Asador Etxebarri

Victor Arguinzoniz · Atxondo, Spain

Plaza de San Juan, 1, Axpe, Atxondo, Basque Country

Etxebarri is, by consensus, the most extraordinary live-fire restaurant in the world — currently ranked No.2 globally and Best Restaurant in Europe. Victor Arguinzoniz built his own custom grills from scratch, controlling heat with millimetre precision using different woods for different ingredients. The result is cooking that is, on the surface, entirely simple and on every other level, transcendent.

Located in the small village of Axpe in the Atxondo Valley, an hour from Bilbao, Etxebarri is not convenient. That is part of the point. Victor Arguinzoniz has cooked here since 1990, turning down every offer that followed his rise to global recognition, and has never opened a second restaurant. Every dish — chorizo, anchovies, prawns, morcilla, txuletón — is cooked over custom-built grills fed with different woods: holm oak, vine, cherry, chosen according to what he is cooking and the result he wants. The restaurant holds one Michelin star and has been ranked No.2 in The World's 50 Best Restaurants for two consecutive years (2024, 2025), winning Best Restaurant in Europe in 2025. It serves lunch only, Tuesday to Saturday.

What to know

• —Serves lunch only, Tuesday to Saturday
• —Victor Arguinzoniz has cooked here since 1990, no second restaurants, no compromises
• —Custom-built grills use different woods for different ingredients
• —No.2 in The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2024 and 2025
• —Best Restaurant in Europe 2025
• —One Michelin star, by the restaurant's own preference