Islares

Should You Book Islares?

If you are deciding between Islares and Nerua Guggenheim Bilbao for a creative tasting menu dinner across from the Guggenheim, Islares is the more personal, produce-driven choice at a comparable price tier. Nerua carries more institutional prestige and a longer critical track record, but Islares offers something harder to find in Bilbao's upper tier: a menu that changes completely every season, built around the agricultural and coastal corridor running from Galicia through to the Basque Country. For food-focused travellers who plan their trips around what is actually growing or foraging right now, that is a meaningful distinction.

The Restaurant

Islares sits on Mazarredo Zumarkalea, directly opposite the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao's Abando district. The room is minimalist with a natural-material sensibility — the kind of space where the food is clearly meant to do the talking. Chef Julen Bergantiños has built the kitchen's identity around two tasting menus, both named after roads that trace the northern Spanish coastline. The nine-course "A-8" takes its name from the dual carriageway linking Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, and the Basque Country. The thirteen-course "N-634" references the slower, more scenic route from Santiago de Compostela to Donostia/San Sebastián. The menus share a philosophy: seasonal ingredients from small-scale producers, native condiments, and species specific to Northern Spain's coastline and hinterland.

What makes the format worth paying attention to is that seasonal rotation here is not a marketing claim. The menus change completely with each season. In autumn, wild mushrooms anchor the cooking. In winter, game takes over. That means returning guests and visiting explorers have a genuine reason to come back at a different point in the year. It also means the kitchen is always working with ingredients at or near their peak, which is the leading structural guarantee of quality at this price point.

The sauces at Islares have drawn specific praise in the venue's Michelin recognition — a detail worth noting because sauce work at this level of Northern Spanish cuisine reflects technical depth that does not always announce itself visually. Michelin awarded the restaurant a Plate in both 2024 and 2025, signalling consistent cooking that meets the guide's threshold for recommended dining without yet carrying a star. Opinionated About Dining placed Islares at #408 in its 2025 ranking of Europe's leading restaurants, which positions it as a serious entry in a competitive continental field that includes starred venues from Arpège in Paris and Jordnær in Gentofte. A 4.5 Google rating across 293 reviews suggests the experience translates for a broad range of guests, not just critics.

Lunch vs. Dinner at Islares

Hours are not confirmed in available data, so specific service times cannot be verified here. That said, in the context of Bilbao's dining culture and the tasting menu format Islares operates, lunch is generally worth considering over dinner for first-time visitors. Tasting menus of nine or thirteen courses tend to sit better at midday, when appetite and energy are at their highest and you have the rest of the afternoon to walk the Guggenheim's exterior or explore the Abando neighbourhood. Dinner at this price tier in Bilbao can feel more performative , the occasion matters as much as the food , but lunch allows the cooking to be the primary event. If you are visiting specifically as a food-focused traveller rather than a special-occasion diner, a lunch booking at Islares is likely to deliver a cleaner read on what the kitchen does well. Check directly with the restaurant on current service schedules before booking, as the hours are not published in standard directories.

For context on the broader Basque and Northern Spanish tasting menu circuit, Islares sits below Azurmendi in Larrabetzu and Arzak in San Sebastián in terms of awards weight, and well below Martin Berasategui in Lasarte-Oria or El Celler de Can Roca in Girona on the national scale. But within Bilbao itself, its Michelin recognition and OAD ranking make it a credible option for the traveller who wants serious cooking without the booking difficulty of starred venues. If you are building a longer Northern Spain itinerary, pairing Islares with Quique Dacosta in Dénia or Cocina Hermanos Torres in Barcelona gives a useful cross-regional picture of where contemporary Spanish creative cooking sits in 2025.

Explore More of Bilbao

Islares is one reference point in a strong Bilbao dining scene. See our full Bilbao restaurants guide for the complete picture, or explore Bilbao hotels, Bilbao bars, Bilbao wineries, and Bilbao experiences to build the rest of your trip.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Is Islares good for solo dining? Yes, it works well for solo diners. The tasting menu format is self-contained and the minimalist room does not penalise single covers the way a large, social-format restaurant might. At €€€€ pricing, it is a considered solo spend, but if you are a food-focused traveller in Bilbao, it is one of the more justifiable splurges on your own. The counter or smaller table configurations typical of this style of restaurant tend to suit solo visits better than a group dinner would.
• Does Islares handle dietary restrictions? This is not confirmed in available data. Given the highly seasonal, produce-led format and the use of native species and condiments, menus are constructed around specific ingredients each season. Contact the restaurant directly before booking if you have dietary requirements , the kitchen's flexibility on a fully structured tasting menu is something to clarify in advance rather than assume.
• How far ahead should I book Islares? Booking difficulty is rated Easy, which means you are unlikely to need weeks of lead time the way you would at a starred Bilbao venue. That said, the Guggenheim location draws tourist traffic alongside local diners, so booking a few days to a week ahead is sensible, especially if you have a specific date or service time in mind. No online booking platform is confirmed in current data , check Google Maps or contact the restaurant directly.
• Is Islares good for a special occasion? Yes, with caveats. The €€€€ price point, the seasonal tasting menu format, and the Guggenheim-facing location all make it a credible special-occasion choice. It does not carry the ceremony or starred prestige of Ola Martín Berasategui, so if the occasion requires a name that travels, that may be the stronger choice. But for a food-enthusiast couple or a milestone dinner where the cooking matters more than the institutional weight, Islares holds its own.
• Is the tasting menu worth it at Islares? The nine-course "A-8" is the more accessible entry point; the thirteen-course "N-634" is for diners who want the full range of the kitchen's seasonal palette. Both menus rotate completely each season, which means you are always eating something current rather than a greatest-hits selection. Given the Michelin Plate recognition and the OAD European ranking, the cooking clears the bar for the price. The thirteen-course option is worth choosing if you are visiting specifically for the food; the nine-course works better if you are combining Islares with other Bilbao dining across the same trip.
• Is Islares worth the price? At €€€€, Islares is priced in line with Mina and Ola Martín Berasategui, and above Zarate at €€€. What justifies the spend here is the seasonal integrity of the menus and the regional sourcing specificity , this is not a generic creative tasting menu but one with a clear geographic and agricultural identity. For a food-focused traveller who can visit in a specific season and wants cooking that reflects that moment, the value case is solid. If you want the most critical recognition per euro in Bilbao's top tier, Nerua carries more Michelin weight at a slightly lower price tier.