Asador Xixario, the temple of sea bream in Orio.

Xixario, a humble and high quality steakhouse that has earned its place among the best restaurants in the Basque Country.

The Xixario steakhouse, Xixario erretegia in Basque, is one of those restaurants that never fails, a historic establishment that has made a place in the agenda of every lover of good food. It does not have Michelin stars, nor glamorous dining rooms, but it has the recognition of the Basque people, an honor, much greater than any certification. The Xixario steakhouse is one of those restaurants of the traveling guard, one of those that travel from mouth to mouth, from recommendation to recommendation, from generation to generation. So much so, that it has reached the vast majority of people looking for the best restaurants in Euskadi, or at least, that is our impression. Known for its good work between grills, the Xixario restaurant gives continuity to the seafaring tradition of Orio, a town located on the Basque coast that has a great seafaring history behind it. This grill was opened in 1963 by Xixario, the aita (father in Basque) of the current owner, the latter, Luis Mari, being the second generation in charge of this emblematic restaurant located in the center of the town of Gipuzkoa. In our case, we decided to give ourselves a small tribute after enjoying “The great enigma”, an experience that brings the Basque language and culture closer to anyone interested in learning about them. A luxury plan.

The Orio trawler, one of the most successful in our waters, is a faithful witness of the fishing tradition of this municipality. And the fact is that the traineras, one of our rural sports, one of our herri kirolak, has its origin in the fishermen and in the people who, rowing, tried to get as soon as possible to the ships arriving from the high seas to guide them into port. The first written record of the participation of the Orio trawlers in a regatta takes us back in time to 1879, to the first edition of the Regatas de la Concha in San Sebastian. In other words, a whole life linked to the sea, just like the family that runs the Asador Xixario.

The Asador Xixario, is part of the experiences of , an initiative of the region of Urola Kosta (Aia, Getaria, Orio, Zarautz and Zumaia) in which we propose to know each of its municipalities taking the gastronomy as a central axis. In this case, the Asador Xixario, located in the center of the town of Orio, invites us to learn about the traditional way of cooking sea bream, and later on, to tour the town at our own pace.

Luis Mari Uranga: A humble and familiar guy that we found between grills, in his own sauce. A very close person, with whom we had an interesting chat about how to cook grilled sea bream, the secret of charcoal or the origin of his raw material. When we ask him about the success of the Xixario, he does not boast about his success, rather the opposite, “we have had good times and bad times, like everyone” he says. We recommend you to ask without any modesty, we have not met a person who, being responsible and owner of one of the best restaurants in Euskadi, is more humble and natural than Luis Mari. By the way, we took the opportunity to ask him about the famous anisakis, the parasite that inhabits a large percentage of the fish we eat, and that is representing one of the biggest headaches for the consumer. “There is no problem, people who are allergic to anisakis tell us and we freeze the fish. There are even people who, even if they are allergic, eat only the tail, because they say that the anisakis does not spread through this part”. As you can see, in the Xixario they have everything planned to offer a full experience to the visitor.

History: After our experience among the grills of Asador Xixario, we were fortunate to be able to talk for a long time with Luis Mari about the peculiar history of Asador Xixario. Once again, the passion for the sea and fishing were the clear protagonists, attention because it has no waste.

Xixario Uranga, Luis Mari’s aita and fisherman by profession, sailed the waters of our coast every day with his inshore boat until 1966, when he had one of the worst experiences of his life. The boat in which he was fishing, faced a terrible storm that caused the boat to sink. He was able to get out safe and sound, but the scare would not go unnoticed among his family. His wife, mother of 3 children, did not want to go through that kind of experience again, so she asked Xixario to change the sea for land, but he refused. Faced with such a situation, his wife did not give up and decided to gather her husband’s friends and the secretary of the Orio Fishermen’s Guild, so that together they could convince Xixario to stop fishing. The strategy was a success, he stopped fishing and opened a restaurant in the fish market where the fishing gear was kept. Thus, on April 13, 1966, the Xixario grill opened its doors, being the place where Xixario’s sons, Ramón and Luis Mari, learned the profession and where they spent most of their lives. When Xixario retired, his sons and his wife took over the grill. In the meantime, in 1982, Xixario was once again happy at sea, he bought a 10-meter wooden chipironera and returned to sail the waters of the Basque coast, becoming famous for the quality and quantity of his catches. After his death, the restaurant that bears his name followed a steady course to become one of the best restaurants in the Basque Country.

Unfortunately, Ramón, one of the two brothers, passed away, leaving the restaurant in the hands of Luis Mari. Today, on the verge of retirement, Luis Mari tells us that the future of Asador Xixario is somewhat uncertain, his nephews have no intention of continuing with the family business and everything points to the fact that the Uranga’s tradition with the grills has come to an end. But don’t worry, it seems that Luis Mari’s replacement is already among the ranks of Asador Xixario. Juan Carlos Martinez Beltran, a Mexican who has been working side by side with the Uranga family for more than 13 years and who manages the grill as if it belonged to Orio himself, has emerged to fill the position. We have Xixario for years.

Dining rooms: The steakhouse has 2 dining rooms, one inside and one outside. The interior, small and cozy, has about 6 tables that accommodate about 34 people. While the outside, a covered terrace with capacity for about 60 people delights all those who visit the Xixario in summer season (April to October). We must indicate that the tables of the terrace, are corridas, like the tables that we are accustomed to see in the sagardotegis (Basque cider houses). As you can see, the Xixario grill does not have very spacious dining rooms, so we recommend booking as soon as possible.

Our selection: We went to the Xixario grill after enjoying “The great enigma” an experience in which, in addition to showing us the Basque language and Basque culture, we were also invited to a good hamaiketako (11 o’clock lunch in Basque) at the Pulpo de Zumaia society. So, we were already served. Our selection at the Xixario steakhouse was anchovies as starters and a good sea bream of just over a kilo as a main course, all accompanied by a bottle of txakoli K5, from Karlos Arguiñano’s winery. So, on paper, it may not look like much, but we were completely satiated and happy. We recommend it.

Supplier: Luis Mari does not hide anything, when we ask him about the origin of the raw material, of his fish, he tells us without mincing words that it is the same supplier that supplies the rest of the great restaurants in the area, among them, the Katxiña, a restaurant that we have already told you about in previous articles. According to what he tells us, this supplier travels around the ports of the whole peninsula looking for the best sea bream. Most of the time, the fish is bought in the port of Tarifa, but it is also bought in Asturias or Galicia. It is curious to see how more than 80% of the demands of the Xixario grill include a sea bream, the traditional fish of Orio. What about you? Which one do you choose?

Specialties: Although at Asador Xixario they prepare both grilled fish and meat, the house specialty is clearly fish, sea bream to be more precise. A specialty that according to Luis Mari Uranga has no mystery whatsoever. The secret of the Orio-style sea bream recipe lies in the grill, the sea bream and the refried fish.

We have not managed to make a sea bream like the one we ate at this restaurant in Orio, but following these tips we have made one that was very good, and it is said that it takes many hours of practice to become a master griller.

Traditional: The Xixario steakhouse is a lifetime establishment where traditions are largely responsible for its success. This is how we can describe the establishment and the way of cooking of the restaurant that occupies us today. And the fact is that, without any alteration, they have managed to maintain the same quality with which they have been recognized since the moment they opened the establishment in 1966.

Price: The Xixario steakhouse only has a menu in its premises, it does not have menus or other formulas to which we are so accustomed today. The average price of this restaurant could be about 50 € per diner, although this data is very subjective, as it depends entirely on what we consume. To sum up, we could say that good things must be paid for, and although it is not expensive, we cannot try to go to one of the best fish restaurants in the Basque Country and pay less than 50€ for a meal. Anyway, there is a gastronomic experience that offers us to taste the sea bream Orio style accompanied by a good glass of Txakoli for about 35 € per person. If you opt for this option, we recommend checking availability at the tourist office of Orio, telephone 943 83 55 65.

Bisiguaren festa: Orio, hosts in July the festival in honor of the sea bream, the festival known as “Bisiguaren festa”, a multitudinous event, in which the Xixario is usually perfectly represented by Luis Mari. As a fact, we must indicate that they usually get to cook more than 500 sea breams in a few hours, almost nothing.

Menu: The menu of the Xixario steakhouse is simple, it fits on a single sheet, it is not very extensive, but everything is of great quality. Better a little and of quality, than a lot and of little quality, don’t you think? We leave you what is usually the “base” of their daily menu:

We recommend asking at the restaurant before making our choice, since this menu is only a basis on which they work, there may be modifications with respect to what we indicate in this article.

Attention: The attention was perfect from start to finish, no downside. Fast and quality service, little more you can ask for.

TurismoVasco Tiketa: As you have been able to verify, the Asador Xixario is one of the best restaurants in Orio, even in Euskadi, so a visit to this emblematic restaurant of our coast is 100% recommended. That is why we have given Luis Mari our humble TurismoVasco Tiketa accreditation, a sticker that attests to the quality of this establishment in Gipuzkoa.

Video: Once again, we have uploaded to our YouTube channel a small unedited video of our experience in the Asador Xixario, in it, you can check its grill, its terrace of continuous tables and its magnificent location. Hopefully it will help you to get an idea of what you are going to find.

Xixario, is a restaurant to enjoy traditional Basque food as you have never done before, write it down in your diaries. You will not regret it. As in the rest of the articles, you can leave your doubts and suggestions through a comment, we will try to answer as soon as possible. On egin!