The restaurant is now iBAi by Paulo Airaudo, ONE MICHELIN STAR (new 2025) We have not been to this new version yet. This centrally located restaurant, a famous name in local cuisine under chef Alicio Garro's baton, has reinvented itself and given itself a new lease on life thanks to award-winning chef Paulo Airaudo, who brings his vision of classic recipes. The place is very respectful to the old Ibai. Despite the star, the bar at the entrance is still there and accessi

I RESTAURANTE KAIA-KAIPE Michelin Plate IIO We returned to the fishing port of Getaria on the Basque Coast and revisited an old favourite, the excellent Restaurante Kaia-Kaipe. Getaria is the picture-postcard image of a Basque Country fishing village. Walking up from the car park, we approached the village. When you reach the Restaurant, you can see the famous outdoor grill, where the fish is cooked over hot coals on open wire-mesh grills. The Restaurant is divided into

Vitoria-Gasteiz is the capital of the Basque Autonomous Community in northern Spain. The Gothic-style Santa María Inmaculada Cathedral features a sculpted facade and towering columns in the medieval quarter. The 17th-century Plaza de la Virgen Blanca features a monument to the 1813 Battle of Vitoria. The Church of San Miguel has a sizeable baroque altarpiece and a statue of the White Virgin, the city's patron saint. Beethoven dedicated his Opus 91, often called the " Battle

ASADOR BEDUA On the banks of the Urola River, just outside the village of Zumaia, you will find Asador Bedua, a restaurant with generations of family history, based on fresh produce from its own garden. It all started four generations ago, when their ancestors offered potato omelettes with green peppers to the residents of Zumaia who came to the grill by rowing upriver in their boats. The Bedua grill is a benchmark of Basque gastronomy. Over its embers, you will see roast be

ASADOR ETXEBARRI One Michelin Star Although not the easiest place to find, this beautiful, rustic, restored stone house is a couple of kilometres out of town. It has a bar at the ground-floor entrance and a couple of stunning dining rooms on the first floor. The renowned chef Victor Arguinzoniz, who deserves his one Michelin star, cooks all the high-quality produce on various charcoal grills. There is no molecular stuff here; it is just fresh, quality food with unique fla

RESTAURANTE ELKANO One Michelin Star Getaria is the picture-postcard Basque Country fishing village that produced designer Cristóbal Balenciaga, Plácido Domingo's mother, and Juan Sebastián Elcano, the first mariner to circumnavigate the globe. Getaria is a fishing port. You can wander down the old streets to the harbour. Walking past various shops selling their wares. There are a couple of lovely beaches in and around the town. Set on a crossroads above the harbour of G

BAR PACO BUENO This is a very traditional, social club-style, old-school-style Pintxo bar. Many local families mix with tourists, from the young to the very old. The bar is big on boxing, rugby, and Basque rowing, and the surrounding walls are covered with old memorabilia. It is run by owner Paco Bueno (who was a boxer in his younger days ) and his sons. It's lively, entertaining and has a friendly atmosphere. The specialities are deep-fried seafood, such as calamares, but t

BAR TXEPETXA We returned to another favourite. You may have second thoughts when you walk into this traditional bar and see all the retro ceramic anchovy pintos displayed there. Don't…………….. nothing here is false. All the anchovy/boquerone pintxos here are made to order and appear within a few minutes. You pick from the variety of toppings shown on the fish-shaped menu boards at the back of the bar. One has the antxoas (anchovies), and the other board shows the excellent hot

ZAZPI GASTROBAR SAN TELMO MUSEOA Plaza Zuloaga, 1, 20003 Donostia, Gipuzkoa, Spain +34 943 50 67 67 www.zazpistm.com UPDATED JULY 2024 On our last visit to Zazpi, we found it had a new home. Not all great cooking happens in a hushed room with linen tablecloths and servers in waistcoats. Zazpi is proof. This restaurant sits in the avant-garde wing of the Museo San Telmo, and the food by new-generation chef Paul Arrillaga is stunning. Zazpi started by serving upscale pintxos

BILBAO - PLAZA NUEVA PINTXO BAR CRAWL On a recent trip to Bilbao, we had a little pintxo bar crawl around the Plaza Nueva. The arcaded Plaza Nueva heaves with locals from early evening on. Try to observe the alcoholic convention of pacing yourself with a txikito (small glass of wine or beer). In Pintxos bars, people always throw paper napkins on the floor, and only shy tourists leave them on plates or surfaces. At weekends, it gets busy around 11.30 am. Our favourite places