Deep in the heart of Barcelona, you’ll stumble across a Basque pintxo bar that’s been thriving for the past 26 years. It’s an intriguing quirk of a city that is simultaneously one of the most international you’ll find and yet also the centre of Europe’s largest separatist movement that an ‘outsider’ like this can survive. And yet, Txirimiri is far from just surviving. Iñigo and the Martínez family have built an institution on a foundation of classic Basque cuisine at reasonable prices that shows no sign of slowing down.
Just like any good tapas bar, the thing that hits you when you first walk into Txirimiri is the bar laden with irresistible pinxtos, the unmistakable buzz of a local hub, and a true mezcla of smells wafting through from the kitchen. Combined with the Real Sociedad pennants you could quite easily be in the head chef’s home region.