Ok, here we go. Just came back from the 10 day trip and either broke the scale or the battery is dead, not sure. But we ate a lot of good stuff. This was our itinerary…
Bidart, France 3
San Sebastian 3
Rioja 1
Bilbao 2
We flew to SS via Madrid, rented a car there, and returned in Bilbao and flew from there. SS airport is actually in Hondarribia, minutes away from the French border.
The first two legs were a whole lot better than the rest, but all in all, probably the best food trip I’ve ever done. The variety and creativity is just through the roof. Highly recommend adding French Basque to the plan. Special thank to @Maribel and the rest of the contributors here… Basque Country 2025 - #124 by Maribel
I’ll add them as I get a chance, as work and life, and eating salads and couscous for the rest of the month may interfere. I’ll also report about the towns.
Couldn’t have hoped for a better start. Tucked away from tourist central, on a quiet street. Happy, funny owner handled the entire packed room with ease. Seems popular with locals. One memorable review was a complaint that the owner wasn’t funny. That just shows how much of a character he is.
Shrimp in garlic, messy, tough to peel, nice flavor if not a little mushy. Subtle garlic notes. The only dish I wouldn’t order again but good enough. Mushroom omelette, wow, a lesson in super fluffy, buttery omelette. I wasnt expecting so many omeletts here on menus, and I made the mistake of ordering the same dish elsewhere. Not nearly as good.
Squid with parsley should be renamed, squid with garlic. Simply grilled, tender, intense lasting flavors. Comes with delicious fried polenta cakes. Hake with green sauce, another big winner. The traditional preparation with mussels, egg, potatoes and more. One of our favorite dishes of the trip. I even considering coming back on another night but it was closed.
I have really fond eating memories of our visit to St Jean de Luz. This was our first night meal and it was delicious. Chowhound helped me considerably!
So I just checked my instagram from May 2018 and it’s from Pilpil Enea! Great minds think alike.
We had a couple great meals in St Jean and then went down to Getaria (been to St Sebastián 3 or 4 times and wanted to go somewhere new) and had some more great meals. Loved the grilled turbot.
Another fantastic meal. Young crew of 3. A little serious, somewhat reserved. Small and intimate space so ressies def needed. Killer, silky smooth duck foie gras from Landes, a highly regarded area for foie gras. Delicate white tuna in a tomatoee salsa, delicious but salsa can overwhelm depending on how you eat it.
Superb duck tho should have taken their recco for rare instead of med-rare in this case. Still exceptional. Monkfish with a rich seafood bisque, firm and flavor packed. Mrs Z decided after Paris she’s not a fan of Monkfish, but that’s fixed now. Brioche dessert was a triumph but very rich. We also ordered a cheese plate but too stuffed to enjoy it. Maybe it’s just me but I don’t get people who order cheese for dessert. It rarely works for us.
