Going txikiteo (or poteo) is one of those pleasures that the Basque Country has always enjoyed. A tapas route with a couple of differences: you go from bar to bar drinking “txikitos” of wine and with each one, a pintxo. Great plan.
The best thing is to choose an area and visit it to enjoy its specialties in each little tavern. Each neighborhood may have its own ruta de pintxos, but today we are going to focus on the old town of Bilbaoan area that we will visit yes or yes when we go for tourism to fall in love with this incredible city.
How to get to Bilbao and where to stay
It is barely an hour by plane from Madrid (you have roundtrip flights from 64 euros on weekends) and by car from Barcelona, for example, it takes less than six hours. To stay you have hotels in the center, such as the four-star Hotel Ercilla in Bilbao and a price from €337 for a weekend (two nights in a double room), or if you are traveling alone, something cheaper like the three-star Hotel Bed4U Bilbao, with a price from €151 for a single room.
Flight Madrid-Bilbao round trip on the weekend (from September 23 to 25)
Flight Madrid-Bilbao round trip on the weekend (from September 23 to 25)
Double room at Hotel Ercilla in Bilbao from September 23 to 25.
Hotel Bed4U Bilbao in an economic double room for single use with free cancellation from September 23 to 25.
The best pintxo route through the Old Town of Bilbao
Plaza Nueva, Calle del Perro or Somera are the places where most pintxo bars are concentrated and where we can try from some croquettes of ham to cod pil-pil.
Víctor Montes and his traditional pil pil cod
They have been making pintxos since 1849, so they have a lot of experience behind them. Their cod pil pil it’s real crazy, but they have a letter full of tradition and some pintxos for which you will want to stay and live at the bar.
New Square, 8
Sorginzulo croquettes
Though in Madrid they eat the best ham croquettes of Spain, in Bilbao we can give ourselves a whim if we accompany a txakoli with one of the Sorginzulo croquettes, in the New Square. This time they are baby squid, but don’t miss the garlic prawns or their monkfish and prawn skewers, which are delicious.
New Square, 12
Gure Toki and the classic talos with chistorra
This restaurant specializing in tapas is another of the place to be in the center of Bilbao. His spikes never disappoint and from his talos with txistorra, a traditional basque recipeEven the zucchini flowers stuffed with meat are crazy.
New Square, 12
The gildas of Portuberri Barria
We cannot leave Bilbao without trying its most iconic and well-known pintxo: the gilda. One of the best places to try it is this gilda temple located in the Old Town, which is also a specialist in rabas, another of Bilbao’s most typical pintxos.
Iturribide Kalea, 12
Irrintzi and its modern pintxos
At Irrintzi Pintxos&Friends they are not afraid of the avant-garde or mixtures, and you can find everything from a falafel pintxo with shiitakes to crispy cod with tomato tartar. modern bets in the old town.
Santa Maria Kalea, 8
The txanpis (or mushrooms) at Bar Motrikes
In Plaza Unamuno in Casco Viejo we meet those who are running as one of the best mushrooms in Bilbao. They prepare them on the grill and with a secret sauce of which they jealously guard the recipe. wonderful.
Goienkale, 41
The famous Txiriboga croquettes
Near Bilbao’s cathedral we find another site of croquettes (yes, again, because there are never enough croquettes) that drive us completely crazy. As you approach, ask a pintxo of txipis tortilla in its ink and prepare to freak out.
Andra Maria Kalea, 13
A bonus: the omelette from the Concha 1 Games Room
It is not a restaurant or a bar, but authentic Bilbao people know that It has one of the best potato tortillas from the city. It is on the other side of the Bilbao estuary and it is well worth a detour to try it. It’s not a joke, it’s a real wonder.
General Concha Street, 1
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Photos Jorge Fernández Salas on Unsplash, Irrintzi @sorginzulo_bilbao @guretoki @portuberribarri @victormontesbilbao