For our Chuletón fix. Simon is located in the hills above Bilbao. We came with our car, right before dropping it off. For the first time in my life I think I didnt refuel. Just couldnt find a convenient gas station on the way. But I get the sense that part of the experience is getting to Simon without a car. That involves a funicular, views of Bilbao from above, and about 10-15 min walk to the meat temple.
On a Sunday afternoon the place was buzzing. Picnic tables galore. If you dont have reservations, you find a picnic table and serve yourself. Get your own drinks at the bar, and I imagine you get notified when your food is ready to be picked up. With reservations, you get service. We had reservations, but apparently inside an empty covered glassy structure. When I asked if we can be outside, they said no, all booked. Dont recall whether I had options when I booked, but this felt weird as we were the only people in that structure at first while the rest of the property very busy. It felt like we were being quarantined. But within minutes people started to join us, all local families. And within an hour, it was packed.
Started with Chorizo cooked with Cider. Excellent. I generally find Chorizo in the US too dry and unremarkable, but this was very flavorful.
Red peppers in a surprisingly spicy (for Spain) sauce, also excellent. But too strong to pair with the steak, so we finished before the steak arrived.
The steak was a triumph, except that it came fairly blue. Every steak here comes with a grill for you to grill to your liking. My personal preference is whatever the chef recommends, even if it means rare. In Italy I often get it rare, even though my preference in the US is Med-Rare. But here I felt the need to cook it myself for a few seconds which is something we are not big fans of. Even in Korean places we prefer not to cook. But the meat was just glorious. Plenty of funk, and didnt require much salt. We couldnt finish it, and it got noticeably chewier toward the end but we were satisfied. It comes with fries.
@Ziggy,
My first introduction to Txakolí Simón was with Mikel, our dear friend and our guide to all things Basque, who took us there with his family when his twins were just 6 years old. It´s a great place for families as the grounds are large and kids can run about with plenty of room. Great looking txuleta!
What a nice outing for you and Mrs. Z.
I’m a planner but love the thrill of an open evening with nothing planned except some ideas. The ideas were some touristy pintxo places, some of the only ones open on Sunday evenings. Many places I noticed are open on Sundays for lunch only. So while exploring Abando I had my eyes on Restaurante Abando, a seemingly popular Pintxo bar. But then we passed this burger place and my left hand began to shake. Its been a while.
We dont usually eat burgers in Europe, not alone after a steak lunch. In fact I’m pretty sure its our first burger in Europe. But being a product of Amaren, another meat temple, ranked #16 steakhouse in the world, I was curious. And besides Restaurante Abando was too busy anyway.
Choosing the right burger combination was tough. You need to choose the topping combo, bread, and meat upgrade. Depending on the cheese, the staff comes with a blowtorch to melt the cheese. My burger was excellent. PIRENAICA - smoked cow cheese, egg, arugula, truffle cream, and black truffle shavings. Sounds expensive but only about 20 €. I upgraded the meat to premium for 4 more. Hers, the “Minhota” was less successful.
The next day we met a couple at a cafe who ate at Amaren, the steakhouse and upgraded their meat for around 350 €. We had a moment where we exchanged steak pics as men do sometimes, I think, but of course I didnt find it appropriate to brag about my 4 € hamburger upgrade.
Not to be confused with another La Viña across the street. The owner warned us twice via email.
Another excellent meal, tho not quite flawless. Small place. run by a young couple. He’s running the entire front. As usual we are the first to arrive. 1:30 is late for us for lunch, but here it’s a tad too early. I think I’ve seen @dostrovs mention something similar.
Half portions available for every item. They start you off with really delicious Salmorejo and Croquettes
Russian salad (Olivier) with tuna - Not something I normally order but hard to pass on a best of Spain winner. It was indeed good, or as good as a Russian salad can be. This is the owner getting the award from a familiar looking judge. Its not clear if she’s doing the Garrote or “yay, I won”
She won that award in 2023 at SS Gastronomika. (This year’s winner, Elkano Txiki in Getaria and MB was one of the judges again.)
I love Russian salad but usually give a hard pass to kokotxas, as they taste too gelatinous to me.
Nice looking dishes, especially the pulpo.
There are 3 Viñas at least in Bilbao (del Ensanche, de Henao, de Abelardo). It gets confusing.
Final meal of the trip😢. After a big lunch, something light(er). Playful menu, touristy, friendly service by a very enthusiastic young girl.
Chuleta Nigiri - The signature dish here. Pretty good. Slightly smoked Chuleta on puffed bread with some sort of aioli. Nice flavor.
Shrimp lollipops - Not bad
Egg 65 - with truffled potatoes and mushrooms. Terrible. I get this dish pretty much everywhere I see it in Spain but this was a major fail. Different ingredients had different temps and just didn’t mesh properly.
Octopus - Because lunch was only half ;). Another good one. Braised with a dark spicy bbq sauce.
We loved La Viña de Henao. Such a nice couple who own it, and he was so helpful in steering us in our choices and portion sizes. We, too, of course had the Russian salad and agree that while it’s a very good Russian salad, it’s still a Russian salad. When we were there there were also only locals, and I asked him if they get many Americans. He said almost none, because they refuse to serve meals during preferred American dining hours. I remember being blown away by a tomato dish there.
I’m loving your Bilbao report! We plan to book a tour with Mikel for our first morning (March 3) and then be on our own–no car but walking is fine. How far out did you make reservations?
After 5 days in Bilbao we’ll be flying to Venice for 3 weeks. Then 2 nights in Pesaro, a week in L’Aquila and 2 nights in Ostia. You may remember I am an avid Italian traveler.
Friends, that’s all she wrote. No more food updates. Didnt find any bakeries and breakfast places in Bilbao worth mentioning. We mostly explored the Abando area this time. Great for architecture, shopping, and no shortage of good food and bars. Thanks again to @Maribel and the rest of the contributors. Next, back to Italy in the spring. Probably Naples - Praiano - Ischia - Rome
