Another place outside of Bilbao that we really enjoyed was Taberna Mikel Bengoa. That was one of Mikel’s recommendations as well. We had a lovely Sunday lunch there with amazing grilled fish.
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We LOVE Taberna Mikel Bengoa and are heading there again after the Sanfermines, while staying in Garai at the charming Oar Cottage (our second stay). For our Sunday lunch we had the txuleta, served on a charcoal grill and it was superb. Another grill house to add to one’s list! Highly recommended.
If anyone reading here has had the extraordinary good luck of snagging a summer reservation at Etxebarri or is planning to visit on a Sunday when the downstairs bar opens to the public, the Oar Cottage, in Garai, just a half hour drive away is a delightful place to stay with rustic chic rooms, fabulous breakfasts, beautiful countryside views and lovely owners, And the tiny village has two well-regarded restaurants, the Garai Jatetxea and the Aboiz.
We’ve also staying in tiny Axpe for dining at Etxebarri at the Meni Goikoa Bekoa, but it’s hard to book since it’s the only lodging in Axpe and has only 11 rooms.
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Curious if there’s a place in/near Bilbao or on the way from Rioja that specializes in rice dishes like in Asturias and other parts in the north. By that point of the trip I might be craving it.
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At Serantes (3 branches) in Bilbao, I’ve had a nice arroz con bogavante. They also offer arroz de marisco and arroz negro con chipirones.
The one where I’ve dined is Serantes I, upstairs.
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Thank you again @Maribel, this is such good and helpful information! I have warned LLD about the hotel’s parking situation, and he says he is ok with this. I am guessing our first night’s dinner will be at the pintxos place, since we arrive very early that morning. Now to work on figuring out which wineries to try to visit! I see that you’ve listed some of your favorites, and will start there. Thank you again!
I have! I did the Camino in 2011, and stopped in Burgos.
@LulusMom1
So many wineries within a short driving distance of Laguardia, but for all, if you want to take the English-speaking tour rather than just sip/shop in the wine bar, they do require advance reservations:
the very contemporary Baigorri in Samaniego
the family-run Ostatu in Samaniego
the ancient underground cellars of Casa Primicia right inside Laguardia’s medieval walls
the family-run Eguren Ugarte in Páganos
the very “elite” Viñedos de Páganos
the contemporary Viña Real in Laserna and the Ysios in Laguardia, both designed by starchitects
We’re in the Basque Country right now for the next 2 weeks and enjoying all the wonderful food and wine!
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Respect!
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Lulu’smom,
We’re in Pamplona now for 8 days of the Sanfermines and walking just a teeny, tiny portion of the Camino.
I have a huge amount of respect for those who do the entire Camino!
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Very useful list, thank you. Is Ysios maybe better to go by for the photo op than a tour?
Have a wonderful time!
My Camino was an incredible experience. I am so glad I did it.
I think Ysios is better for a photo op. It is now a corporate winery, owned by Pernod Ricard.
Ysios does have a wine bar. The various tours they now offer are quite expensive!
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@Maribel did you end up going to Joxe Maria last month? Still recommend? I’m overwhelmed by the Orio options
@ziggy,
Yes, we did go on July 15 on our way from Pamplona to Getaria, and I would post photos but don’t have them organized yet—we’re constantly on the go and are now in Asturias.
I highly recommend Asador Bodegón Joxe Mari! This is your totally unique Orio option of the 4. It’s truly a pilgrimage stop, like Julián de Tolosa.
We had a late reservation, at 3 pm, and meant to. take photos of the sea bream grilling process outdoors, but we got involved chatting with our waiter, and the grill meisters (2 of them) left when the restaurant closed at 4:30.
Here the sea bream, besugo, it not placed in a traditional besuguera for grilling but instead is placed directly on the grill, a pelo, slightly toasted on the outside, which is apparently unique to Joxe Mari. They serve it with a refrito made with EVOO, garlic, cayenne pepper and white wine vinegar. So incredibly delicious.
The sea bream was priced at 98 euros/kilo and ours came in at 1.2 k, so we were charged 117 euros. (I expected to spend more). The taste was incredible and we managed to finish every morsel.
We sat outside at a long table (there are 4 of them on the terrace) but the table is set only for 2 persons (or 3) on each end so you have plenty of privacy, not squeezed in.
We conversed with out dining partners who had come from Australia, probably surfing at Zarautz. Another British couple came in and sat on the terrace, while an American couple emerged from the charmingly decorated, exposed stone dining room with nautical décor to chat in English with the grill meister, Mikel Manterola.
So…yes, the Somebody Feed Phil episode has brought English-speaking diners to the Asador.
I asked our waiter if the episode had made an impact in their business and he responded emphatically, “Sí, muchísima gente ha venido”. So there’s that…
Along with our sea bream we ordered grilled red peppers generously topped with a heavenly “secret sauce” (—I thought it was Idiazábal cheese—our waiter laughed), a lovely lettuce and onion salad and for dessert, a palate cleansing cava sorbet. Washed it all down happily with a local txakolí, “Arri” by Rezabal from Zarautz, recommended by our waiter. It paired perfectly with the sea bream. We were staying at a txakoli winery and had plenty of Ameztoi, there so we wanted to branch out.
What I would order next time as a starter is the grilled txistorra, the Basque-Navarran version of chorizo. (The shrimp on the menu, BTW, was from Huelva.)
Everyone around us ordered the sea bream. It can easily be shared by 3 or even 4 if ordering several starters, like the txistorra, grilled peppers, hake cheeks, or the fish soup, based on the grandmother Paxita´s recipe.
Our total bill for 2: €180.
Asador Bodegón Joxe Mari is right in the heart of the village, on the square, Herriko Plaza. You can’t miss it. After you cross the bridge over the Oria river, make a sharp left and go around until you find street parking.
The asador is very much family run and is now in its third generation, going strong for almost 70 years! Antuan Manterola is the father, who has ceded the grill duties to his son, Mikel, who started grilling at age 13! Mikel won a “best grill master of Gipuzkoa” award in 2023. His wife, Sofía Mendíbil, acts as the hostess.
Mikel´s grandfather, Joxe Mari, opened the restaurant in 1957. The grandfather, a fisherman, an arrantzale, remarked that at the time no one appreciated sea bream and was practically given away at the pier! He began grilling sea bream rather than the usual sardines at that time and is considered the creator of the besugo al estilo de Orio,which is imitated in several grill houses in the area.
Here´s Mikel, the “sea bream whisperer”, at work–
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@ziggy,
BTW, we had our usual “meet up” both with Gabriella in Donostia and Mikelg in the Bizkaia countryside. Mikel took us to lunch at the newish Rice Factory in Urduliz near his home. The former chef of Kanala Beach opened it, and as the name implies, he specializes in rice and paella dishes. Mikel brought us a lovely gift, a bottle of our favorite vermouth from Astobiza in Alava.
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What a response. I’m more than sold. The pictures of the Besuga looks better than the rest anyway, and I she will appreciate the peppers as well. Thanks again
Nice. This reminds me that Mikel doesnt know our favorite vermouth 
Nor do I for that matter, tho after trying some of the Italian, its def Spanish. She can drink it all day.
Another vermú that we like is the one by Martínez Lacuesta, the Haro winery. Our friend, Javier Bañales, the GM, keeps us well supplied. We have a friend in Pamplona that ONLY drinks vermouth, not wine, not beer, not GTs, just vermouth!
And then there are all the classic vermouth bars in Madrid featuring vermouth on tap like Taberna Ángel Sierra and Bodega La Ardosa.
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Found a couple of places selling Lacuesta Vermouth in Brooklyn. You are the gift that keeps on giving
