Lar jatetxea — Restaurant in Bilbao

This place was AMAZING. If you want to taste fresh delicious ingredients in the most gorgeous Basque dishes you should come here. Our servers were delightful and brought us out a selection of dishes and drinks which amounted to 8 astonishing courses - we started with chorizo, moved on to clams in a garlic sauce with high quality olive oil (I don’t normally eat seafood but this was too good to resist), fried artichokes in an artichoke reduction that was perhaps the highlight of the whole meal, calamaris with onions (this was another highlight), then monkfish, a mouthwatering red meat that fell apart on the fork, and finally Patxaran and a chocolate cake. This was all served with a lovely Txacoli. Truly amazing - I have never written a review on google but this place...

What an absolute gem. If you're looking for a cosy, authentic, welcoming place, this is it. We went here on our first night in Bilbao and it was perfect. The owner was really friendly, and our waiter was lovely - he explained all the dishes to us. We chose the fish menu and had a surprise appetiser of Spanish tortilla - the best of our trip. Then clams in broth, then squid, both delicious, followed by monkfish with lemon, all taken off the bone. He showed us how to find the succulent cheek flesh in the head, too. Next dessert - they brought a plate with brownie, cheesecake, and local vanilla ice cream. All incredible. Finally, a local digestif to round it off. The table next to us had the meat menu which looked equally good - a big T-bone steak and chips....

We had intended to eat here the evening before. The owner explained to us that he had been "eaten out of house and home" and therefore couldn't cook anything for us. This convinced us to reserve a table for lunch the next day. Despite its outward appearance more akin to a beer bar, the small restaurant offers a stylish ambiance with beautifully set tables. There was a menu consisting of three courses plus a small appetizer. No other choices (except for allergies). The wine selection is good.

The food was outstanding, akin to a feast at home. Everything was perfectly cooked to order, with fresh ingredients, nothing overcooked or overly seasoned.

This was complemented by friendly and warm service. The prices are fair.

We will return.

A...