Rio-Oja Restaurant

Wouldn’t recommend. All of the tapas in front of you are microwaved. Mussels were horrible. They are in a very bland smoky tomato sauce. I didn’t finish them and that’s saying a lot. Ordered the grilled lamb and it was extremely fatty, more than half was inedible and plate looked like a mess. Conveniently a Spanish couple order grilled lamb chops next to me and they were perfect pieces and the plate actually looked appealing. I tried to order the sea bass and they only had 25€ portions left .The couple on the other side somehow managed to order a small sea bass well after I tired to order one. Pretty sure I was treated poorly for not being Spanish. Only thing that was actually good was the cheese cake

This is the worst restaurant that I’ve been in Spain after many years living here. The service is horrible which the waiter doesn’t pay any attention to you. They have no interest to check on you and served the food very slow. The worst thing is the food! We ordered sopa de pescado and paella. The soup is cold and the seafood has no favor and it’s not fresh at all. The paella rice is hard and very dry. You can easily tell that it’s leftover from yesterday. We even found a “hair” on the meat which it’s disgusting 🤮 the waiter doesn’t even apologize and when we told him about it they didn’t really care. Will not come back to this place again.

Good local food but very crowded and rushy atmosphere. Some food was really good and others were just ok. Don’t expect the staff to speak good English, but it worked out well for us anyway.

We had a sat- down dinner with table service all for 25Euro. Seafood soup, 8Euro. Lamb stew, 9Euro. Rice, 3Euro. 2 drinks. Food was fairly good. Recommended when you are tired of Pintxos bars.

Good food and correctly priced. Waiter was friendly and service was fast. The house wine was superb💯 good simple food in the heart of Bilbao

Food was really tasty and served really hot, wine was cheap and tasty - €1.50 for house white. Nicer than the more expensive wines. We shared sirloin steak and chips and a beef stew - very good and very cheap. Not overly friendly staff but fine, the locals seem to love it there. Worth a visit. You should book for the restaurant part, we ate in the bar area.

I’ve eaten here twice in 2 days. One of those rare establishments that does everything right. Relaxed interior full of character, rockstar staff, and incredible traditional food with no fuss. Over my 2 visits I ordered the pil pil, the rabbit stew, the green peppers, the mixed salad, and the flan. All delicious. The bread they give to mop up the stew is fresh and most likely baked that same day if not a few hours beforehand. The kind barman gave me a delicious sweet shot when I paid. I cannot recommend this place enough for traditional food with a great vibe at a very reasonable price.

Amazing spot to feel immersed in basque culture. The staff is exceptionally kind and helped us order. It can get crowded but full of locals. The wine selection amazing and the seafood fresh and the basque stews felt like big welcome to the basque region

Bar Rio Oja is a 60-year-old restaurant located in the heart of Casco Viejo, and it came highly recommended by our tour guide, a local from Bilbao. We started with the squid and ensaladilla rusa. Unfortunately, we were not impressed. The ensaladilla lacked freshness, and while the squid sauce was very tasty, the squid itself was just okay. However, the lubina (sea bass) and chuletón (steak) were both excellent. We did request that the meat be cooked a little longer, as it was too raw for our liking. The service, unfortunately, wasn't the best. We had to remind the waiter of our order, as we had asked for a caña, a bottle of water, and grilled veggies, which were forgotten. Overall, while the food was a mixed experience, the high-quality main courses left a positive impression. The service could use some improvement, but location and reputation of the restaurant make it worth the visit, if you're in the area.

There is not one thing I don't like about this place. I went 2 nights in a row and will probably figure a way to go back. The 1st night there were 4 of us. We each had our own plates and I had the Pork Cheeks in a stew. My dish I could not stop eating it, the sauce was perfect and the meat melted in my mouth. We shared the stuffed peppers, which brilliant and zesty. Both nights there were sautéed mushrooms that had a kick that left my mouth with a peppery palette for a moment that I loved. So I got an order again the second night and I was not disappointed. The 1st night my friend got the filet which was flawless so I got that the 2nd night and I was so happy with it. I sat there in the front at a low table the 2nd night for 2 hours and had the same waiter both nights. The 1st night we were in the back. Both nights our waiter was a kind of Svengali mesmerizing me with his movements throughout the restaurant. I kept trying to pay and would say wait wait. I got an amazing custard for dessert and I left feeling full and entertained

I'd say it's a solid bar, that the locals still enjoy. I appreciate that a lot. I had to order on my limited Spanish but I knew what I wanted- the clams! I got the last order in and everyone was wishing they had done the same. They were meaty and good. A couple next to me recommended the squid, the local on the other side of me also recommended the squid. I just didn't feel like it- probably should have, when I realized you could order it with rice,. It was a good time had by all and I was sure glad to have experienced it. If the bar tenders seem to ignore you (and they probably will given how busy they are) just try some Spanish or show them a picture and it'll be okay. They are doing their best.

Solid food / good prices / no outdoor seating We ordered the squid in black ink sauce (highly recommend, perfect flavor w/o excessive saltiness), meatballs, and the bacalao al pil pil (cod in a sort of congealed garlic/olive oil sauce). Of these, the squid was definitely the best. The food comes out extremely quickly here - super fast service since most of the food, especially the casserole dishes, has already been made before you order. Very reasonable prices (average 9-14 euros per dish). Definitely a more local atmosphere, but still lots of tourists enjoying the food. Do I wish there had been outdoor seating? Of course, but you can't have everything. Also important: I had the worst dessert of my 7 weeks in Spain in this restaurant. I ordered the whisky cake, and I was served an excessively frozen block of vanilla cream, which our waiter then poured an ounce of whisky over. Can't say I recommend this at all.

Rio-Oja is absolutely amazing! Great service & great food. It appears to be a local favorite, serving traditional food for great prices. We loved the food so much that we came back a second time on our short trip. Among many items that we ordered, we absolutely loved the lamb stew, rabbit stew, Russian salad, and pork cheeks. The waiter suggested we order the squid in black ink, though I did not like this dish as much as the other items and it was much more expensive. Note that this is one of the tapas bars that has different prices if you order from the bar. If you're trying to save money, the bar is not bad here!

WARNING!!!! WARNING!!!! TOURIST RIP OFF PLACE IN BILBAO. With all the good places that are everywhere in Casco Viejo and the newer downtown areas, this place is horrible. We ordered two glasses of Txakoli and the waiter left the bottle on the table. Later, he wanted to charge us for the bottle, which we did not use since the Txakoli SUCKED. An argument was had. We ordered one dish and received two dishes of small items. We did not touch the second item since we did not order it nor want it. When the waiter was told to take the 2nd dish away, suddenly, his perfect English and Spanish failed him. Imagine a waiter who could not speak either language when told to take away an order that was not ours. When we asked for the bill, the wine bottle and the 2nd dish were on the bill. When the waiter was told to shove the bill up his anus, the price dropped to only what was ordered. Disgusting display of cheating visiting tourists. Help others, pass this along.

This was a great time with local dinners . Our group had a fantastic time chatting with them . We ordered the paella , the roast chicken and the veal meatballs . It was served with bread . We also ordered a pitcher of sangria . I will remember this meal forever and the fun we had . The man who was bar tending , I think he may have been the owner , was very nice . He even gave me some local grapes from the vineyards from la Rioja . The grapes were amazing .

Staff not particularly welcoming, and loomed over me as I perused the menu (which was off putting). Had some scorpionfish paté and some bacaloa. Not impressed with either. Bacaloa looked like vomit. It wasn't terrible tasting. They also served it with stale bread.

Not bad, certainly a greater variety of tapas than usual. We had two things, the squid in black ink and the anchovies in butter and garlic, both were good but nothing special. They have a secret bread charge which peeves me, so expect the bill to be greater than elected. The house red was 6 euros a bottle and wasn't bad!!!! Menu in English and German.

Get the shareable dishes! Fantastic! We found this place through Rick Steves. It is a jewel! Come in for the shareable dishes. Called cazuelitas. Great value and wonderful! Two of us shared the snails in red spicy sauce that was more pepper sauce not tomato, squid in its own ink and the lamb stew. Great choices!

Fish soup without fish. Cold Cod -- Losing combination!!! I arrived in Bilbao and asked a local where to get the best seafood. She said I definitely had to go to the Rio Oja and have the Piri Piri (a dish with bacalo). I came Saturday. There were people flowing into the street and I had to wait 20 minutes for a table, but the people eating were obviously enjoying their food, so I knew it had to be good. I had the sea bass and paella and they were delicious! Rio Oja is closed on Mondays so I was waiting anxiously to go back there. I got there Tuesday salivating and ordered the fish stew and piri piri. The fish stew had no fish in it. It was a bean soup with a piece of beef or pork. The cod piri piri was cold. I told the waitress. She responded "it is hot" I told her the center of the fish was cold. She came back with the sauce bubbling hot but the fish was rubbery and warm. I realized it was not cooked. I told the woman that I Would pay for the food but the fish was cold. Her response was "Que pena!" Which means "too bad but give us our money anyway! My overall review is that the locals eat here and the restaurant staff must make sure that their food is stellar! If you are a tourist and they know it, expect them to throw any kind of slop your way, unless you are eating with a local. P.S. In America bread is free, but not in Spain. I didn't touch it but because I let them leave it on the table I had to pay .5 Euro. Tell them you don't want it the minute they put it there. It probably is stale bread anyway that has been passed from table to table.

This place was obviously a real hit with the locals and certainly felt very 'authentic', if that is anything to go by! Tiled walls and art-deco fixtures and fittings make the place seem special enough, and that is before you take the vast and very high bar into consideration. We did not stop here for very long on our tapas crawl through the Old City of Bilbao just long enough to taste their absolutely delicious tapa of bacalao (cod), a local speciality that the Basques seem to be absolutely crazy about to be fair, with good reason. Two beers, bread and the bacalao came to EUR11.80, higher than average for a tapas stop, but well worth it for the food.