Group Dinner at Casa Rufo

[Ad- gifted experience] I spent some time in Bilbao, Spain – where I was recommended a few places to eat, including Casa Rufo. Casa Rufo is sort of like a deli when you walk in; there are cans of different fancy ingredients and a deli display, which had a bunch if items that would go great in some sort of hamper. The inside had tons of wine racks, with lots of bottles of wine sticking out. It feels rustic and quite like a hidden gem, where you would find a bunch of small plates and fantastic wine. Thankfully, one of the members of staff did speak English, so it was very easy to order as well.

Little Plates

There were six of us eating so we decided to share a bunch of little plates to start. We ordered some egg croquettes, mixed ham and salami, and some padron peppers. The egg croquettes were really interesting; soft, fluffy potato and bits of hard boiled egg, all inside a crispy outside. I do wish these had some sort of dip, but I am a big dip person! The various ham, salami and chorizo slices were very fun; who doesn’t like a bit of ham and chorizo while in Spain? This plate had a lot of slices too, well worth the price. The padron peppers are always one of my favorite. These were perfectly salted and very well cooked.

We also got some anchovies in oil. I am not a fish person, so I didn’t actually try the anchovies, but those who did really liked them. The oil itself was a very high quality olive oil, as we got a bread basket and were dipping the soft, warm bread in it. The asparagus was hands down my favorite plate at Casa Rufo. They were served cold, but were tender and well marinated. They came with a very nicely salted dollop of butter and a sharp salad that had onions, pepper and balsamic, which complemented the softness of the asparagus so well.

Steak and Fries

Casa Rufo is known for having very few items to pick from, but everything being delicious and well curated. I got the steak and fries, which came on a hot plate. We actually got two servings of it, as the person across from me also got one to have. The steak itself was still cooking on the plate, so you could cut off little bits and then put them on to continue cooking. It was well seasoned and like a lot of meat! The fries weren’t as crispy as I would have liked, but they were nice to have. Two of the other members of our party had oxtail soup, which came out more as oxtail in gravy, but they both enjoyed it. We also had a vegan in our group, which is always a little tricky in Spain, however Casa Rufo did a fantastic job of creating a dish for them, which they enjoyed!

Casa Rufo feels like a traditional, Spanish place to eat. The staff are very friendly and it’s clear this place has a lot of character!

You can check out our other Days Out to see what else we’ve been up too!