Fabulous Spanish wine and food in Bilbao
If you are planning to come to Bilbao soon (or later) and you want to experience some great wine and food typical of this area and also want a chic and cool international atmosphere you MUST visit restaurante Kikare.
My best friend in Bilbao (the same one that adores Cava and my chocolate cake..) also has another weakness which I like. She NEEDS cocktails before and after a nice dinner out. (No she is not an alcoholic, but a mother of 3 children and very respectable but fun!)
So together we have been on a hunt to find a restaurant in Bilbao which can live up to these requirements. And I must admit, in Bilbao that is not an easy task. People here live on Bacalao al Pil Pil (a bit exaggerated but still..) and Rioja wines or if they are brave a glass of Rueda or Ribera del Duero. Cocktails just isn’t the thing here.
Then one day we went for a Spanish wine tasting at a shop close to the Guggenheim and happened to pass by Restaurante Kikara.
You enter the restaurant and immediately you have this very “chic” bar. We asked the bartender for his recommendation and in 2 seconds this Basque guy had turned into Tom Cruise in the movie Cocktail. He was shaking and turning and swooshing and after 5 minutes (yes, it took that long) we had the perfect Mojitos in front of us.
Then the food ahhhhaaa. The chef is Andoni Arrieta and he offers a wide menu of the modern Basque kitchen which has now become quite famous internationally (specially the Michelin star restaurants in San Sebastian).You can choose between their “gourmet” restaurant (upstairs) and a more bistro like experience downstairs. This time we chose downstairs but we came back another day to try upstairs and it is definitely worthwhile if you can afford it. The service and the food were very good on both floors. You can find all the different menus they have (translated into English as well) on their site. But you will not be disappointed with whatever you choose.
Their wine list is of course focused on Spanish wine. But they have many wines from appellations other than Rioja. And they also carry some wines from France, South Africa and Argentina which really isn’t that common here.
We had a memorable meal and have already been back, not only for the food and wine, but also for the cute bartender with the perfect Mojitos.
Tags: Bilbao, food, Restaurant, Spain, wine