Víctor Montes, Bilbao

The best place in town to sit down and try cured Iberian meats, fresh fish and free-range beef. You can also buy all these products to take-away from the delicatessen counter. The bar offers a delicious selection of tapas, or pintxos, to savour with a glass of fine wine, like the house Paternina or a 1994 vintage Rioja. The huge range of spirits (including brandies and whiskies) behind the counter looks like a museum exhibition. You'll recognize it by its outstanding modernist facade coloured black with gold trimming, hidden behind one of the arches on Plaza Nueva, in the heart of the Casco Viejo (Old Town). You can sit out on the terrace in summer, if you can find a space.