Almiketxu Restaurant, traditional cuisine in Bermeo.

Almiketxu Restaurant, traditional cuisine, local products and rustic aesthetics in Bermeo.

Almiketxu is one of those Basque restaurants that you fall in love with just by entering it, and the aesthetics of the baserri (farmhouse in Basque) that houses it, decorated down to the smallest detail with elements related to the history and culture of the Basque people, pleases both locals and foreigners. This building built in 1850, was restored with care and good hand by the same people who converted it into a restaurant, the Albonigamenor-Hormaetxea family, managers of this Biscayan establishment for more than 30 years. We went to this establishment on the recommendation of a great friend from Bermeo, a real fan of good food and Basque customs, who told us the name of Almiketxu together with Eneperi and Bengoetxe, two other top restaurants in the area.

The Almiketxu restaurant is a good restaurant, one of those establishments where local products and tradition are the essence of its success. Of course, like any self-respecting restaurant, it has its pluses and minuses, if you want to know more, pay attention to our experience in this Basque restaurant.

We went to Almiketxu restaurant with very high expectations, we had been told wonders about this place and we were like crazy to taste their creations.

Plan of the day: Our visit to Almiketxu restaurant was conceived as part of a great plan to spend the day in the coastal town of Bermeo, egunpasa, as we say in Basque. Our origin Bilbao, our destination Bermeo. After leaving behind the curves of Mount Sollube we arrived at the top of the same name, the bar and restaurant Cannon, a local, with a view to remove the hiccups and a gastronomy to which it is impossible to make him ascos. After enjoying a nice hamaiketako overlooking the Cantabrian Sea and Bermeo, we headed to Almiketxu Restaurant. But not before enjoying another round of hairpin bends through a beautiful rural environment. Arriving at the restaurant, we were pleasantly surprised, the exterior and interior of Almiketxu made us fall in love. We tasted our great menu based on starters, sea bream, turbot and homemade desserts to later head for the port of Bermeo, where the boat of Hegaluze. Company in charge of taking us to discover San Juan de Gaztelugatxe from the sea. a beautiful experience. The day did not give for much more, but of course it is a plan to note, to enjoy.

Attention: Very good attention, close, attentive, very good service. We had a relaxed and didactic chat with the waitress who attended us, the topic: the differences between the way of preparing fish in Bermeo and Orio. We told her that we were opting for the Gipuzkoan way, a statement that gave way to the teasing we had throughout our stay. All the waitresses of this restaurant, dressed in a typical Basque costume with a nice leather eguzkilore on the chest, very pretty all of them.

Dining room: Although Almiketxu has 3 rustic style dining rooms, we can only talk about the dining room where we were placed, a beautiful corner where we felt at home. We had booked on the spur of the moment, at the last minute of the previous day, and therefore we were expecting a table cornered in a place that was packed to the rafters, but we were lucky. Our table was located in one of the most beautiful dining rooms of the restaurant, a small, cozy, intimate, quiet and bright txoko located on the first floor, as you enter on the right hand side, a real treat. The dining room, like the rest of the rooms of the restaurant is decorated with motifs related to the culture and history of Euskal Herria, a small detail that always like to appreciate.

Terrace: We finished eating around 17:30 at which time we had practically reserved a seat on the Hegaluze boat that sailed towards San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, we did not have time to enjoy the beautiful terrace that Almiketxu has. However, we are sure that it is a perfect place to have a digestif in the form of a Valenciano, Gin Tonic, Destornillador or any other combination of the day.

Location: Located in a rural setting and surrounded by green fields overlooking the sea, the Almiketxu restaurant offers a spectacular location. And its location on one of the slopes surrounding Bermeo, allows us to reach the center of this beautiful fishing village in just 5 minutes by car, another point in its favor. Undoubtedly, a good opportunity to visit the rest of the charms that the municipality of Bermeo offers us.

The Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve, where Bermeo is located, is one of the most striking natural areas of Bizkaia, a place where cliffs, beaches, forests and marshes create a paradise for birds of all kinds. A fact that we can attest to by visiting the Urdaibai Bird Center. Lovers of active tourism have a luxury partner in this Basque enclave, and in Urdaibai it is possible to practice a multitude of sports such as surfing or hiking.

Menu: Simple, traditional and quality dishes, that is what we found in the house of Albonigamenor-Hormaetxea. According to their website, the specialty of the house are fish, meat and homemade desserts, so without thinking twice we set up a menu with their specialties as protagonists.

We started with some local starters to share, black pudding, roasted red peppers, salad and octopus, of all of them, without a doubt, the peppers took the grand prize, their finish was simply spectacular, some of the best red peppers we have tasted in a long time, they were magical!

Once we had taken care of all of them, we started with the main courses, recommended by the house: grilled turbot and sea bream. Both fish were quality, well cooked, but we missed the joy added by the chili peppers and vinegar, two ingredients that accompany this type of dishes in other parts of our coast. By the way, between the two, we chose the turbot.

The dishes were paired with a good broth from the Doniene Gorrondona winery in the neighboring town of Bakio along with local water (Alzola). We moved on to homemade desserts, in this case Pastel Vasco, the weakest dish of the day, a pity. We were left with the desire to try their famous steak, they say it is one of the best in the area, is it true?

How to get there: There are two options to get to the Almiketxu restaurant. From the town center of Bermeo or from the neighborhood of Mañuas, going up Sollube. We chose the second one, the most direct way to get there from Bilbao without any doubt. The road is perfectly signposted with signs of the restaurant itself, yes, the road is narrow and curvy, warning for those who respect this type of road, for the rest…aurrera! (forward in Basque).

Price: 50€ per person approximately, an acceptable price for the menu tasted, a price in accordance with the average price of the market.

TurismoVasco Tiketa: The Almiketxu restaurant as a whole deserved our tourist accreditation TurismoVasco Tiketa. An accreditation, which from this moment attests to the good gastronomic work of this bermeano restaurant.

After our experience, we must indicate that, in our humble opinion, of the 3 restaurants recommended by our great friend from Bermeo (Eneperi, Almiketxu, Bengoetxe) the Almiketxu restaurant is in a very good place, although it is true that we have not tasted the dishes of the Bengoetxe restaurant.