# Best Basque Restaurants in Madrid > Fourteen Madrid restaurants for Basque cooking, from Michelin-listed asadores to family-run taskas serving pil-pil cod, chuletón and cider-house classics. - **Canonical URL:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/best-basque - **City:** Madrid, Spain - **Published:** 2026-09-27 - **Updated:** 2026-10-04 - **Author:** Justin Mota, Guidavera founder - **Reading time:** 14 min ## Introduction Zerain, a family-run asador and cider house in the Barrio de las Letras open since 1997, is one of the most consistently named Basque restaurants in Madrid's own food coverage. It's one of fourteen restaurants here that build a real Basque identity into the kitchen, whether that's a Michelin-recognised tasting menu, a grill house working the Cantabrian coast, or a taska serving pil-pil cod since the 1970s. ## Key picks at a glance - **Best splurge / most awarded** — [Corral de la Morería Gastronómico](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/corral-de-la-moreria-gastronomico): one Michelin star, three Repsol Soles, and a single tasting menu built on Basque-rooted broths. - **Best pintxos and vermouth bar** — [Arima](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/arima): gildas from €2.80, a Basque bar and carta side by side, one Repsol Sol. - **Best cider-house style asador** — [Zerain](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/zerain): family-run since 1997, styled as a classic Basque asador and cider house. - **Best long-running classic** — [Restaurante Dantxari](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/restaurante-dantxari): Basque cooking in Argüelles since 1997, Recomendado in the Guía Repsol. - **Best for a Basque grill classic** — [El Gran Asador Lecanda](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/el-gran-asador-lecanda): parrilla popular vasca on the site where chef David Lecanda began in 1998, Michelin Selected. ## A guide to Basque in Madrid ### What is an asador vasco? Asador vasco is the Basque grill-house tradition, usually built around one large cut, often a bone-in chuletón, cooked simply over coals and carved at the table, alongside grilled fish and vegetables. ### What is pil-pil? Pil-pil is a traditional Basque way of cooking salt cod, emulsifying the fish's own gelatin with olive oil and garlic into a pale, silky sauce by gently shaking the pan rather than whisking. ### What is a Basque sidrería or cider house? A sidrería is a cider house built around cider poured straight from the barrel, or kupela, traditionally paired with grilled meat and fish, tortilla and simple, produce-led cooking. ### What is a gilda? A gilda is a classic Basque pintxo built on a skewer of anchovy, olive and a pickled guindilla pepper, usually eaten in one or two bites at the bar. ### What is txakoli? Txakoli is a young, lightly sparkling Basque white wine, traditionally poured from a height to aerate it before serving alongside pintxos and seafood. > "Madrid's Basque restaurants split between Michelin-listed haute cuisine and grill houses working the Cantabrian coast, and family-run taskas that have served pil-pil cod and chuletón since the 1970s and 90s." ## How we built this list We read through Madrid's Basque restaurant coverage, then checked every candidate against its own about text, menu and Michelin or Repsol listing, because a restaurant only counts here if Basque cooking, an asador, pintxos bar, cider house or Basque-French dining room, is a real, stated identity, not one dish on a bigger carta. A few names that come up often in that coverage, Sagardi, PerretxiCo, Sagaretxe, Madrí Madre and Jai Alai among them, don't have a Guidavera page live yet, so they're recorded as gaps rather than written up without our own verification. Prices, founding years and other specifics are only stated where a venue's own site or menu, or a source we could verbatim-check, gives them. ## The 14 best Basque Restaurants, compared | # | Restaurant | Neighbourhood | Price | Distinction | Signature dish | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | 1 | [Corral de la Morería Gastronómico](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/corral-de-la-moreria-gastronomico) | Palacio | €€€ | Michelin 1-Star · Repsol 3 Soles | Menú Compás | | 2 | [Haramboure](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/haramboure) | Castellana | €€€ | Michelin Selected · Repsol 1 Sol | Cocochas | | 3 | [Jaizkibel](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/jaizkibel) | Simancas | €€€ | Michelin Selected | Artichokes stuffed with txangurro | | 4 | [El Gran Asador Lecanda](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/el-gran-asador-lecanda) | Recoletos | €€€€ | Michelin Selected · Repsol 1 Sol | Santoña anchovies | | 5 | [Sua](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/sua) | Cortes | €€€ | Michelin Selected | Mojete manchego | | 6 | [Arima](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/arima) | Ríos Rosas | €€€ | Repsol 1 Sol | Gilda Joxefa 2.0 | | 7 | [Zerain](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/zerain) | Barrio de las Letras | €€€ | — | Txistorra de Arbizu | | 8 | [Restaurante Dantxari](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/restaurante-dantxari) | Argüelles | €€€ | Repsol Recomendado | Txangurro lasagna | | 9 | [Casa Julián de Tolosa - Calle Ibiza](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/casa-julian-de-tolosa-calle-ibiza) | Ibiza | €€€ | — | Icelandic battered cod, Casa Julián style | | 10 | [Mesón Txistu](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/meson-txistu) | Castillejos | €€€ | — | Txistu casserole | | 11 | [Taberna del Alabardero Madrid](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/taberna-del-alabardero-madrid) | Palacio | €€€ | — | Boquerón and anchovy gildas with piparra | | 12 | [Asador Guetaria](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/asador-guetaria) | Cuatro Caminos | €€€ | — | San Sebastián-style spider crab | | 13 | [Asador Donostiarra](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/asador-donostiarra) | Castillejos | €€€ | — | Grilled turbot (2 people) | | 14 | [Restaurante Ordago Madrid](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/restaurante-ordago-madrid) | Fuente del Berro | €€€ | Repsol Recomendado | Tolosa red beans | ## The 14 best Basque Restaurants in Madrid ### 1. Corral de la Morería Gastronómico *Basque-rooted haute cuisine inside a flamenco tablao* - **Neighbourhood:** Palacio - **Address:** Calle de la Morería, 17, 28005 Madrid, Spain - **Price:** €€€ - **Distinction:** Michelin 1-Star · Repsol 3 Soles - **Website:** https://www.corraldelamoreria.com/ - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/corral-de-la-moreria-gastronomico The gastronomic room is the fine-dining side of Corral de la Morería, the flamenco tablao that opened in 1956 and is now run by bailaora Blanca del Rey and her sons Juan Manuel and Armando del Rey. It operates as its own space within the building: four tables, no more than eight guests, built around a tasting counter. Chef David García, born in Bilbao and trained under Martín Berasategui, at elBulli, Mugaritz and Nerua before earning a Michelin star at Álbora, cooks a single tasting menu he calls Menú Compás, built on Basque-rooted broths, stocks and juices from ecologically grown produce. The cellar holds more than 1,000 Jerez wine references. It holds one Michelin star and three Repsol Soles, and serves dinner only, with sittings at 20:00, 20:30, 21:00 and 21:30. **Order:** - Menú Compás ### 2. Haramboure *Vasco-French plates plus a €5 morning tortilla stand* - **Neighbourhood:** Castellana - **Address:** Calle Maldonado, 4, 28006 Madrid, Spain - **Price:** €€€ - **Distinction:** Michelin Selected · Repsol 1 Sol - **Website:** https://www.haramboure.com/ - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/haramboure Haramboure sits in the old Esbardos space, run by chef Patxi Zumárraga, who trained at El Bulli, The Fat Duck and Nobu, and Patricia Haramboure, from Mar del Plata in Argentina, who runs the front of house and wine list; the two worked together previously at Fismuler. It opened in September 2023. Beyond the cocochas and a Zalla onion tatin, the carta runs to boletus aereus brushed with beef fat before grilling, scorpionfish served three ways with a consommé, ensaladilla and fine noodles, mochi with leeks and shrimp, butter rolls with caviar, and stuffed chard stalks with bonito belly tartare. Every morning, separate from dinner service, Zumárraga runs a €5 bocadillo de tortilla stand outside the door. Haramboure is listed as Selected in the Michelin Guide and holds one Repsol Sol; it's closed Sunday, Monday and public holidays. **Order:** - Cocochas - Zalla onion tatin - Boletus aereus brushed with beef fat - Bocadillo de tortilla > "Restaurante donde el romanticismo se une a los clásicos vasco-franceses" — DondeGo ### 3. Jaizkibel *Basque asador marinero built on Hondarribia produce* - **Neighbourhood:** Simancas - **Address:** Albasanz, 67, Madrid, Spain, 28037 - **Price:** €€€ - **Distinction:** Michelin Selected - **Website:** https://jaizkibelartesanoscocineros.com/ - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/jaizkibel Jaizkibel is an asador marinero, in its own words, on Calle Albasanz in Simancas, well outside the tourist grid in San Blas-Canillejas. It leans on produce from around Hondarribia and on artisan, hook-line fishing rather than drift nets, with fish received daily from the Port of Ondarroa. The carta runs to artichokes stuffed with txangurro, fresh anchovies from Getaria, green peppers from Guernika, an Astigarraga blood sausage scramble, Basque rice with baby squid, prawns and clams, a classic Donosti fish soup, hake kokotxas grilled or in pil-pil sauce, and a cod tasting that runs through pil-pil, vizcaína and txangurro preparations. The room is rustic and warm rather than polished, with free parking available. Jaizkibel is listed in the Michelin Guide, a Guide listing rather than a star. **Order:** - Artichokes stuffed with txangurro - Fresh anchovies from Getaria - Basque rice with baby squid, prawns and clams - Cod tasting (pil-pil, vizcaína and txangurro) > "especializado en la gastronomía vasca y la sidra de la kupela" — madrid.place ### 4. El Gran Asador Lecanda *Basque parrilla popular vasca on David Lecanda's 1998 site* - **Neighbourhood:** Recoletos - **Address:** C/ Lagasca, 46, 28001 Madrid, Spain - **Price:** €€€€ - **Distinction:** Michelin Selected · Repsol 1 Sol - **Website:** https://elgranasadorlecanda.com/lagasca - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/el-gran-asador-lecanda El Gran Asador Lecanda opened in April 2023 on Calle Lagasca, on the same site where David Lecanda began his Madrid career back in 1998, and works Basque asador cooking, in the tradition of parrilla popular vasca, aiming for a taste of the Cantabrian coast. Beyond the grill, the carta runs to Santoña anchovies, cachopo croquettes, a Lecanda marmitako, and king crab txangurro sold by weight from the restaurant's own tanks, alongside jamón ibérico 100% de bellota and sliced Ibérico presa to start. The room is elegant, classic and dimly lit, open every day from 13:00 to midnight with no afternoon break. It's listed as Selected in the Michelin Guide and holds one Repsol Sol. **Order:** - Santoña anchovies - Cachopo croquettes - Lecanda marmitako - King crab txangurro ### 5. Sua *Triciclo's fire-led Basque grill in a winter-garden room* - **Neighbourhood:** Cortes - **Address:** C. de Moratín, 22, 28014 Madrid, Spain - **Price:** €€€ - **Distinction:** Michelin Selected - **Website:** https://www.suabytriciclo.com/en - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/sua Sua trades as Sua by Triciclo, the fire-led sibling of the Triciclo group, on Calle de Moratín in the Cortes barrio, between the Congress and the museum row. Sua means fire in Basque, and the idea is cooking over embers, in a room built around a striking winter garden. Beyond the grilled beef, the carta runs to artisan beef cecina, a mojete manchego with rabbit brine and cured cheese, natural oysters, and a Rubia beef tartar with marrow and toasted meat juice dressing, alongside a smoked red tuna tartar with spicy pepper juice. The kitchen leans on carefully chosen local producers and seasonal produce, betting on sustainable gastronomy by its own account. Sua is listed in the Michelin Guide and opens every day except Tuesday. **Order:** - Mojete manchego - Rubia beef tartar with marrow - Smoked red tuna tartar - Artisan beef cecina ### 6. Arima *Basque bar and carta built around a Gilda named for Joxefa* - **Neighbourhood:** Ríos Rosas - **Address:** Calle de Ponzano, 51, 28003 Madrid, Spain - **Price:** €€€ - **Distinction:** Repsol 1 Sol - **Website:** https://arimabasquegastronomy.com/ - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/arima Arima means 'soul' in Euskera, and the menu carries real family history: owner Nagore Irazuegi's great-grandmother Joxefa left the Basque Country for Uruguay as a young woman, and the bar's Gilda Joxefa 2.0, piparra-pepper mayonnaise on puffed bread with olive paste, anchovy and olive-oil pearls, is named for her. It opened in 2016, and head chef Diego Hernán leads the kitchen. The bar runs a weekend vermouth service alongside Stilton croquettes, Orly prawns and fried hake with cured yolk and Espelette. The restaurant carta runs from ajo blanco with smoked sardine and tempura piparras with wagyu cecina to chipirones in their ink, tempura hake in the style of Eneko, callos with trotter and snout, and a roast old-cow striploin sold by the 500 grams, finishing with pastel vasco. Arima is owned by Irazuegi with Rodrigo 'Rodri' García; it holds one Repsol Sol. **Order:** - Gilda Joxefa 2.0 - Ajo blanco with smoked sardine - Tempura piparras with wagyu cecina - Pastel vasco > "Lugar de culto para las vermutek" — DondeGo ### 7. Zerain *Family-run Basque asador and cider house since 1997* - **Neighbourhood:** Barrio de las Letras - **Address:** Calle de Quevedo, 3, 28014 Madrid, Spain - **Price:** €€€ - **Website:** https://zerain.com.es/ - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/zerain Zerain was opened in 1997 by a mother and son, Adelaida and Koldo, who kept the building's red-brick walls and wrought-iron columns and dressed the room in wood and stone to evoke a classic Basque asador and cider house, with a piano and paintings by regulars on the walls. The cooking is traditional Basque, everything prepared to order: jamón ibérico Bernardo Hernández, Idiazabal D.O. cheese, battered cod bites Orly-style, txistorra de Arbizu, cod Donostia-style or charcoal-grilled, and an aged beef chuletón priced by weight, finishing with a pantxineta. It sits in the Barrio de las Letras, next to the Museo Lope de Vega, with large salons for groups and events and a terrace. It's still run by the founding family. **Order:** - Txistorra de Arbizu - Battered cod bites, Orly-style - Cod Donostia-style - Pantxineta > "la esencia del norte en un solo restaurante" — Madrid Secreto ### 8. Restaurante Dantxari *Argüelles Basque institution built on simple cooking since 1997* - **Neighbourhood:** Argüelles - **Address:** C. Ventura Rodríguez, 8, 28008 Madrid, Spain - **Price:** €€€ - **Distinction:** Repsol Recomendado - **Website:** https://www.dantxari.com/en/ - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/restaurante-dantxari Restaurante Dantxari has served Basque cooking in Argüelles since 1997, largely unmoved by trends. Founding chef Ángel Alonso opened it with Eduardo Navarrina and Jesús Medina, who is still involved; head chef Rayner Medina trained for years under Alonso and now runs the kitchen, keeping to the founder's line of simple, unfussy cooking alongside the more elaborate dishes. Beyond the txangurro lasagna and the Tolosa beans, the menu runs to bacalao croquetas, a fragrant fish and seafood soup, cod prepared in the style of Club Ranero, and a house solomillo. Dantxari holds a Recomendado listing in the Guía Repsol. **Order:** - Txangurro lasagna - Tolosa beans - Bacalao croquetas - Cod, Club Ranero style > "vasco y navarro tradicional en su carta, concepto y decoración" — Madrid Secreto ### 9. Casa Julián de Tolosa - Calle Ibiza *Basque asador vasco where the parrilla is the whole menu* - **Neighbourhood:** Ibiza - **Address:** Ibiza 39, 28009, Madrid, Spain - **Price:** €€€ - **Website:** https://ibiza.juliandetolosa.com/en/ - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/casa-julian-de-tolosa-calle-ibiza Casa Julián de Tolosa on Calle Ibiza is the Ibiza-barrio branch of the Basque asador, on the residential side of the Retiro; a second, separate branch trades on Cava Baja, so it's worth checking which address you've booked. Iñaki Gorrotxategi opened it in 2019. It's an asador vasco in the traditional sense: jamón ibérico de bellota to start, a Holstein-Friesian beef carpaccio with rocket and foie shavings, ox chorizo, Cantabrian anchovies, and Icelandic battered cod cooked Casa Julián style, before the house specialty, a mature beef chuletón from cattle aged six or seven years and matured around 25 days. Roasted piquillo peppers follow the Julián Rivas recipe, and dessert runs to Tolosa's own tejas and cigarrillos. It's open daily, Sunday lunch only, and reservations are hard to come by. **Order:** - Icelandic battered cod, Casa Julián style - Roasted piquillo peppers, Julián Rivas recipe - Mature beef chuletón - Tolosa's own tejas and cigarrillos > "tener su propia técnica de hacer la chuleta vasca" — Madrid Secreto ### 10. Mesón Txistu *Basque asador in northern Madrid, open since 1972* - **Neighbourhood:** Castillejos - **Address:** Plaza de Ángel Carbajo, 6, 28020 Madrid, Spain - **Price:** €€€ - **Website:** https://www.mesontxistu.com/carta-de-platos-qr/ - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/meson-txistu Mesón Txistu has been open since 1972, run by Pedro Abrego, who also owns the sister restaurant Asador Donostiarra a few metres away; the two share a kitchen. The cooking is traditional Basque asador, built around grilled meats and fish: acorn-fed Iberian ham or loin, artisan Cantabrian anchovies, baby squid fried tempura or grilled, and a txistu casserole among the fish, with a txistu chuletón for two and an old-cow sirloin from the grill. Homemade desserts run to goxua and a sheep's milk curd. It's open daily from 13:00 to 16:30 and 20:00 to midnight, with a terrace, running roughly €50 to €90 per person. **Order:** - Txistu casserole - Hake kokotxas pil-pil - Txistu chuletón - Goxua > "Toda una oda a la cocina vasca desde 1972" — OKDiario ### 11. Taberna del Alabardero Madrid *Basque-rooted pintxos from the Teatro Real taberna* - **Neighbourhood:** Palacio - **Address:** Calle de Felipe V, 6, 28013 Madrid, Spain - **Price:** €€€ - **Website:** http://www.alabarderomadrid.es/ - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/taberna-del-alabardero-madrid Taberna del Alabardero Madrid is where the Lezama Group began: more than 45 years ago as a small tavern next to the Teatro Real, set up to employ a group of young people in Madrid, and it's grown into a group running several restaurants, a catering arm and hospitality schools, while the original taberna stays in the same spot. The house bills its cooking as traditional Basque alongside its castizo Madrid roots, and the pintxos menu runs to boquerón and anchovy gildas with piparra, a Galician-style octopus skewer, and an Arbizu chistorra skewer, while the sit-down carta runs to Santoña anchovies with tomato caviar and piparra, cod in pil-pil sauce, and a Biscay-style stewed veal tripe. It's open daily, noon to midnight, with a terrace, running roughly €51 to €100 per person. **Order:** - Boquerón and anchovy gildas with piparra - Arbizu chistorra skewer - Cod in pil-pil sauce - Biscay-style stewed veal tripe > "Este restaurante de vasco y su cocina fueron cogiendo fama" — Madrid Secreto ### 12. Asador Guetaria *Basque grill over holm-oak coals in Cuatro Caminos* - **Neighbourhood:** Cuatro Caminos - **Address:** Calle Aviador Zorita, 8, 28020, Madrid, Spain - **Price:** €€€ - **Website:** https://www.asadorguetaria.com/ - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/asador-guetaria Asador Guetaria takes its name and method from the Basque grilling tradition, cooking over holm-oak coals and, in its own words, working at the fire's own pace. It has cooked Basque food on Calle Aviador Zorita since 1982. Cold starters run to salt-cured anchovies with bread and tomato and a San Sebastián-style spider crab, while hot plates include a cod omelette in cider-house style and the Guetaria-style 'lazy' omelette. The fish side runs to confit cod in pil-pil sauce and hake kokotxas in pil-pil, alongside white beans cooked Basque carbonara-style with baby squid and Iberian pork jowl, and the grill turns out an aged Rubia Gallega rib-eye. The cellar is one the house calls historic, and there are private dining rooms. It's open daily, Sunday lunchtime only, from roughly €40 to €70 per person. **Order:** - San Sebastián-style spider crab - Cod omelette, cider-house style - Confit cod in pil-pil sauce - White beans, Basque carbonara-style > "lleva más de 40 años ofreciendo alta cocina con pescado, marisco y filetes" — madrid.place ### 13. Asador Donostiarra *San Sebastián-style asador sharing a kitchen with Mesón Txistu* - **Neighbourhood:** Castillejos - **Address:** Calle Infanta Mercedes, 79, 28020, Madrid, Spain - **Price:** €€€ - **Website:** https://www.asadordonostiarra.com/ - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/asador-donostiarra Asador Donostiarra was founded by Pedro Abrego Velasco, who also started the sister restaurant Mesón Txistu a few metres away; the two share a kitchen and, the venue says, the same experience. It opened in 1976. It's a traditional asador, a grill house in the San Sebastián mould its name points to, cooking at the higher end: garlic queen scallops and a grilled turbot for two among the seasonal suggestions, artichokes in green sauce with clams, cod prepared Bilbao-style, ajoarriero or pil-pil, hake kokotxas in pil-pil sauce, and an old-cow txuletón for two off the grill. Dessert runs to a pantxineta and homemade Holy Week torrijas. It closes for summer holidays in late July to mid-August, when the venue sends diners to Mesón Txistu, which stays open. **Order:** - Grilled turbot (2 people) - Cod, Bilbao-style, ajoarriero or pil-pil - Hake kokotxas in pil-pil sauce - Old-cow txuletón > "en 1976 regaló a Madrid este templo gastronómico" — DondeGo ### 14. Restaurante Ordago Madrid *Family-run Basque cooking since July 1980* - **Neighbourhood:** Fuente del Berro - **Address:** C. de Sancho Dávila, 15, 28028 Madrid, Spain - **Price:** €€€ - **Distinction:** Repsol Recomendado - **Website:** https://www.ordagomadrid.es/ - **Full profile:** https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/restaurante-ordago-madrid Órdago opened in July 1980, when Xabier Rodríguez and Elena Amesti started with a room of barely six tables, per the venue's own history page. The name is a Basque expression, roughly 'there it is', a challenge thrown down, and also the maximum bet in the card game mus. The second generation, led by Andoni Rodríguez Amesti, has run the kitchen since the late 1990s, keeping to real, unfussy cooking on high-quality, organic-where-possible produce: alubias de Tolosa, seasonal fish, chuleta de vaca vieja and leche frita among the old-house staples, alongside a warm sweetbread salad, hake kokotxas in pil-pil sauce and a baked spinach puff pastry on the current carta. It holds a Recomendado listing in the Guía Repsol, running roughly €51 to €100 per person. **Order:** - Tolosa red beans - Warm sweetbread salad - Hake kokotxas in pil-pil sauce - Chuleta de vaca vieja > "una familiar casa de clásica cocina vasca que se ha convertido en todo un referente gastronómico en la capital española" — madrid.place ## Honourable mentions - **[Asador Pelota Vasca](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/pelotari)** (Recoletos) — Trades today as Asador Pelota Vasca, formerly Pelotari, a Basque and Navarrese grill at the coals for more than 30 years by its own account; Recomendado in the Guía Repsol. - **[La Paloma](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/la-paloma)** (Recoletos) — A Basque-French dining room on Calle Jorge Juan in Recoletos, refined and classic, holding one Sol in the Guía Repsol; the game dishes run by availability. - **[Larrauri](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/larrauri)** (Hispanoamérica) — A Basque restaurant in Hispanoamérica where chef Iñaki Iturrioz cooks and works the room himself, known for an aged txuleta and fresh fish; closed weekends. - **[Taberna Gaztelupe](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/taberna-gaztelupe)** (Cuatro Caminos) — Basque cooking near Cuatro Caminos since 1993, opened by chef Jesús Santos from Goizeko Kabi, with rice dishes as a house strength. - **[Goicolea](https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/restaurants/goicolea)** (Almagro) — Basque-French cooking near Plaza de Colón with red tuna a signature, listed as Selected in the Michelin Guide, in rooms designed by Bilbao artist Ignacio Goitia. ## The Basque scene in Madrid Madrid's Basque restaurants cluster loosely by type as much as by neighbourhood. Fine-dining outposts sit apart: Corral de la Morería Gastronómico inside its flamenco tablao in Palacio, Haramboure on Calle Maldonado, and Jaizkibel out in San Blas-Canillejas, all Selected or starred in the Michelin Guide. Recoletos and Salamanca carry a run of grill houses, from El Gran Asador Lecanda to Casa Julián de Tolosa's Ibiza branch, while Chamberí and the Ríos Rosas-Ponzano stretch hold Arima, the Basque tavern. A cluster of older taskas, Mesón Txistu, open since 1972, and its sister Asador Donostiarra, sit around Tetuán, and Zerain and Restaurante Dantxari, both open since 1997, anchor the centre near the Barrio de las Letras and Argüelles. ## Know before you go ### 1. Chuletón and other cuts sold by weight are common at these asadores; ask the price per kilo before you order if it matters to you. ### 2. Several of these venues keep separate lunch and dinner sittings with an afternoon closure, and switch to lunch only on Sundays; check hours before you go. ### 3. A few names on this list are run by related but separate people at more than one Madrid address. Casa Julián de Tolosa has a Cava Baja branch and the Ibiza-barrio branch featured here; Mesón Txistu and Asador Donostiarra are sister restaurants a few metres apart that share a kitchen. ### 4. Pintxos and gildas are usually ordered a few at a time at the bar, separate from the sit-down carta. ### 5. Reservations matter at the busiest of these, especially weekend dinner, and several list online booking through their own sites. ## Glossary - **Asador** — A grill house built around live-fire cooking, often centred on a single large cut carved at the table. - **Pil-pil** — A Basque technique for cooking salt cod that emulsifies its gelatin with olive oil into a silky sauce, without whisking. - **Kokotxas** — The throat or cheek cut of hake or cod, a prized, gelatinous piece often served grilled or in pil-pil sauce. - **Txakoli** — A young, lightly sparkling Basque white wine, traditionally poured from a height before serving. - **Gilda** — A pintxo of anchovy, olive and a pickled guindilla pepper on a skewer. ## Frequently asked questions ### Which Basque restaurant in Madrid holds a Michelin star? Of the restaurants on this list, Corral de la Morería Gastronómico is the only one with a Michelin star; it also holds three Repsol Soles. Haramboure, El Gran Asador Lecanda, Jaizkibel, Sua and, among the honourable mentions, Goicolea, are all listed as Selected in the Michelin Guide, a listing rather than a star. ### Where can I get cod in pil-pil sauce in Madrid? Jaizkibel, Asador Guetaria, Restaurante Dantxari, Asador Donostiarra, Restaurante Ordago Madrid and Taberna del Alabardero Madrid all list cod in pil-pil sauce on their menus. ### Where can I find Basque pintxos in Madrid? Arima runs a Basque bar with pintxos from €2.80 alongside its restaurant carta, and Taberna del Alabardero Madrid keeps a dedicated pintxos and tapas menu by the Teatro Real. ### Which Basque asadores in Madrid are known for chuletón or txuleta? El Gran Asador Lecanda, Casa Julián de Tolosa's Ibiza branch, Sua, Mesón Txistu, Asador Donostiarra and Zerain all build part of the menu around a bone-in beef chop cooked over coals. ### Is there a Basque cider house, or sidrería, in Madrid? Zerain, in the Barrio de las Letras, has styled itself as a classic Basque asador and cider house since it opened in 1997. ### Which of these Basque restaurants work well for groups? Zerain has large salons built for groups and events, Asador Donostiarra and Taberna del Alabardero Madrid are both listed as good for groups, and Restaurante Ordago Madrid notes the same on its own site. ## About the author **Justin Mota** — Guidavera founder Justin Mota is the founder of Guidavera. He has lived in Spain for over 10 years and runs a native AI agency alongside building this platform. Food has always been the way Justin connects with friends, and Guidavera started as the list he kept sending to everyone visiting Barcelona. He built it for himself and his friends first, and now hopes it can transform the way people discover great food experiences everywhere. More: https://guidavera.com/about --- This guide is the canonical machine-readable version of https://guidavera.com/spain/madrid/best-basque. Every claim is verifiable against the linked restaurant profiles. Source: Guidavera (https://guidavera.com).