The Bilbao Guggenheim restaurant I visited in 2008 is no longer in operation.
A new restaurant, “Nerua Guggenheim Bilbao”, has opened and operates in an adjacent area of the museum complex.
I visited the Bilbao Guggenheim Museum in July 2008 and had lunch in the much acclaimed restaurant. Chef Josean Martínez Alija, was a disciple of Martín Berasategui’s.
I opted for the gastronomic menu with the title “Creation, Freedom and Tendencies”.
The amuse bouche was “tempura” peppers. They were sweet, tender and full of flavor, the best indication of its freshness.
The first dish of the menu was “Stewed tapioca pearls”. I was told that this is a simulation of a traditional Basque dish which has humbler ingredients. The dish was perfect, the pearls had absorbed the flavours of the stew and I had the sense of the pearls exploding in my mouth, releasing their flavours. Imaginative and pleasing.
The “Roasted red endives” followed. The endive was soft and full of flavour.
Another roasted vegetable was next: “Roasted aubergine flavoured with “makil goxo”. The aubergine was very tender and juicy.
The next dish was “Roasted hake”. I could taste the sea in every bite.
The last dish was the “Iberian pork stew”, and it was delicious.
The desert was a sponge with ice cream.
Gastrolvios 