin and oil form a thick yellow sauce that coats each piece.
History: Bacalao al pil pil traces to mid-19th-century Bilbao, when merchant Simon Gurtubay over-ordered salt cod from Norway in 1836. Forced to sell the surplus, Bilbao kitchens developed the slow-emulsified sauce technique that made the dish a city staple. The pil pil name imitates the bubbling sound of the slow simmer. Casa Rufo, La Despensa de Etxanobe and Mina all run versions; the deep-yellow emulsion is the test, as the gelatin from the cod skin must bind with the oil into a thick sauce without breaking.
Where to try it: Casa Rufo, La Despensa del Etxanobe, Mina, Bar Charly
Watch out for: Fish
Marmitako is the Basque fisherman's tuna stew, made with bonito (Atlantic bonito tuna), potatoes, peppers, tomatoes and onions in one pot, cooked aboard small boats while the catch was still warm.
History: Marmitako takes its name from the marmita, the cast-iron pot Basque sailors cooked it in. The dish appeared in the 19th century along the Cantabrian coast, when bonito boats from Bermeo and Santurtzi simmered the catch with potatoes, choricero peppers and onions in a single pot. By the 1980s, marmitako had crossed from boat to taberna and is now the canonical summer Basque stew, eaten July through September across Bilbao tabernas. Casa Rufo, La Despensa de Etxanobe and the older Bilbao kitchens run the seasonal version.
Where to try it: La Despensa del Etxanobe, Casa Rufo, Anboto Gastroleku
Watch out for: Fish
The gilda is the original pintxo: a single skewer of pickled anchovy, green olive and green guindilla pepper, named in 1946 after Rita Hayworth's film character because it was 'green, salty and a bit spicy'.
History: The gilda was invented in 1946 at Bar Casa Vallés in San Sebastian, when a customer named the skewer after the Rita Hayworth film 'Gilda' (1946). The pintxo migrated across the Basque country and Bilbao adopted it as a counter staple. The classic gilda combines anchoa de Cantabrico, Manzanilla olive and Ibarra guindilla pepper on a single toothpick. Bar Charly, Bar El Globo and every Bilbao pintxo counter runs a version, with debates about whether to swap a salted anchovy for a fresher Cantabrian boquerón.
Where to try it: Bar Charly, Bar El Globo, Sorginzulo, Gure Toki
Watch out for: Fish
Txangurro is Basque spider crab, traditionally pulled from its shell, mixed with onion, tomato, leek and a splash of brandy, then gratineed under the broiler in the cleaned crab shell.
History: Txangurro a la donostiarra was codified by chef Felix Ibarguren 'Shishito' at the Sociedad Gaztelubide in San Sebastian in the early 20th century, but the spider crab tradition runs along the entire Cantabrian coast. Bilbao's pintxo bars run a miniature gratin version on a slice of bread, served counter-top, while restaurants serve the full caparazón. Bar El Globo on Diputacion in Bilbao is the canonical Bilbao pintxo version since 1997; restaurants like Casa Rufo run the full-shell preparation in season.
Where to try it: Bar El Globo, Casa Rufo, Mina
Watch out for: Shellfish
Kokotxas are the throat lobes of cod or hake, gelatinous, ribbed and silken when slow-cooked in oil with garlic and chili. The Basque pil pil sauce binds the gelatin and oil into a thick emulsion.
History: Kokotxas began as a sailor's by-catch, with the throat lobes thrown back at port until 20th-century Basque cooks realised the gelatin made the silkiest pil pil sauces. Mina's Alvaro Garrido elevated kokotxas de merluza al pil pil to one of Bilbao's defining modern-Basque dishes, and the older kitchens (Casa Rufo, Anboto) run the cod-throat version with bread and garlic. The dish requires patience and a wide cazuela; the gelatin emulsifies with olive oil only with slow circular swirling.
Where to try it: Mina, Casa Rufo, La Despensa del Etxanobe
Watch out for: Fish
Txuleta is a thick Basque ribeye on the bone, dry-aged from an old work-ox or mature dairy cow, salted only and grilled over a vine-wood or oak fire until the fat caramelises and the inside stays rare.
History: The Basque txuleta tradition built around old vacas viejas (old dairy cows and oxen) that gave their meat after a working life, with the rich fat marbling that comes only with age. Casa Rufo since 1955 cooks the canonical Bilbao txuleta from local and Galician beef. Across the river in Axpe, Bittor Arginzoniz at Asador Etxebarri took the technique to one Michelin star and a perennial top-three spot on The World's 50 Best Restaurants list, with custom-engineered grills for the wood-fire-everything kitchen.
Where to try it: Casa Rufo, Asador Etxebarri, Berton
Watch out for: None typical
Talo is a flat Basque cornmeal bread, traditionally cooked on a hot stone or griddle, then folded around fresh chorizo (txistorra) or cheese. It is the canonical Santo Tomas market street food.
History: Talo is older than wheat bread in the Basque country, made from maize flour brought from the Americas after 1492. Rural Basque cooks made talo on hot stones, before the wood-fired oven became standard. Today, talo de txistorra is the canonical street food of the Santo Tomas market on 21 December in Bilbao's Plaza Nueva, where rural baserri stalls grill the txistorra (fresh chorizo) and fold it into the warm talo with a glass of txakoli or cider.
Where to try it: Feria de Santo Tomas, La Ribera Gastro Plaza
Watch out for: Pork
Txakoli is the Basque white wine: high-acid, lightly effervescent, made from the indigenous Hondarrabi Zuri grape, traditionally poured from height at the bar to release the natural spritz.
History: Txakoli (or txakolina in Basque) is a centuries-old Basque white, with three DO regions (Bizkaiko Txakolina, Getariako Txakolina, Arabako Txakolina) producing tense, low-alcohol wines from the Hondarrabi Zuri grape. The traditional service is escanciado: pouring from above shoulder height into a wide glass to release the natural spritz before the pour reaches the table. Bilbao bars from Bar Charly to Cork all pour txakoli; the wine drinks alongside every pintxo on the counter.
Where to try it: Cork, Gure Toki, Bar El Globo, Xukela
Watch out for: Sulphites
Bilbao's signature dishes include Bacalao al pil pil, Marmitako, Pintxo Gilda, Txangurro a la donostiarra, Kokotxas al pil pil. See our signature dishes chapter for where to eat each.