Asador · Axpe, Basque Country
Asador Etxebarri
Asador Etxebarri is a grill restaurant in Axpe, a Basque village half an hour from Bilbao, opened in 1990 by the self-taught cook Bittor Arguinzoniz. Every dish, from the anchovies to the chuleta, is cooked over embers the kitchen burns down on site from oak, vine cuttings and other woods.
At a glance
- Place
- Axpe, Atxondo (Bizkaia), Spain
- Founded
- 1990
- Style
- Basque asador
- Beef
- Rubia Gallega from Lugo
- Fire
- Charcoal and wood embers made on site
- Price
- €300 per person, drinks extra
A village asador
Etxebarri is an asador, the Basque grill restaurant, in Axpe, a village of the municipality of Atxondo in the province of Bizkaia, about 30 minutes from Bilbao. The kitchen cooks the whole menu on the grill, not only meat.
The restaurant stands on the village square, San Juan Plaza, in the Atxondo valley, between Bilbao and San Sebastián. The dining room looks over the square; the kitchen is small and filled with grills built to the chef's design. The World's 50 Best Restaurants describes the cooking as free of modernist technique: every course, including dessert, passes over the embers, and the aim is to let the produce taste of itself with a trace of smoke.
From village bar to the world's list
Bittor (Victor) Arguinzoniz, born in 1960 and self-taught as a cook, opened the restaurant in 1990 after buying the old village bar together with his father and his uncle.
He grew up around the corner, in a house without electricity or gas, where his mother and grandmother cooked on the hearth, according to The World's 50 Best Restaurants. Before turning to cooking he worked for many years in a flag factory. He had no formal training as a cook.
The first book about the restaurant, Etxebarri, by the writers Jon Sarabia and Juan Pablo Cardenal, was published in Spanish by Planeta Gastro in 2017 and in English by Grub Street in 2018.
The chuleta of Rubia Gallega
The beef dish is the chuleta, a bone-in rib steak comparable to a ribeye on the bone. According to the Italian food site Scatti di Gusto, it comes from Rubia Gallega cattle raised in Lugo, Galicia, and is dry-aged for about three weeks. Steakpedia found that detail in a single source.
Embers made every day
The kitchen makes its own embers in ovens on the premises, from oak, vine cuttings and other woods and charcoals. The grills were designed by Arguinzoniz and can be raised or lowered over the embers to control the heat that reaches the food.
Several kinds of charcoal are prepared every day, each with a specific use, and many of the grills hold fine mesh pans, also of the chef's design, for ingredients too small or delicate to sit directly on the bars. Heat is controlled by the choice of embers and the height of the grill rather than by a flame. For the general technique, see Grilling over fire.
Fourteen courses, or à la carte
The kitchen serves a tasting menu, which The World's 50 Best Restaurants gives as 14 courses, and an à la carte menu that it says many local diners prefer. Dishes cited by that guide include anchovy on toast, a grilled red prawn from Palamós served on its own, fresh mozzarella from the chef's own buffalo with a slice of tomato, homemade chorizo and, in season, baby eels and sea cucumber with green beans. The meal ends with a milk ice cream with beetroot, also touched by smoke.
The charcoal-grilled beef chop is the dish most associated with the house; it is close in style to the Basque chuletón, a thick bone-in rib steak grilled over embers and served sliced. Wines are chosen by Mohamed Benabdallah, who previously worked at Mugaritz.
The official website lists the price as €300 per person including VAT, with drinks charged separately, paid in advance when booking.
One Michelin star
Etxebarri holds one Michelin star; the year it was awarded is reported as 2009 or 2010, depending on the source.
In The World's 50 Best Restaurants it was ranked no. 6 in 2015, no. 3 in 2019 and 2021, no. 4 in 2023, and no. 2 in 2024 and 2025. In 2025 it was also named Best Restaurant in Europe. According to the organisation, it has been absent from the list only once since 2009, and Arguinzoniz has received its Chefs' Choice Award, voted by his peers.
Frequently asked questions
How much is Asador Etxebarri?
The official website lists €300 per person including VAT, drinks not included, paid in advance.
Where is Asador Etxebarri?
In Axpe, a village in Atxondo, Bizkaia, in the Spanish Basque Country, about 30 minutes from Bilbao.
Does Asador Etxebarri have a Michelin star?
Yes, one star, awarded in 2009 or 2010 depending on the source.
What beef does Etxebarri serve?
According to Scatti di Gusto, a chuleta of Rubia Gallega from Lugo, dry-aged about three weeks.
Who is the chef at Asador Etxebarri?
Bittor (Victor) Arguinzoniz, a self-taught cook born in Axpe in 1960, who opened the restaurant in 1990 and designed its grills.
Is everything at Etxebarri cooked on the grill?
Yes. Every course, including dessert, is cooked over embers that the kitchen makes on site.
Sources
8
- Asador Etxebarri. Official website. www.asadoretxebarri.com
- Wikipedia. "Asador Etxebarri." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asador_Etxebarri
- Reporter Gourmet. "Etxebarri, the temple of charcoal cooking, ranked 4th best restaurant in the world." reportergourmet.com/en/news/5901-etxebarri-the-temple-of-charcoal-cooking-ranked-4th-best-restaurant-in-the-world
- Time Out. "The Spanish restaurant named second-best in the world in 2025." www.timeout.com/news/the-spanish-restaurant-named-second-best-in-the-world-in-2025-062325
- Scatti di Gusto. Article on the Asador Etxebarri rib steak (costata). www.scattidigusto.it/extebarri-costata-di-manzo-piu-buona-mai-mangiata
- The World's 50 Best Restaurants. "Asador Etxebarri." www.the50.com/the-list/1-10/Asador-Etxebarri.html
- Bilbao Insider. "Asador Etxebarri second in 2025 World's 50 Best Restaurants awards." bilbaoinsider.com/asador-etxebarri-second-in-2025-worlds-50-best-50-restaurants-awards
- Sarabia, Jon; Cardenal, Juan Pablo. Etxebarri. Barcelona: Planeta Gastro, 2017. English edition: London: Grub Street, 2018.
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