Our own regulars — the places we actually go back to.
Everything below is walkable from town — no car needed.
Something nicer · Saint-Jean-de-Luz
6 Rue du 17 Pluviose, Saint-Jean-de-Luz
Bistronomic cooking built around whatever's good at the market that day. A set lunch runs about €22; à la carte closer to €45–50. The pick for a proper sit-down dinner without needing a jacket.
AlmaSomething nice · Saint-Jean-de-Luz
20 Rue de la République, Saint-Jean-de-Luz
Basque and Spanish cooking since 1983 — a tapas counter up front, charcoal-grilled fish and meat behind it. Big portions, fair prices, nothing precious about it.
AlcaldeCasual, good · Saint-Jean-de-Luz
3 Rue Marion Garay, Saint-Jean-de-Luz
Genuinely good Italian — pizza, pasta, a full bar — in a room that works with a stroller or a date equally well. Opened in 2024 and got popular fast. Open straight through the day, no dead hours.
Late-night snack · Saint-Jean-de-Luz
13 Rue Tourasse, Saint-Jean-de-Luz
Bobby's walk-up sibling nearby, open for the hours real restaurants close for — the gap between lunch and dinner, and again once the kitchens shut for the night. Also on Uber Eats if you'd rather it come to you.
Order on Uber EatsSeaside snack · Saint-Jean-de-Luz
Quai Maréchal Leclerc, Saint-Jean-de-Luz
Right on the fishing port, run by the town's tourism office every summer with local students working it — plancha-grilled tuna, sardines, mussels, order at the counter. Cheap, fast, about as local as lunch gets. It closes for the season in mid-September, so catch it early in your trip.
Grillerie du PortTapas · Ciboure
17 Rue de la Fontaine, Ciboure
Small, quiet, tucked into Ciboure — tapas and a good glass of wine rather than a big production. A calmer evening than the Saint-Jean-de-Luz crowds.
AtalaiaReservation essential · Ciboure
63 Rue Évariste Baignol, Ciboure
Basque specialties and whatever's fresh off the boats, up on the heights of Ciboure in the old Croix Rouge quarter — a hilly walk up from the harbor, worth the climb. You have to book ahead; they mean it, and they will turn you away without one.
Chez MattinA short drive from town — worth the trip.
Bistro · Socoa
11 Avenue du Commandant Passicot, Socoa-Ciboure
A proper bistro in one of the oldest houses in Socoa, right on the water — quieter and a notch nicer than the harborside spots nearby. The kitchen cooks whatever came off the Ciboure fish market that morning.
Jeu de PaumeCider house · Ascain
Chemin de la Cidrerie, ZA Lanzelai, Ascain
A real Basque cider house, in Ascain itself. Chargrilled meat, and cider poured straight from the barrel the traditional way — someone shouts "txotx" and everyone runs over with their glass. About as Basque as a meal gets, a few streets from where we're getting married.
Cidrerie BerriBeach bar · Socoa
Avenue du Commandant Passicot, Socoa beach, Ciboure
A beach bar, literally — tables in the sand at Socoa, tapas and burgers and a cold beer with your feet practically in the water. Great with kids, great at sunset.
Zokoa KanttuIf you want to go all out, these four are within reach — one in town, one across the harbor in Ciboure, and two more over the Spanish border.
1 star · Saint-Jean-de-Luz
17 Rue de la République, Saint-Jean-de-Luz
One Michelin star, in a listed building from 1540. Chef Nicolas Borombo, out of Bayonne by way of Paris kitchens, cooks refined, produce-led food built around the Basque coast and countryside. Book ahead — it's the special-occasion table in town.
Le Kaïku2 stars · Ciboure
15 Quai Maurice Ravel, Ciboure
Two Michelin stars, right on the quay by the house where Ravel was born. Chef Guillaume Roget builds elaborate, seafood-led menus around whatever came off the boats at the Saint-Jean-de-Luz market across the water.
Ekaitza1 star · Hondarribia, Spain
Minasorroeta 1, 20280 Hondarribia, Spain
A short drive over the border into Spain — a family restaurant, now three generations in, inside a century-old hotel building. Chef Gorka Txapartegi cooks original, seasonal Basque food. Worth the trip and the passport check.
Alameda3 stars · Donostia, Spain
Aita Orkolaga Pasealekua 56, Igeldo, 20008 Donostia, Spain
Three Michelin stars, on the slope of Mount Igueldo with the sea laid out below. Chef Pedro Subijana has run the kitchen since 1974 — a genuine landmark of Basque cooking. About an hour from Saint-Jean-de-Luz. Book well ahead; this one fills up fast.
Akelarre