Pintxos you simply have to try in Deusto

The home of the tortilla

What better place to kick off our pintxo tour than at one of Deusto’s most iconic bars, the Deustoarrak (Avenida de Madariaga Etorbidea, 9). It’s been serving the finest traditional fare since 1986, and 10 years ago they started cooking between 14 and 16 different omelettes – every day!

Their best-seller is their 4-cheese and ham omelette, but they also make omelettes with vegetables, carbonara, spinach and goat’s cheese, shiitake mushrooms and foie gras. There are lots of other varieties, and then of course there are their famous tortipizzas – pizza omelettes. Have you tried them?

Sardines on toast

Renovated a few months ago and run by Ander Muriel and Arantza González, this neighbourhood bar opened its doors in the 1970s. One of the star pintxos at El Rincón de Arantza is their caramelised smoked sardine with goat’s cheese on toast.

They were runners-up in the Deusto Pintxo Contest with this exquisite morsel. 

It’s an ideal place to enjoy a good meal in a warm and friendly atmosphere.

Pintxo champions… and they also serve great breakfasts, homemade calamari and cocktails! 

So, let’s move on now to Madariaga 33 (Avenida Madariaga, 35), another neighbourhood legend we simply can’t leave out. With such a spectacular array of pintxos on offer, each one more mouth-watering than the last, choosing just one is no easy task. 

So for this tour, we’re going to choose two: crunchy chicken with honey, mustard, lettuce and tomato, and a fritter filled with meat and spicy sauce. Two legendary pintxos that you’ll always find at this bar.

Mini-burgers made in heaven!

The Itxas-bide has worked hard to earn its well-deserved reputation as Deusto’s hamburger temple. Their delicious burgers are known all over Bilbao, but did you know they also make them in mini versions?

There are four different types of mini-burgers to choose from, but today we’re going to try a really special one, the American mini-burger with tomato, barbecue sauce, Cheddar cheese and jalapeño.

The batter the better!

Today’s gastronomic tour ends in front of the huge selection of battered pintxos on offer at Sabinaren taberna, a neighbourhood classic. 

We’re keen to try the bar’s best-selling pintxos so they produce two different ones for us. One is made with fresh tomato, cheese and caramelised onion; the other with asparagus, tuna and mayonnaise, all wrapped in ham. And yes, they’re every bit as tasty as they look in the photo.