The Best Seafood Near Azurmendi, by the Record

Fish bought from the ports of Lekeitio and Ondarroa each morning is what drives the kitchen at this Michelin-starred Bilbao seafood restaurant. The chef built his reputation on baked wild fish and still holds that technical command, but the menu has grown to fold in Basque tradition alongside quietly inventive ideas. Tuna toffee macaroon, for instance, is not a joke. Two tasting menus run alongside the à la carte for anyone who wants the full argument.

1. Michelin Guide 1 Star

The grilled prawns arrive with no ceremony whatsoever, which is precisely the point. Zapirain is a traditional seafood restaurant, an old-school institution from the Basque coast that relocated to Bilbao after what sounds like a long and happy life in Lekeitio. The kitchen keeps things simple with fish and shellfish, letting the quality carry the weight, though a proper T-bone appears on the menu for anyone who wandered in expecting steak.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

The turbot arrives whole off a wood-fired grill, and if you need anything else explained about Elkano, this is probably not your restaurant. A Michelin-starred seafood grill in the harbor town of Getaria, it holds a spot on the World's 50 Best list and earns it the old way: exceptional fish, serious sourcing, and a grill technique that makes "just cooking" sound like an insult. Meat exists, but the sea is the point.

1. 50 Best #24 · The World’s 50 Best Restaurants
2. Michelin Guide 1 Star

The open grill smoking on the street outside is your first sign that Kaia Kaipe takes the serious route with seafood. This old-school Getaria institution sits above the port it's named for, with terraces that look straight out over the water. Live tanks hold the day's catch, the wine cellar runs to tens of thousands of bottles, and the grilled turbot for two is the order most tables seem to be waiting for.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant