Zubizuri jatetxea — Restaurant in Bilbao

This restaurant was metres away from our hotel, the Conde Duque, but for some reason we did not try it until our last night in Bilbao. A bit of an error, this was the best meal we had in our 4 nights in Bilbao. First night (New Year's eve) was tapas on the Plaza Nueva, second night was restaurant Amaya which was fine, the third night was the restaurant Mandoya which was dreadful. We should have gone here sooner. The place was reasonably busy in the bar with everyone watching a home soccer match.

The waiter was very helpful in explaining the dishes, the starters are generous enough to have one as a sharing platter. For mains my wife had the veal cheeks braised in red wine and I had the duck breast, both dishes were faultless and they both cam with a vegetable garnish. The waitre very helpfully suggested one of the cheaper Riojas on the wine list which went really well with the meat. And we ended up sharing a dessert, not planned, but again one dessert was plenty for two.

We would definitely go back here if we visit Bilbao again, and I would not hesitate to recommend...

Underwhelming and expensive food. Yet, ironically, the service was good despite the many reviews claiming that the service was bad. Nevertheless, I came for the food and it was extremely disappointing. I cannot believe that a very small goat cheese salad without any meat costs 15 euros and that despite I changed my son’s chicken order to substitute rice for fries, I was charged extra for the substitution. The waiter also raved about the cheesecake and it was worse than cheesecake at your local supermarket. Overall, I have had better and cheaper food at a local cafeteria in the Bilbao Casco Viejo than at this restaurant. Perhaps it was an off night, but extremely underwhelming...

Muy mala experiencia en Zubizuri. No lo recomiendo para nada.

Fuimos al restaurante Zubizuri en Bilbao con nuestro perro pequeño, ya que supuestamente es un local petfriendly (aunque ni cartel ni indicación alguna había que lo confirmara). Pedimos dos vinos y dos pinchos, que por cierto, eran muy caros para la calidad que ofrecían (un pincho de “chipirón con cebolla” recalentado, probablemente congelado, y pan que estaba totalmente blandecido).

Lo peor de todo vino después. El dueño, un hombre prepotente y maleducado, nos increpó varias veces por tener a nuestro perro cerca de la barra, a pesar de que no molestaba a nadie. Incluso preguntamos a los camareros si el perro estaba en el camino y nos dijeron que no. De hecho, otros clientes extranjeros incluso querían jugar con él. Sin embargo, el dueño insistió, con una actitud desafiante y casi violenta, exigiendo que pusiera a nuestro perro “contra la pared”, sin darnos siquiera la opción de sentarnos de forma cómoda. Esto me pareció totalmente absurdo e irrespetuoso, como si quisiéramos hacerle daño al local con un perrito tan pequeño.

Le mencioné que no podía “quitarle la cola” (que es pequeña, no molesta) y le pedí que si realmente no aceptaba perros, lo indicara de manera clara para no generar este tipo de situaciones. En lugar de aclarar las cosas de manera civilizada, nos empujó a salir, dejándonos mal y descontentos, a pesar de habernos cobrado las consumiciones.

Es una lástima que tenga un dueño con tan falta de respeto tanto con los clientes como con los animales. No volveremos jamás y no lo recomendaré a nadie, ni siquiera a los amantes de...