Spain — Ranked by Occasion

Dining in Axpe

Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · How we rank · Corrections

Axpe is a hamlet in the Atxondo valley beneath Mount Anboto, and its entire place on the world’s dining map rests on one wood-fired grill: Asador Etxebarri, Bittor Arguinzoniz’s asador — one Michelin star, No.2 on the World’s 50 Best in both 2024 and 2025, and Europe’s best restaurant of 2025, with Mohamed Benabdallah, the world’s best sommelier of 2025, running the cellar. The table is request-only through the website, one lunch seating daily around 13:30, booked two to four months out with more requests declined than accepted.

The valley holds honest company for the pilgrimage: Akebaso in San Juan de Axpe cooks traditional Basque in a farmhouse, and Mendi Goikoa Bekoa serves from a 1745 caserío with rooms upstairs — the sane way to solve the no-taxi problem. You are fifty minutes by car from Bilbao, between it and San Sebastián, and driving is the only realistic arrival.

Reviewed

Our Axpe Tables

Asador Etxebarri
2
Anniversary

Barcelona

Asador Etxebarri

Basque, live-fire grill €242–€280

"The world's most influential grill and No. 2 in the World's 50 Best 2025 — fly to Bizkaia for it once."

9Food
8Ambience
8Value

Frequently Asked

How do you book Asador Etxebarri?

Request-only via the restaurant's website, two to four months ahead, with a deposit and one lunch seating daily around 13:30. More requests are declined than accepted - answer the confirmation email fast.

Where else can you eat in Axpe?

Akebaso in San Juan de Axpe (traditional Basque, farmhouse) and Mendi Goikoa Bekoa (a 1745 farmhouse hotel-restaurant in Axpe itself) - the latter solves the stay-over problem.

How do you get to Axpe?

By car: about fifty minutes from Bilbao, between Bilbao and San Sebastian. There is no practical public transport - plan to drive or hire one.

Also explore: Bilbao • San Sebastian • all cities • dining by occasion • the journal

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