Bilbao Reborn: Feesten in de Comeback City

I have done about ten tours with Culinary Backstreets and all of them were excellent but I think this tour was one of the best. The Guide was excellent. Paul was full of information which he delivered with the perfect pace, in a relaxed and easy fashion, which made the entire day so enjoyable. The food was of course excellent which is to be expected, and was used as a catalyst for us to understand the culinary culture and history of Bilbao..

The tour was good. Lots of good food. Expensive, but probably worth it. But sometimes it felt like we were walking in circles (eg. literally spent ages going up and down the stairs in the market for no real reason) and many of the stops were at places that tour guides say to visit, which were tasty but not exactly “backstreet”. Compared to previous food tours I’ve done, it felt more like delivering a script than a slice of life.

A wonderful day touring the markets and then trying multiple different pinxtos and Tzakoli. Kaya made it all so interesting and fun! We were very full but lived it all. Highly recommended!

Gonzalo/Gibraltar was our guide for this well-paced tour of Bilbao. V food was great and each dish was well fought through and complementary of the next dish. At each stop the food was paired with a drink, which added to the fun. I would recommend this tour with Gibraltar to anyone visiting Bilbo or San Sebastian.

We had an amazing food tour through Bilbao with Kaya today - starting at the markets with some delicious tastings along the way. Kaya gave us interesting information on the founding of Bilbao and the old town. We went on to taste some tinned cod livers ( delicious!) and squid then started on the tzakolis! We had multiple different pinxtos with tzakoli and really enjoyed strolling through the streets. Other highlights were the vermouth cocktail and tomato salad ( plus artichoke salad) and the cheese shop. We were totally full by the end and loved it all. Kaya was such fun to be with and can totally recommend this tour.

So so good... Gonzalo our guide was excellent. He has a true passion for the food scene... He took us to multiple local spots and showed us great food and a great time. Would highly recommend Culinary Backstreets and Gonzalo!

This was a fabulous experience. We were a varied group - 11 years to 73 years, and one vegetarian - and Paul did an incredible job of accommodating all of us. We learned so much history, interesting anecdotes and a real sense of the food and spirit of this fantastic city. I am so impressed with how Bilbao has reinvented itself and the resiliency of the Basque people.

Our Culinary Backstreets tour was the highlight of our Basque trip. Three generations, my mother in her 70s, my 11‑year‑old son, and us were equally captivated. The walk blended flavors with stories of Bilbao’s history and neighborhoods, making our subsequent 2-day urban explorations more meaningful. Paul, our guide, paced the stops thoughtfully, tailoring his narration to different curiosities. We left feeling connected and with a deeper understanding of how Bilbao’s culinary traditions and new venues shape its cultural identity. My vegetarian son was not disappointed and we all loved the shop by shop and neighborhood by neighborhood meandering. The early morning of the busy market, the old to new districts, and the ending punctuation of at the Guggenheim narrated a memorable mind map of Bilbao.

We had the best time with Gonzalo. Every spot he took us to was special and every bite we ate was exceptional. Could not recommend more.

We had an excellent tour with Kaya as our guide. She tailored the tour to our interest, giving us a great history tour of Bilbao and the Basque region on top of an already-excellent food tour. We loved each of the stops on the tour, getting a nice spread of classic pintxos and modern cooking. Kaya was also very helpful with making sure one of our group members' nut allergy was taken care of. I would 100% recommend this tour for anyone visiting Bilbao!