Monty sits just a couple of blocks from the Guggenheim Museum, yet it remains largely unknown to the international public. Nestled on a lively corner of Bilbao’s Ensanche district, it’s one of those bars that encapsulates the city’s character: traditional yet open to change, classic in its presentation, and deeply serious when it comes to food and drink. The area surrounding Monty has become a trendy hotspot for taverns, restaurants, and cocktail bars, home to some of the most daring culinary ventures in the local scene. Within just a few blocks, you can find haute cuisine establishments, seafood sanctuaries, international kitchens or aspirational bistros. Most of these places have emerged around the past decade, fueled by the city’s growing tourism sector.

Pintxo bars abound in Bilbao, concentrated in the narrow streets of the Casco Viejo, the old town on the shores of the Nervion estuary. Known colloquially as Zazpikaleak (“seven streets” in the Basque language), this is where the city was born, and its streets are still full any day of the week with residents, shoppers, tradesmen and locals doing some old-fashioned poteo. If you plan on stepping foot in this Basque capital, you’d better learn what poteo is firsthand. The endurance required to barhop with a Basque is real, especially considering this social act consists of downing glass of wine after glass of wine in what is essentially a bar crawl. Fortunately, the Basques have invented their own coping mechanism – the pintxo.

With just 30 minutes to go until noon, Plaza Nueva already smells like pintxos de tortilla. Children chase after a ball or trade collectible cards while adults scramble for free tables. Meanwhile, gildas – skewers of olive, pickled guindilla pepper, and anchovy – stand firm at the bars like armies of tiny soldiers. It’s a typical Sunday in Bilbao, as long as the weather cooperates. If not, all the action moves under the arcades, where crowds gather, raising their marianitos high. This local drink, a mix of vermouth with a splash of Campari, another of gin, a few drops of Angostura bitters, and sometimes orange juice (every place has its own recipe), is practically a religion here.

If you turn the corner onto Calle Pelota and see a swarm of people in the street, wine glasses in hand, dive right in. You have officially left the tourist pintxo routes in Bilbao's historic Casco Viejo neighborhood and entered the realm of the locals, who storm the streets daily in search of a good spot for a drink and a bite before lunch and before dinner. Many believe that the fame of Basque pintxos – small bites offered on the counter of almost every bar – is the result of a culinary phenomenon, but it really comes from a social one. When you step through the door of Taberna Basaras, you have found one of the best places to take part in it. This tiny tavern – barely a counter, half a dozen stools, and many, many bottles of wine – offers a concentrated essence of what the Basque people expect when they go out to potear – the habit of meeting with pals to go from bar to bar: Friendly atmosphere, rich wines, and simple but tasty snacks.

In Bilbao, some might tell you that the art is inside the Guggenheim Museum, but most would argue it’s found at the counter of a good tavern. Here, the pintxo de tortilla (AKA Spanish omelette) is enough to stir emotions just like a Chillida sculpture – and yes, it can make or break a bar’s reputation. That’s why, even though it might seem simple, serving tortillas in this city is a serious matter. Manu Urra and Andoni Ibarguren knew that when they opened Txintxirri in 2019, but they didn’t hesitate to make this pintxo their calling card. They pulled it off – even through a pandemic. “And it has evolved so much. When I look at the ones I made back then, I don’t like them at all. There’s always room to improve, and I’m still working on it,” Ibarguren admits.

Very few things in Bilbao are as they used to be. Some old bars, some ancient traditions, a chunk of a medieval wall, a handful of simple dishes. What has held strongest over generations is the intense connection Bilbainos feel to their Basque identity and passion for eating and sharing food with others. The image of local cuadrillas – groups of friends of all ages – eating pintxos and laughing over a glass of txakolí or cider is a daily constant. Bilbao is a phoenix of urban renewal, rising from a period of industrial decline to become a center of modern Basque cuisine that incorporates global influences with contemporary culinary quirks.

Since 2010, Paula has led the Culinary Backstreets Barcelona team as a writer and photographer, experience designer, and culinary walk leader. Born in Vigo, Spain, she left the world of advertising to become a writer, focusing on gastronomy and culture. Her work has been featured in USA Today and other major publications, as well as National Geographic’s show Top Tables, Top Cities. Paula is our go-to for all things Spain and helped us design our newest culinary walk in Bilbao, a city close to her heart. Born and raised in Getxo (Bizkaia), a coastal town near Bilbao, Gonzalo moved to San Sebastian in 2020 to get his master’s degree in gastronomic tourism at the Basque Culinary Center. As a tour guide focusing on food and wine in San Sebastian and Bilbao, he loves to help his guests come to love the Basque country and its gastronomy. As a self-described “craft beer geek and wine lover,” he also loves to show visitors the unique way Bilbao relates to its culinary culture and the city’s historical richness.