Bistrot Guggenheim, Bilbao

We caught the tram over to the Guggenheim Museum, which is a little oasis on the edge of the river with green grassy knolls laced with daisies lined with students, families & groups of friends taking in the morning sun.

Admittedly, the art that drew us to the museum wasn't Jeff Koons’s Puppy .. although the discovery of this beautiful piece was a delight on a glorious sunny day. The giant puppy towering into the sky, embezzled with all sorts of bright flowers ...



Nor was it the works of Anselm Kiefer, Willem de Kooning, Robert Motherwell, Sigmar Polke, Gerhard Richter, James Rosenquist, Clyfford Still, Cy Twombly, or Andy Warhol. It wasn't even Richard Serra's sculptures that had as anticipating this visit .... Local artists Eduardo Chillida, Cristina Iglesias, Juan Muñoz, Jorge Oteiza, Antonio Saura, and Antoni Tàpies weren't enough to draw us in, but the culinary art, tasty creativity & edible sculptures of Josean Martínez Alija is what brings us to the Museum.

Of course we do go into the museum, and spend a few hours wandering around and appreciating some of the pieces. The works of Anish Kapoor, which were a limited show at Bilbao, were amazing. Giant tubs of red wax in various forms, and all sorts of artwork & sculptures that changed over time. But back to my favorite sort of art, the stuff that sits in glasses, or on ceramic ... that is appreciated with the use of a silver implement and excites all of the senses.

Restaurante Guggenheim the Gastronomic Restaurante & the Bistrot on premise. We are taking up the unbeatable 18€ set course lunch at the Bistot today - 3 courses with red wine, mineral water & bread. The menu is announced at the table along with the arrival of the amuse buche, a refreshing tomato & watermelon gazpacho.



There are several options for each course. Lighter appetizer options excited us, so much foie, jamon & fried foods were taking their toll. I start with a bulgur wheat. It was amazing! So much flavor, brunoise of vegetables throughout, with a vibrant & viscous sauce coating each grain.



Kim chooses the mange tout with potatoes. Perfectly plump mange tout still with a nice bite sit above chunks of potato floating in an intense green broth with a dusting of paprika.



Pork meatballs with curry sauce are rich and robust. The meatballs are juicy and exploding with flavor - herbs, seasoning, onion and vegetables. They are sitting in light curry broth, which is delightful mopped up with the crusty bread.



The prized work of the day is the little chicken wings. Deboned and pan fried until golden, they are sitting on a polenta spiked with black olives and a little of the pan juices. It's so nice to see the humble little chicken wing take centre stage, and really deliver on flavor. Yum!



A duo of cakes completes a delightful lunch. The pear and vanilla cake still warm, with a pear & vanilla puree and chocolate sorbet.



Rice cake with cinnamon ice-cream arrives at the table, it's a little bit abstract art and a whole lot of yummy. Light cubes of rice-pudding like cake with a rich cinnamon ice-cream.



It certainly beats the expensive sandwiches & average museum meals I remember from my childhood.

Restaurante Guggenheim Bilbao
Avda. Abandoibarra nº 2
48001 Bilbao, Vizcaya
T +34 944 239 333
F +34 944 242 560
E info@restauranteguggenheim.com

Nothing to do?? Bitoque.

It was with great sadness that we jumped on a bus and moved on from the gastronomic heaven that is San Sebastian. But with Bilbao only a few hours away we had in high hopes for the town which sports the world renown Guggenheim museum as well as rumor the food rivaled that of it's more famous neighbor.

Unfortunately it seemed that this may only be the case part time. Bar after bar we visited only to find intriguing menus with Friday / Saturday across the front. There were plenty of standards available but the good stuff was tantalising just out of reach. With a sinking feeling we made our way out of the meandering streets of the old town and into the new. Our last ditch shot at finding a diamond.... and what a diamond we found.

Bitoque is young, jumping and everything good about old school pintxos bars while giving you everything that's good about modern Spanish cooking, and cooking that's good all through the week. The foods that follow are not a single night but an amalgamation of three nights work, not for lack of trying to find something else. Each night we set out to find a recommended place or just have look and see what we could find but each night we ended up back at Bitoque for some comfort for our disappointment.

Creamy potato and olive oil croquettes.



Crispy fried cheese salad with fruit gummies; warm gooey cheesy goodness, balsamic dressed salad leaves and qunice jellies all in just the right size portion for something so rich.



Patatas bravas; crispy potatos, spicy tomato. The only other place we had bravas cooked with as much care as here was Albert Adrias Inopia in Barcelona. Somthing so simple needs extra care to be good.



Salad of baby scallops and prawns; nothing was jump out amazing here, just a good salad.



Squid sausage; not really understanding all the menu but also wanting to try all of it we were presented with an inky black sausage of squid. After our intial "ok then" we gave it a try and were suprised at its deliciousness. The accopmaning creamy mash really made it.



A beet risotto is barbie pink, sweet and earthy, a puddle of melted mascarpone enrichens.



Foie with grilled asparagus and crouton.



Baby squid; more of the tinyest squidlings you'd ever see sitting atop finger size cylinders of pasta all masked with a jet blak ink sauce.



Beef cheek; a small nugget of unctious beef sat in a puddle of creamy mash. Comfort food at it's finest.



Costilla; this word we knew. A slab of pork rib meat braised to falling apart, green apple puree and a touch of jus. Tasty tasty tasty.



Pancetta con pina, ha we knew this one too and who doesn't like the retro stylings of a ham and pineapple pizza? In this case no pizza but a good whack of pancetta and a pool of pineapple puree to throw you back to childhood.



And with that we had tried it all, The menu from A to Y. ..... Z? Well ok we did manage a little something sweet once or twice.

The chocolate browine with caramel ice cream was divine, but the inverse cheesecake was the one to steal the show. The rich silky smooth spoonful of slightly citrusy cheesecake scattered with cookie base crumbs. So hard to not order another three or four.



With so much to do during the day Bilbao we're so glad Bitoque was there to get us through the nights otherwise Bilbao may not have been even woth a mention. Still from the teaser menus we saw of the weekends offerings we'll come back one day and give it another shot.



BITOQUE ORIGINAL
+34 944418830
Calle Rodriguez Arias 32
48011 Bilbao-Bizkaia

Menu del Dia, Bilbao

We arrive in Bilbao after a short bus ride from San Sebastian. After a little bit of stress trying to find a room last minute, we discovered Bilbo Rooms. The room is comfortable, spacious & full on natural light. We freshen up and head out in search for lunch ...

Just around the corner we discover a little restaurant - la Deliciosa. They have an unbeatable 12€ lunch set chalked on a blackboard by the entrance so we head on in. Within moments of being seated, a bottle of mineral water is plonked on the table and a bottle of Rioja Vinestral red wine is opened at the table.



I had a rich red soup, which was full of squid, prawns & clams in a rich tomato broth.



Kim started with a salad of endive, salmon & herbs (no pic) and then for the main course has a braised ox-tail. The ox-tail is fall-off-the-bone tender, in a rich red wine sauce with a stack of crisp roast potatoes on the side.



Of the 4 choices available, I also seem to have chosen a meat option, the Solomillo steak. Sirloin steak slices cooked medium and covered in a light mushroom sauce with the same crisp potatoes and a generous shower of chopped parsley.



We are both happily content, but dessert is still to come. Chocolate brownie is slightly warm, with a disc on vanilla ice-cream sitting on top and a splash of raspberry coulis.



Chocolate profiteroles are a decent display of the classic dessert. Light choux puffs filled with pastry cream, that is oozing from the sides. They are then generously covered in a warm chocolate sauce, and topped with a mountain of whipped cream.



Not bad for 12€ each ...

La Deliciosa
Calle Jardines nº1 bajo
48005 Casco Viejo-Bilbao-Bizkaia
T: +34 944150944

Open daily, not closed on holidays
Weekdays; 1:30pm - 4pm & 8pm - 11:30pm
Weekends; 1:30pm - 11:30pm