Ibaia

Ibaia is Bayonne's working-day cider house, an urbanised version of the rural Basque sagardotegi tradition, set on the quai du Commandant Roquebert in Petit Bayonne. The room is essentially one long beamed hall with shared tables, a series of cider barrels lined up against the wall, and a charcoal grill at the open end of the kitchen.

The format is simple: a fixed menu of cider-house classics — chorizo, Basque omelette with salt cod, txuleta of aged Basque beef cooked over coals, Idiazabal cheese with quince and walnuts — served continuously throughout the evening, with cider poured straight from the barrels at the diner's call of 'txotx'. The portions are generous; the sharing is non-negotiable; the energy is exactly right for a group of six or eight.

The cider list is deep — Basque sagardo from both sides of the border — and the kitchen also pours a short list of Irouléguy and txakoli for those who prefer wine. Service is fast, friendly, and entirely informal.

For a team dinner that needs warmth rather than ceremony, a birthday with a big group, or a Friday night that should feel like a celebration of the region, Ibaia is the answer Bayonne reaches for.

The long shared tables and the txotx cider format are built for a team dinner — the food keeps arriving, the cider barrels are a participatory event, and the bill works out to a fraction of a comparable French steakhouse.