Bilbao’s hamburger temples
In recent years, hamburgers have become a gourmet dish. Maybe they used to be just another fast food, but now they’re a quality dish made with the best meat and select ingredients.
Some of them are more traditional while others are totally innovative… In Bilbao we can find everything from restaurants that have just arrived in town to other hamburger joints that have been here forever. But they all have one thing in common: quality meat and lots of TLC.
So let’s explore Bilbao and its neighbourhoods in search of the city’s best burgers!
THE BEST GOURMET HAMBURGER ANYWHERE IN THE ENTIRE COUNTRY
Inevitably, we kick off with what was recently declared the Best Gourmet Burger in Spain.
These guys, with Mikel at the helm, started their business during the pandemic when home delivery was the only option available to them.
They have a few tricks up their sleeves that make them unique, such as the fact that the meat is taken from a txuleton, that’s a T-bone steak by the way, freshly prepared every day, that the bread is potato bread that holds together to the end without falling apart, and that, except for the mayonnaise and the BBQ sauce, all the other sauces are homemade.
CLASSIC BURGERS
Let’s move on from the “newcomers” and check out two places that are really well known in their respective neighbourhoods – they’ve both been around for ages, leaving everyone who tries their delicious burgers licking their lips! We’re talking about the Hamburguesería Canyon in Txurdinaga and the Astuy Taberna in Santutxu.
The Canyon is hamburger heaven in Txurdinaga. Their secret? Quality, fresh ingredients and freshly baked bread.
Aintzane and David, both of whom have always been in the catering industry, run the Canyon Bar. Ever since they opened their doors, they have been serving their spectacular hamburgers to the entire neighbourhood.
They have 8 different burgers on the menu, each one with its own unique characteristics, but all of them delicious! The best sellers are the “carnal sin” burger, which comes without anything any way akin to a vegetable, and the “papa frita”, the “fried potato burger”, which comes with chips inside the bun.
Eusko Label Meat, freshly baked bread, homemade sauces and quality ingredients, therein lies the key to the success of the Astuy Taberna which has been opening for business in Santutxu for the past 40 years. In 2011, Ugaitz took over the reins of the business his aitas (parents) had opened and turned it into a hamburger restaurant.
With 25 different hamburgers on the menu and a traditional product, they have become a veritable reference point in Bilbao. Their quality/price relationship and their generous portions make them unique.
Veritable pioneers in the sector, they started their home delivery service 8 years ago when hardly anybody else had even thought about such a thing. Their best-selling burger is the Astuy, the one you can see in the photo, and yes, it’s every bit as good as it looks.
AMERICAN BURGERS MADE IN BILBAO
We can find genuine American made-in-Bilbao food in the Casco Viejo. Burgers, meat, hot dogs, sandwiches… you’d think you’re in the States without having to leave Bilbao.
Arambarri Food and Roll opened its doors in December 2020 to what is a really cosy and comfortable space.
Here, every dish, even the sauces, are made from scratch.
Their star dish is the Jack Daniels flambé burger! Another delicious combination.
But let’s move on from the innovation on offer at Arambarri Food and Roll to another hamburger temple, this time in the centre of Bilbao: the Hambueysería.
EVERYBODY’S TALKING ABOUT THE HAMBUEYSERÍA
A new concept in gastronomy and a dream come true: that of working with genuine beef to create simply exquisite hamburgers.
After five intense years at Amaren, where they achieved so much – they won the national barbecue competition and served up some of the world’s best hamburgers, veritable milestones – they have now embarked on a new concept in gastronomy: La Hambueysería. Let’s find out exactly what a genuine gourmet burger really is.
200 GR. OF 100% BEEF IN EVERY BURGER
At La Taberna in Basurto, María, the cook, is entrusted with making the neighbourhood’s most famous hamburgers. Generously sized, she uses high-quality juicy meat that they buy in Basurto itself. They’ve been making them ever since they opened for business in 2015 and today they’re the toast of the neighbourhood.
They’ve even had customers all the way from Albacete who bought them raw to take them home with them and the fact is that nobody can resist these marvellous burgers!
100% VEGAN BURGER
A neighbourhood tavern without a single ounce of animal protein. The people behind Txukrut were determined to offer a fine array of pintxos that vegans and vegetarians could enjoy, offering them tasty and original creations so that they could enjoy going out for tapas just as much as anyone else.
At first glance their pintxos may well look just like the one’s you’d find in any other bar, but these are different: they don’t contain a single ounce of animal protein. Their menu includes 4 types of vegan burgers made with red beans and oat flakes and they’re every bit as tasty as burgers made with animal meat.
So let’s bring this tour of Bilbao’s hamburger restaurants to an end by nipping in to one the city’s classic bars, the Tobogan. Here locally sourced produce is the name of the game, and The Hamburger is no exception to the rule. We say The Hamburger because there’s only one burger on the menu. Having said that, it’s a well-balanced burger, not too high in calories, ideal for eating time and time again and with no added sauces.
A classic burger made with mature beef cooked to perfection so that it combines beautifully with the other ingredients, which are also of high quality of course. They are made with great care and TLC.
