Satxota Sagardotegia — Restaurant in Aia

Not a word of English spoken but this truly was an unforgettable experience at a lovely family cider house. We went for a drive on a wet Sunday afternoon in August and more or less stumbled across this very traditional Basque cider house. We were treated to a full cider house menu (€60-70 for two people) which consisted of a salted cod omelette, a fish course (cod again) with peppers, a truly amazing Txuleton (steak) and finished with a cheese course and some ice cream.

The highlight was the regular call of "Txotx" ("Choch") which involved a procession of the restaurant patrons all filling our cider glasses directly from the cider barrel. Guests are encouraged to call their own Txotx and can drink as much cider as they want...

Such a great experience! No English was spoken at all but we just about got there with hand signals, smiles and one or two Spanish phrases!

This place is a true Basque cider house for locals and is not touristic at all. The food is absolutely top notch traditional cooking And for €31 per head is excellent value.

Highlights of the meal included the cod tortilla (omelette), Cod Tostados and the most amazing T-bone steak straight off the fire I have ever had. Let’s also not forget about the...

A nice sargadotegi, the food was good with a traditional menu and fresh bread. The price is 30€/ person for the menu with all you can drink cider, as a sargadotegi should be. The staff was kind and didn't speak English, but that shouldn't be a deterrent for non Basque or Spanish speakers.

Overall, compared to other cider places, it's a bit more expensive for similar quality food and atmosphere, but still a good restaurant...