Café Bar Bilbao — Restaurant in Bilbao

There are places that don’t chase trends, because they are the standard. This spot in the plaza? Pure class. No gimmicks, no fusion nonsense. Just time honored elegance: blue tiled walls that feel like they’ve seen a thousand slow afternoons, and pintxos that haven’t changed in years because they don’t need to. You sit outside with a cold beer or a glass of wine, the weight of the day slipping off your shoulders, watching the world move past in no particular hurry. This place isn’t loud about its greatness. It just is. And in a world obsessed with reinvention, that kind of quiet confidence is a...

Recommended here by our free walking tour guide. It is in Plaza Nueva in Bilbao, one of the touristic sights. It was crowded at lunch and there was no space in the ground floor so we requested to go to the second floor and the staff kindly obliged.

Staff was also very helpful and we were the only guests on the second floor, having a sit down lunch (as compared to the more typical stand up pinxtos). Food was delicious, portions were big, and I don’t even think there was a higher price tag considering the...

Good position on a "hidden" square with seating outside and in, which we chose as it was a little chilly outside. Our waitress spoke good English so we could have a chat on how everything worked. Ordered a bottle of Rioja and a "house selection" of 12 Pintxos (Tapas if you want, but our waitress stressed Tapas was strictly "free" bar snacks). This was delicious, very good value and with a plate of Calamari to follow, (there were two of us), once again...