The Bacalao Pilgrimage

Salt cod and an emulsion conjured from nothing but its own gelatine, olive oil and garlic. Basque kitchen alchemy you have to taste to believe.

Example Extreme Day Trip:🛫 From London Heathrow💰 From £33 return⏱ 1h 55m flightShare to WhatsApp

Why this dish?

Bacalao al pil-pil is one of the great Basque dishes and a genuine piece of culinary sorcery. Desalted cod is gently warmed in olive oil with garlic and chilli; then the pan is swirled - and swirled, and swirled - until the gelatine from the fish emulsifies with the oil into a pale, glossy, clinging sauce. No flour, no cream, no butter. Just patience and a clay cazuela. The name supposedly comes from the 'pil-pil' sound it makes as it bubbles.

Bilbao is the gateway to Basque food, one of the best eating regions on earth, and bacalao al pil-pil is its signature feat - a dish that tastes profound but is built from almost nothing. Wash it down with a young Txakoli (the local fizzy white, poured from height) and you understand why people plan whole trips around eating in the Basque Country. You can do it in a day.

Our Picks

Restaurante Los Fueros

Address: Calle de los Fueros 6, Bilbao (Casco Viejo)
What to order: Bacalao al pil-pil, and start with a few pintxos and a glass of Txakoli.
Book ahead: Worth booking for dinner; lunch is more relaxed.
Pro tip: Watch how the sauce coats the spoon - that emulsion is the whole achievement; mop it with bread.

Bar Gure Toki

Plaza Nueva 12, Bilbao

On Plaza Nueva, the heart of Bilbao's pintxos scene - the standing-up, bar-to-bar version of the Basque meal.

What to order: A pintxos crawl - bacalao in its many guises, plus gilda skewers and txakoli - bar to bar around the square.

Good to know

Bilbao runs on pintxos (Basque bar snacks) - graze across several bars rather than sitting for one big meal if you prefer. Txakoli is the local white, poured from a height to aerate it. The Guggenheim is a short walk from the old town if you want art with your alchemy.

Your day plan