Why Bilbao is the “Must visit” of the Year

(Gerry Furth-Sides) The Frank Gehry–designed Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Bilbao in Spain. We were recently asked and convinced to think of a lot more of this industrial port city in northern Spain at a presentation at the dramatic, sexy TATEL restaurant.

This just in! Aside from all of the jubilant, warm, richly layered experiences that Bilbao and Spain has to offer, a recent discovery revealed that Europeans who escaped the ice age did so in Spain! “Like retirees who flock to the Costa del Sol, ancient European hunter-gatherers sought out Spain’s warmer climate during the peak of the last ice age.”//www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-00611-2

We were greeted at the door with pintxos, which we are familiar with as tapas or small bites. Our own historic chef, Joe Miller, was so enchanted with the concept he opened in the ever packed tiny (food) Bar Pintxo in Santa Monica.

Spain is famous for these small pieces of bread topped with a multitude of different ingredients that are usually lined up along a bar so you can help yourself.. and drink! 

Chef Julio Garmendia, headed the kitchen this evening. One of Bilbao’s most popular and prominent chefs, he is known all over the continent for his refined and rustic dishes, and his effortless catering extravaganzas indoors and outside.

The Chef did not disappoint at TATEL. The menu:

It would be a destination drive for the BEEF CHEEKS GLACÉ alone! Tender, layers of flavor and the confit of garlic added an exceptional taste and textural touch.

We were treated to a startling, fun virtual show of the Bilbao area during dinner. The tour took us right “into” the city and countryside!

The museum houses prominent modern and contemporary works, and it’s the curvy, titanium-clad shell is world famous. The city is also home to a wealth of contemporary architecture and many other museums, including the Fine Arts Museum, the Archaeological Museum, the Maritime Museum and the Bullfighting Museum.

The de facto capital of Basque Country with a skyscraper-filled downtown, but Bilbao is also surrounded by glorious green mountains. Over 150 kilometres of coast sculpted with sheer cliffs, dotted with beautiful fishing villages with the best local cuisine featuring the best local products of the Bay of Biscay.

With so many culinary, cultural, historic and simply pleasurable reasons to visit BILBAO we know it will be “the” destination of 2023.

Being holiday season, guests “dressed” for the occasion. Here is Sophie Gayot in a stunning, modern, bold outfit with color graphics now associated with Spain.