--- type: "Article" title: "Gourmet tour through Basque Country and Rioja wine country" description: "Basque Country is paradise for gourmands. No other region can claim so many Michelin-starred restaurants. Here are my tips for a gourmet tour:" resource: "https://travelmemo.com/spain/basque-country-rioja-gourmet-tour" author: "Walter Schaerer" publisher: "Travelmemo" photo_count: 33 tags: ["Gourmet", "Restaurant", "Spain"] entities: - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/places/spain" - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/topics/culinary-tourism" - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/topics/restaurant" - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/topics/boutique-hotel" - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/topics/itinerary" - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/topics/design" - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/topics/architecture" - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/topics/experience-travel" - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/topics/luxury-travel" - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/topics/museum" - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/topics/review" - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/topics/road-trip" - "https://travelmemo.com/author/walter-schaerer" generated: { by: "human:https://travelmemo.com/author/walter-schaerer", at: 2026-07-04T13:51:20+00:00 } verified: - { by: "human:https://travelmemo.com/author/katja-birrer", at: 2019-10-06T16:16:07+00:00 } sources: - id: photos resource: basque-country-rioja-gourmet-tour.md#photos title: "Original photography by Walter Schaerer" author: "human:https://travelmemo.com/author/walter-schaerer" last_modified: 2019-07-03 timestamp: 2026-07-04T13:51:20+00:00 --- # Gourmet tour through Basque Country and Rioja wine country > Basque Country and Rioja wine country form one of the world's great gourmet destinations, home to an extraordinary concentration of Michelin-starred restaurants, inventive chefs of the 'nueva cocina vasca' movement, and the beloved pintxos bar culture. ## What to see - **Marqués de Riscal Hotel & Winery, Elciego** — Frank Gehry-designed luxury hotel surrounded by vineyards producing 5 million bottles annually, with three million bottles aging in its cellars. - **Hotel Viura, Villabuena de Álava** — Spectacular cubist design hotel in the heart of Rioja wine country, a village of 300 inhabitants with 43 vineyards. ## What to do - **Akelarre, San Sebastián (3 Michelin stars)** — Chef Pedro Subijana's flagship offers three nine-course gourmet menus at 240 € each, with a spectacular view over the Bay of Biscay; part of a Relais & Châteaux hotel. - **Atelier Etxanobe, Bilbao (1 Michelin star)** — Chef Fernando Canales serves a 14-course tasting menu with tableside flambéing, a menu projector, and a VR-glasses dessert experience; menu from 120 €. - **Gastrobar Patri by Martín Berasategui, Bilbao** — Relaxed industrial-chic gastrobar inside Hotel Tayko, offering star-chef quality at affordable prices with dishes like Iberian pig on truffle potatoes. - **El Gastronómico, Marqués de Riscal, Elciego (1 Michelin star)** — Chef Francis Paniego's deconstructivist restaurant serves playfully disguised dishes; tasting menus from 110 €. - **The Viura Gastronomic Restaurant, Villabuena de Álava** — Chef Javier Alesanco honors Rioja and Basque traditions with his own twist; tasting menu from 50 €, described as star quality despite no Michelin star. - **Pintxos bars, Basque Country** — The emblematic Basque variation on tapas, widely available across the region for a more casual but equally authentic gourmet experience. - **Restaurante Martín Berasategui, San Sebastián (3 Michelin stars)** — Berasategui's flagship three-star restaurant; reservations must be made several weeks in advance. ## Photos ```yaml photos: - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/san-sebastian-basque-country-spain-29.jpg" caption: "Eingang zum Gourmet-Restaurant" keywords: ["https://reisememo.ch/europa/spanien/gourmet-restaurants-baskenla"] captured: 2019-07-03 geo: {latitude: 43.3078, longitude: -2.0432} credit: "Walter Schärer" - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/viura-villabuena-vitoria-gasteiz-13.jpg" caption: "Kleine Shrimp-Kissen als Amuse-Bouche" keywords: ["https://reisememo.ch/europa/spanien/gourmet-restaurants-baskenla"] captured: 2019-07-03 geo: {latitude: 43.3078, longitude: -2.0432} credit: "Walter Schärer" - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/san-sebastian-basque-country-spain-45.jpg" caption: "Seehecht im Algensud mit Plankton-Crème und Austernblatt" keywords: ["https://reisememo.ch/europa/spanien/gourmet-restaurants-baskenla"] captured: 2019-07-03 geo: {latitude: 43.3078, longitude: -2.0432} credit: "Walter Schärer" - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/san-sebastian-basque-country-spain-39.jpg" caption: "Gänselebermousse in Form eines Blattes" keywords: ["https://reisememo.ch/europa/spanien/gourmet-restaurants-baskenla"] captured: 2019-07-03 geo: {latitude: 43.3078, longitude: -2.0432} credit: "Walter Schärer" - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/san-sebastian-basque-country-spain-34.jpg" caption: "Am Tisch im Schnaps gegarte Garnelen" keywords: ["https://reisememo.ch/europa/spanien/gourmet-restaurants-baskenla"] captured: 2019-07-03 geo: {latitude: 43.3078, longitude: -2.0432} credit: "Walter Schärer" - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/san-sebastian-basque-country-spain-37.jpg" caption: "Garnelen am Tisch auf Schnaps gegart" keywords: ["https://reisememo.ch/europa/spanien/gourmet-restaurants-baskenla"] captured: 2019-07-03 geo: {latitude: 43.3078, longitude: -2.0432} credit: "Walter Schärer" - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/bilbao-tour-travel-memo-11.jpg" caption: "Chef Fernando Canales vor der Glasmalerei der Nationalbank von Spanien in Madrid" keywords: ["https://reisememo.ch/europa/spanien/was-tun-in-bilbao-top-10-tip"] captured: 2019-06-24 credit: "Walter Schärer" - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/bilbao-tour-travel-memo-10.jpg" caption: "Stimmungsvolles Michelin-Sterne Restaurant von Fernando Canales" keywords: ["https://reisememo.ch/europa/spanien/was-tun-in-bilbao-top-10-tip"] captured: 2019-06-24 credit: "Walter Schärer" - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/bilbao-tour-travelmemo-6.jpg" caption: "Canales flambiert ein Tuna-Carpaccio direkt am Tisch" keywords: ["https://reisememo.ch/europa/spanien/gourmet-restaurants-baskenla"] captured: 2019-06-24 geo: {latitude: 43.2654, longitude: -2.9315} credit: "Walter Schärer" - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/bilbao-tour-travelmemo-2.jpg" caption: "Gebratene rote Garnele aus dem Mittelmeer" keywords: ["rote Garnele"] captured: 2019-06-24 geo: {latitude: 43.2654, longitude: -2.9315} credit: "Walter Schärer" - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/bilbao-tour-travelmemo-4.jpg" caption: "Kabeljau auf Aubergine und Oliven" keywords: ["https://reisememo.ch/europa/spanien/gourmet-restaurants-baskenla"] captured: 2019-06-24 geo: {latitude: 43.2654, longitude: -2.9315} credit: "Walter Schärer" - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/bilbao-tour-travelmemo-5.jpg" caption: "Weingläser im Atelier Etxanobe" keywords: ["https://reisememo.ch/europa/spanien/gourmet-restaurants-baskenla"] captured: 2019-06-24 geo: {latitude: 43.2654, longitude: -2.9315} credit: "Walter Schärer" - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/bilbao-tour-travelmemo-3.jpg" caption: "Chicharro oder Stöcker-Makrele mit roter Beete und Limonengras" keywords: ["https://reisememo.ch/europa/spanien/gourmet-restaurants-baskenla"] captured: 2019-06-24 geo: {latitude: 43.2654, longitude: -2.9315} credit: "Walter Schärer" - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/bilbao-tour-travelmemo-12.jpg" caption: "Patri Showküche" keywords: ["https://reisememo.ch/europa/spanien/gourmet-restaurants-baskenla"] captured: 2019-06-25 geo: {latitude: 43.2579, longitude: -2.9264} credit: "Walter Schärer" - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/bilbao-tour-travel-memo-6.jpg" caption: "Astronaut Tayko im Gourmetrestaurant Patri von Martin Berasetegui" keywords: ["https://reisememo.ch/europa/spanien/was-tun-in-bilbao-top-10-tip"] captured: 2019-06-25 credit: "Walter Schärer" ```