Gloria Restaurant in Zierbena, he who has had what he has retained.

Gloria Restaurant, specializing in fish and seafood in the fishing village of Zierbena.

We came to Zierbena called by the rumors that placed the Gloria Restaurant in one of its worst moments. Unfortunately, a very common phenomenon among the restaurants that come close to the gastronomic heaven of our land. But for the moment, it was just that, rumors. Before speaking it is always better to check it in first person, don’t you think? Our menu was simple and varied, starting with some seafood, passing through fish as the main course of the day and ending with a traditional dessert, enough to contrast what had reached our ears.

However, the level was very high, and in recent months we have had the good fortune to pass through the dining rooms of top restaurants such as the Iribar restaurant in Getaria, the Hiruzta winery in Hondarribia, the Katxiña winery in Orio or Eloy’s tavern, just a few meters from the Gloria Restaurant. Will the Gloria Restaurant live up to its fame? The answer to this question and many others in the following lines, stay tuned!

The Gloria restaurant has a bar and a terrace below, two spaces where you can enjoy a good hamaiketako (eleven o’clock lunch in Basque) of good and varied seafood. On the second floor, after climbing a dozen stairs, we find a nice, large restaurant. A place, that together with the wooden terrace that we find on its left side, gains many integers for those people who want to enjoy the summer temperature while enjoying the traditional Basque gastronomy. We highly recommend the most salient tables of the terrace for summer days, a quiet place with views, where we were lucky enough to enjoy the creations of the restaurant Gloria.

This restaurant from Bizkaia offers traditional Basque cuisine specialized in seafood and fish from the Bay of Biscay, specialties that work wonders and from which we recommend not to leave.

Location: Sheltered by the Serantes, next to the sea, we find the small fishing village of Zierbena, the port. A space with a certain charm in which we find a great gastronomic offer and of which we have already spoken to you in our article Zierbena, what to see and where to eat. The port of Zierbena with its small fishing fleet, its pleasure boats and the kids throwing themselves into the sea becomes in summer an idyllic place, an environment that seems to be taken out of a movie. We decided to do the circular route that we found around the port before diving into the local gastronomy, a pleasant, small and very grateful walk with which we did something hungry.

Parking: Although at first it seems that it is difficult to park in the port of Zierbena, the parking lots that we find on the right side of the port more than solve this problem. It may be that in summer, on weekends, it is a little complicated to find parking, but in general it should not be. Remember, at the back on the right, you can’t get lost.

Nursery: Gloria restaurant has its own nursery just a few meters from the establishment, across the road, on the sidewalk in front. A space that creates an authentic coming and going of the cooks who come for the seafood, a hustle and bustle, which is wonderfully contemplated from the terrace where we were. Although we were not lucky enough to visit this space, we know that the nursery has a system that pumps sea water from the port itself, making the seafood have that typical freshness of the Bay of Biscay.

Dining rooms: Gloria restaurant has spaces for all tastes spread over two floors in the center of Zierbena. To emphasize, bar with terrace in the first floor and a wide dining room with terrace in the second floor.

Menu: Although Gloria restaurant has several menus, we wanted to choose our own composition, so we opted for the menu. Our menu was simple, 3 things, prawns, king and Basque cake, all accompanied by a txakoli from Zalla. Simple but complete.

Although we thought that the protagonism of the day was going to fall on the fish, on the king, we were surprised to find that the prawns subtracted from the main course. Mental note, for our next visit, omit desserts and opt for a menu based on grilled prawns.

Attention: Correct. Little else we can say. We would love to say it was perfect but no. Is it so hard to smile? It was a weekday, the dining room was half empty and of the 3 people who served us, the person who spent the most time with us looked like a machine, a pity.

Price: 108€, i.e. 54€ per person. A cost in line with the average market price in this type of establishments (restaurants that have gained fame and slightly increase their prices). The only drawback we found in this section was the €6 for the Basque cake, a price we strongly disagreed with.

Comparisons are odious, yes, but in this case we are obliged to do so: Taberna Eloy vs Restaurante Gloria. One small and familiar, the other, large and renowned. One with tighter prices, the other with higher prices. In general, we dare to say that we will choose Taberna de Eloy, but be careful, the prawns at Gloria Restaurant have made us fall in love, we will come back for more.

Although like any establishment, Gloria restaurant also has its weaknesses, we do not believe that it is going through one of its worst moments, not at all. It is a great restaurant. Of course, it has a lot of room for improvement. Especially in aspects as simple as improving customer service and desserts. And you, do you know Gloria Restaurant? What is your opinion?