Irrintzi

Items Selected:
Creaking Cod with Tartar of Tomato
Ham Croquette
Sepia Croquette
Peanut Crusted Morcilla with Confit Tomato and Scorched Pepper
Brandade Stuffed Cod Ribs with Mushrooms and Black Sauce
Cod Fritters with Garlic Mayonnaise
Ham and Foie Gras Stuffed Eggplant Slices
Fried Mozzarella, Sardines, Tomato Tartar
Torta with Blistered Pepper
Leek Carpaccio with Jamonn Iberico, Octopus, and Spanish Paprika
Chocolate Torta
Pastel Vasco
Getting a much later start than anticipated and thus limiting the first night’s pintxo crawl to only two stops it was with good fortune that Irrintzi Taberna was not only open later than Bar Gatz, but also that the place was packed, and trending far more modern in both décor as well as its cuisine the «new kid» proved more than capable of executing the classics while also offering more than a few of its own unique twists.
At least twice the size of Gatz in length but not width, a graffiti style backdrop and electronic dance sounds drawing a younger crowd than spaces nearby, entry to Irrintzi was at first a rather prolonged task as tables were packed while the bar stood two deep, but eventually gathering a plate and making a path it would not be long before the first four of twelve items were gathered, both croquettas setting a high standard for oilless crust breaking to a creamy center while the blood sausage was crumbly yet smooth beneath a peanut exteror, the fried cod again golden and moist though not quite as memorable as subsequent bites.
Onward to plate two, a trio selected immediately as they emerged hot from the kitchen at the back, it should seem obvious that pintxos served fresh almost universally outshine those sitting out, and whether an simple matter of timing, an indicator that ‘better’ items turn over faster, or a combination of both it was with glee that two preps of salt cod were tucked into, the ‘ribs’ a pure shot of umami while the fritters fared far better than the aioli topped iteration at Gatz, the crispy eggplant stack rich with the smack of duck liver and a delicate slice of scarlet red pork.
Opting for a final round of savories before ending with desserts, plates still emerging from the kitchen as the clock passed 00h30, it was at the recommendation of the barman that a briny sardine atop mozz with tomato was selected alongside two more, and although the complexity of the bite far outperformed the sum of its parts my personal preference was the beautiful stack of octopus, ham, and leeks topped liberally in paprika, the torta unfortunately a bit too dense with potatoes slightly undercooked.
Finishing off the evening with dessert, at this point with crowds finally beginning to thin, the first desserts of many of Spin proved a bit hit and miss for as good as later «cream cakes» called Pastel Vasco would prove to be the Irrintzi version was mostly just gelatinous and meek in flavor, the chocolate torta a far better investment with a moist texture not unlike that of Tres Leches spiked with tons of cocoa beneath a slightly bitter frosting, far less sweet than the ‘American” standard but delicious no less and a steal at € 3 for a fairly substantial slice.

Sorprendentemente, no es de mis preferidos de Bilbao, pero por un motivo u otro, siempre terminamos recalando aquí en nuestras rutas de pintxos. El lugar está permanentemente animado, siempre hay gente, tanto dentro como fuera, en la calle. Y la verdad es que la barra que tiene, repleta de pinchitos, es capaz de seducir hasta al más pintado.
Sin embargo, al estar siempre tan concurrido, a los camareros les cuesta un poco mantener el ritmo, terminan un poco perdidos, y la experiencia no es tan buena como esperabas. De pinchos, como he dicho antes, hay una enorme variedad, ¡una barra entera, a lo largo del local! Una cosa loca que te obliga a pasearte de un lado a otro para seleccionar lo que quieres probar y pedir. Y hay de todo: algunos son buenísimos, otros están bien y hay algunos que son mediocres.
Eso sí, si buscas un sitio animado, con pinchos para todos los gustos y con facilidad para ir de un sitio a otro… esta sitio está fenomenal.

La barra estaba completa de tapas con su cartelito donde te pone lo que lleva cada tapa. Al entrar tiene un par de escalones que casi nos comemos por mirar a las tapas. Hemos elegido un par, una de ellas era un nido de pollo que consistía en una oblea de empanadilla en forma de nido rellena de pollo con mermelada de frutos rojos y la segunda buñuelos de bacalao con alioli. Muy ricas las dos.

One of the most unique and creative pintxo bars in all of Euskadi. Definitely some of the most unique, if not the most unique pintxos in Bilbo.
We ended up returning to Irrintzi several times during our 4 days in Bilbo.
If you see the conguro (kangaroo) pintxo on the bar, grab one. Actually grab 2. Before they disappear. They were to most popular pintxos we saw anywhere in any pintxo bar. For good reason-​they are addicting and delicious. Same goes for the pollo. It comes in a little fried bowl (that looks like something you might see in a Chinese restaurant).
The atmosphere is bright and lively, packed mostly with locals and some tourists. The staff is friendly. The owner is a very creative pintxo chef. Can’t think of a single thing we didn’t like about Irrintzi.
Irrintzi will be one of our first stops next time we’re in Bilbo.

Very good tapas. The avocado /​ceviche they had was excellent, and most everything else was good, was not so excited about the stuffed mushrooms though. Definitely recommend a stop here regardless, the ceviche dish alone is worth it.

A friend of a friend had recommended this gem and I’m very glad he did. This is a pintxos bar with incredible, innovative tapas. We sat at the bar where all of the tapas were and picked our own. Each one was € 1.70, which was really a great deal, considering the creative and savory options they had to offer. The only possible down-​side is that it’s very small, and therefore if you sit at the bar, there’s constantly people pushing in, trying to get their hands on the tapas. However, I would absolutely come back!

Although we were told the mecca for Pintxos (pronounced Pinchos) was in San Sebastian, Bilbao, also located in Basque Country, can certainly be proud. I would describe Pinchos as open face sandwiches; three quarter inch baguette slices with various imaginative toppings. During our recent trip to Bilbao, while wandering the «Old Town» and with the help of previous « Unilocalers» and our concierge at the Carlton Hotel, we discovered IRRINTZI located at Andra Maria. Each year Bilbao holds «The Best Pinchos» contest and IRRINTZI has been in the top 5 the past number of years: sometimes coming in first place! The restaurant has the ambiance of a Dairy Queen with a limited number of tables, BUT the Pinchos selection was outstanding. I believe they begin their offerings around 7:30PM. You are on the honor system… counter person will serve you a 5 ounce pour of Basque red or white wine of your choice or his recommendation and then you are on your own to choose from the offerings. As each platter of Pinchos is sold, more and different offerings are brought out and placed on the counter. The warm shredded duck was a winner however the Cod was just as good. You must ask if they have Gilda Pinchos… a couple of green olives, green peppers, onion and 2 anchovies on a toothpick soaked in a small shot glass of virgin olive oil. At the end of your visit, you tell the counter person how many you had and pay accordingly. Customarily denizens of Bilbao will hop around to several Pinchos bars to sample this classic Basque Country answer to tapas.

As an American in Bilbao for the first time it soon became apparent that I was in a mecca for tapas, better known as pintxos (small snacks) in Basque country… Pintxo bars can be found throughout Bilbao (including the Guggenheim Museum) with greatest concentration occurring the in the old city (casco viejo)…Which in my opinion can be a grazers paradise. Of course it is well known that the Spaniards normally do not start their late night meals until after 8 or 8:30 p.m.Since every other tourist from America seems to complain of GERDS requiring an early meal… Tapas or pintxos may provide a reasonable compromise over a 9:30 PM. 3 or 4 course late night «engorgement» at a high end restaurant. Heading for the old city with some recommendations from our concierge we came upon IRRINTZI with a vast array of creative pintxos, glistening upon the counter, incuding the standard olive, chili pepper, anchovy grouping speared by a tooth pick crispy duck combos, eggplant combo’s, cod, shrimp or squid combos… some combos could be accompanied by various sauces, perhaps a bechamel sauce or a complex seasoned mayonnaise mixture. And so on and so on. see the pictures… We left it up to our server to provide us us with an appropriate red or white Basque wine of his choice… the wine servings were not overly generous which in this case served a good purpose… If you choose to engage in a «bar crawl.» or a pintxo crawl… You’ll be able to do it on two legs rather than 4 wobbly extremities heading for the next pintxo bar… Irrintzi also had several tables if U preferred sitting… Unfortunately the largest display of pintxos do not come out until after 7:30… The wait is well worth it. During our short stay in Bilbao we sampled approximately 5 pintxo bars. Irrintzi was clearly the most creative and the best… let my «gerds» be damned. 4 complex pintxos and a single red wine ran approximately 14 euros.

Una barra repleta de pintxos.
Según entras te topas con ella de frentey aunque no tengas hambre, tienen tan buena pinta que te invita a coger no uno, sino 2 ó 3.
Ayer estuve por ahí y probé el crujiente de morcilla con gominola de tomate y pimiento del país, delicioso.

Uno de mis bares de pintxos favoritos del Casco Viejo, tiene los pintxos más originales de todo Bilbao.
El trato es bueno y el precio también.
100% recomendado.

A wise woman once said, «Never trust a Tripadvisor review because it’s full of Americans and British people who have no idea what they’re talking about.» [1]
We walked to Irrintzi, which is in the «old» part of Bilbao, on the quest for some pintxos and a few glasses of wine. All of the pintxos are neatly displayed on a countertop, so naturally, my eyes got bigger than my stomach. Many of the selections are unique in that they are very different than your «pintxo de tortilla». But does that mean that they’re good? Absolutely not. I wedged my way into the crowd at the bar and picked 4 pintxos: morcilla with a gernika pepper and candied tomato, fig, duck with a carmelized apple, and angulas. Both the fig and angulas pintxos were served on stale bread and were very bland and devoid of flavor (especially the fig, which was served atop a slice of bread in both jam and cream format — you have to intentionally make this boring, right?!). The morcilla was probably the best of the whole lot, due to the originality and presentation. The duck looked better than it tasted — it tasted of unidentifiable meat atop a slice of bread (which probably had more flavor).
As someone who is very knowledgeable about Spanish wine, it was an absolute embarrassment to have the bar staff be so ignorant of the wines served. Train your bar staff to know the wines you serve by name, if nothing else! I asked for the Godello on the makeshift chalkboard wine list and no one knew what I was talking about. It wasn’t until I elaborated with «de DO Valdorreas… en Galicia… es un vino blanco» that they pulled wines, bottle by bottle, from the wine cooler, and finally knew that I was talking about. But they understood the German chick asking for a clarita in broken English perfectly. Go figure.
If you don’t care about what you’re eating and care more about the scene, Irrintzi is the place for you. The clientele interesting mix of tourists and regulars, the ambiance is modern (the logos look very manga/​Japanese comic book-​esque), and the music is along the vein of old school Bad Religion and Social Distortion.
Pro tip: Save your time and head to Bar Gatz next door. I had a pintxo de tortilla and a glass of red wine from DO Bierzo (the bartenders take great pride in their wine and food) to compensate for the half-​eaten pintxos on my plate at Irrintzi.
[1] This quote is attributed to me.