Best restaurants in Bilbao 2026: 14 tables worth booking

The best restaurants in Bilbao in 2026 are these 14 tables, from the city's five Michelin-starred kitchens to a txuleta grill, three Bib Gourmand addresses and the pintxos counters where Bilbao eats every day. If you book only one, make it Nerua, inside the Guggenheim; if you want the newest star, make it Islares across the street.

The current MICHELIN Guide Spain, the 2026 edition presented in Málaga on 25 November 2025, gives the city of Bilbao five one-star restaurants and no two- or three-star table: the nearest three-star kitchen, Azurmendi, sits outside the city in Larrabetzu. The only new star in Bilbao this edition went to Islares. The 2027 selection will be revealed in Huesca on 1 December 2026, and we will update this list after the gala.

This list of the best restaurants in Bilbao takes those five starred kitchens, one former star, a grill famous for its txuleta, three Bib Gourmand tables chosen by Michelin for value and three old addresses for pintxos and lunch. For the dishes themselves, from bacalao al pil-pil to gildas, start with our guide to what to eat in Bilbao. Where a restaurant does not publish menu prices, we give the Michelin price band, from one to four symbols.

Bilbao has five starred tables and no two-star one: its strength is the depth around them.

Nerua, Abandoibarra: first of the best restaurants in Bilbao

Josean Alija cooks inside the Guggenheim Museum, at Avenida de Abandoibarra 2, and the name comes from the Latin for the river Nervión. The restaurant holds a Michelin star and three Repsol Soles, and its cooking revives traditional Basque flavours with a strong lean towards vegetables.

The Muina tasting menu costs €110, with wine pairing at €50 and a non-alcoholic pairing at €42; à la carte mains such as Bizkaia-style tripe and snout or ajoarriero cod with txangurro run from €36 to €42. It is closed on Mondays and serves only lunch on Sundays; book by phone or online.

Islares, Abandoibarra

Julen Bergantiños won Bilbao's only new Michelin star in the 2026 edition, in a dining room on Mazarredo opposite the Guggenheim. The cooking is creative and rooted in the traditional food of northern Spain.

There are two seasonal menus named after roads: A-8, in nine courses, and N-634, in thirteen. Michelin places it in its top price band. It serves lunch Monday to Saturday and dinner only on Fridays and Saturdays.

Mina, Indautxu

Álvaro Garrido cooks and Lara Martín runs the room at Mina, which has moved from the Marzana quay to a larger space at Ercilla 37, near the Indautxu metro. It keeps its Michelin star, its open kitchen and its counter, and cooks with local fish, meat, mushrooms and game.

Michelin puts it in its top price band; the restaurant does not publish menu prices online. It is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, and takes calls from Tuesday to Saturday mornings.

Zarate, Indautxu

Sergio Ortiz de Zarate, who first won a Michelin star in the 2016 edition, cooks fish bought daily from the ports of Lekeitio and Ondarroa. The restaurant is at Alameda de San Mamés 28.

There are two tasting menus, of 15 and 20 steps, and Michelin puts it in its third price band of four, which makes it the gentlest bill among the city's stars. It is closed on Mondays and serves dinner from Wednesday to Sunday.

Ola Martín Berasategui, Casco Viejo

In the Tayko hotel at Ribera 13, beside the river, Raúl Cabrera reproduces the cooking of Martín Berasategui, whose 50 years at the stove San Sebastian celebrated this October. It holds one Michelin star; Michelin singles out the kokotxas and cod with a red prawn Vizcaína sauce.

There are two tasting menus in Michelin's top price band. It is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays and serves dinner only from Thursday to Saturday.

Etxanobe Atelier, Abando

Fernando Canales, born in Bilbao, cooks in a former glass factory at Juan de Ajuriaguerra 8. The Atelier lost its Michelin star in November 2024 but remains in the guide's selection.

Two menus, Chef Atelier and Chef Atelier Plus, include the cold anchovy lasagne in fresh tomato sauce. It is in Michelin's top price band and is closed on Sundays.

Casa Rufo, Abando

A grocery by morning and a restaurant from 13:30, Casa Rufo at Hurtado de Amezaga 5 is where Bilbao goes for chuletón grilled over charcoal. José Luis Pérez Landeta has run it for almost three decades.

On its own menu the chuletón costs €70 a kilo and the certified ox aged for 100 days €95 a kilo; kokotxas of cod al pil-pil cost €32. It opens Monday to Saturday. To cook the sauce at home, follow our bacalao al pil-pil recipe.

Los Fueros, Casco Viejo

Michelin traces this botxero, Bilbao's word for its old-school classics, to 1878, when it opened as Bar Colón. After a restoration that kept its bistro interior, it holds a Bib Gourmand for a menu of city classics and grilled prawns.

There are two tasting menus, Gourmand and De Bilbao de toda la vida, and half portions on the à la carte; Michelin puts it in its second price band. It is closed on Tuesdays.

AL Margen, Urazurrutia

By the San Antón bridge, at Muelle Urazurrutia 2, Adrián Leonelli and Pablo Valdearcos cook a short, updated traditional menu among stone columns and hydraulic floor tiles. It is one of four Bib Gourmand restaurants in Bizkaia.

Michelin puts it in its second price band. It is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays and serves only lunch on Wednesdays and Sundays.

Kimtxu, Abando

Iván Abril, who learned his trade in London and Hong Kong, opened this Basque-Asian tavern at Henao 17 in 2014. It holds a Bib Gourmand; the signature is a banh mi in a brioche bun with Iberian pork cheek and pickles.

Besides the à la carte there is a seven-course menu named after the restaurant, in Michelin's second price band. It serves lunch Tuesday to Saturday and dinner Wednesday to Saturday.

La Viña del Ensanche, Ensanche

Open since 1927 at Diputación 10, La Viña is a bar at the front and a restaurant at the back, built around Joselito ham. The croquetas cost €8 and the tasting menu €55 a head, for two or more.

The bar opens Tuesday to Saturday from morning to late evening; the dining room serves lunch and dinner, Tuesday to Saturday.

Gure Toki, Casco Viejo

On the arcades of Plaza Nueva, at number 12, Gure Toki is a regular in local press rankings of the city's pintxos bars. Deia described it in 2024 as a benchmark for high-quality pintxos, from txangurro and gildas to foie with caramelised apple.

Pintxos are ordered and paid one by one at the bar, and the bar does not publish a price list online. Go early in the evening, before Plaza Nueva fills up.

Café Iruña, Jardines de Albia

Opened on 7 July 1903 opposite the Albia gardens, Café Iruña is a lesson in Bilbao's café culture, with Mudéjar-inspired tiles and painted ceilings.

The weekday menú del día costs €23.80, Monday to Friday, which makes it the most affordable sit-down meal on this list.

Azurmendi, Larrabetzu (outside Bilbao)

Not in Bilbao itself but in Larrabetzu, off the Txorierri corridor towards the airport, Eneko Atxa's Azurmendi is the only three-star restaurant in Bizkaia. A sapling of the Tree of Gernika stands at the entrance, and the menu includes a tour of the building.

The Gran Menú costs €350 including VAT, with wine pairing at €150. It serves lunch Tuesday to Saturday and dinner on Fridays and Saturdays; children under ten are not admitted.

Best restaurants in Bilbao: frequently asked questions

Which restaurant in Bilbao has the most Michelin stars? Inside the city, five restaurants hold one star each: Nerua, Mina, Zarate, Ola Martín Berasategui and Islares. The only three-star kitchen nearby is Azurmendi, in Larrabetzu.

When are the next Michelin stars announced? The MICHELIN Guide Spain 2027 will be presented in Huesca on 1 December 2026. This list reflects the 2026 edition.

How much does it cost to eat at the best restaurants in Bilbao? From €23.80 for the weekday set lunch at Café Iruña and €55 for La Viña's tasting menu to €110 for Nerua's Muina and €350 at Azurmendi. Mina, Islares and Ola do not publish prices; Michelin puts all three in its top band.

Do I need to book? Yes for every starred restaurant, for Casa Rufo and for the Bib Gourmand tables. Pintxos bars such as Gure Toki work at the counter.

How we chose

We started from the MICHELIN Guide's current selection for Bilbao, its five starred restaurants and its Bib Gourmand tables, then added a grill, a former star and three addresses that locals use every week, so that the best restaurants in Bilbao are covered at every price. We left out places we could not confirm as open, including Zortziko, which is no longer in the guide.

Every address, distinction, price and opening day was checked on 30 October 2026 against the MICHELIN Guide, the restaurants' own websites and local press.