Bilbao nightlife
The nightlife in Bilbao has something to suit all ages and budgets. The town has many bars, restaurants, discotheques, clubs and cabarets, with a wide variety of different atmospheres. Most of them are located in the city centre, making it easy to walk from one to another.
Bilbao nightlife starts late, as in the rest of Spain. The night often begins with tapas and beers at some of the numerous bars along Calle Garcia Rivero and is followed up with dancing at the city’s top clubs. One of them is the Cotton Club, which is a must for jazz fans. It is decorated with about 30,000 beer caps and on Sundays people come here for some low-key grooving. Another one is High Club which is Bilbao’s gay venue.
At the restaurant Gaminiz, just outside of town, chef Aitor Elizegui plays with colors, textures, and ingredients to compose ornate menus featuring dishes like chicken spiked with licorice and onion ice cream with potato foam, caviar, seaweed tempura and pig’s skin. He is a true culinary innovator and some kind of a local hero.
Another popular chef is Josean Martiza Alija. He makes sublime—yet simple—dishes at the Guggenheim Museum’s Restaurant. Look for nouvelle Basque dishes such as lomo de bacalao (loin of cod in fig oil) followed by chilled liquid bitter chocolate with anise.
One of the best places to hang out in Bilbao is Moana Beach. There it is possible to have almost everything, breakfast, lunch and there is also a restaurant with low-calorie tropical dishes or international cuisine. This place is something very different compared to other places in Bilbao. At night, Moana Beach becomes a disco, with theme parties, performance art and fashion shows. Another very trendy and pleasant place to relax is A Votre Sante. It is a typical Baroque style café where you can drink your favorite coffee and be surrounded by stone, all sorts of antique furniture, and a really romantic atmosphere.
