Long before Rosalía made Bar El Pollo famous with a simple post on her social networks, this small place in Raval neither served tortillas nor had a kitchen. Ramón, its former owner, supported himself by drinking before the parties that were organized in La Paloma, but when the historic nightclub closed 16 years ago, he was forced to change course and serve menus of the day. This is how Bilbao native Aimar Córdoba discovered the bar. He was a neighbor and a regular in this house, so, when he lost his job due to the pandemic, he did not hesitate to ask Ramón if he could use his kitchen to prepare tortillas and deliver them to the home. The adventure ended in a transfer of premises and Bar El Pollo, open since 1987, raised its shutters again in 2021 after a year of closure with Córdoba at the helm of the establishment. He had it renovated, although looking the same as before, because its new owner did not want the place to lose its identity in any way.
For the first few months, Córdoba continued serving menus of the day to retain customers, but its tortillas and Basque pintxos soon became the talk of the neighborhood. So she teamed up with Javier Sánchez, also from Bilbao, a chef trained at the Basque Culinary Center in San Sebastián and with experience in haute cuisine restaurants such as Enigma, Marea Alta and Mejorar, to finish defining his gastronomic proposal.
For a year now, both have been partners at Bar El Pollo, where they serve quite creative and current signature Basque cuisine at reasonable prices. This is demonstrated by dishes on the menu such as the delicious sardines with a very particular piparra, almond and coriander sauce, which Sánchez jokingly calls “Basque tiger's milk.” Also the delicate and original scorpionfish pudding, the revised bonito pickle (a pickle is never missing from the menu of this bar and now, furthermore, we are in the middle of the season) or the Ebro Delta oyster a la Bilbao, which they wash down with that oil with garlic and cayenne that is usually put on fish in the Basque Country before putting them on the grill.
Among the starters, we were not so convinced by the eggs stuffed with spicy tuna, ketchup and mustard, considering them too risky a bet. And as a must-see in this house, we recommend that potato omelette that Rosalía defined as the best in Barcelona. It is also worth trying the sweetbread that they serve with a very particular chimichurri sauce. For dessert? Obviously, there is no shortage of La Viña-style cheesecake, a recipe that curiously they have not wanted to modify.
In the Bar El Pollo winery you will find, above all, natural and minimal intervention wines. If you can't find a place, which may be likely since they don't take reservations, head to the place next door, La Polla. They opened it just a couple of months ago with the aim of making it work only in bar format. There you will find, in a modern and fun atmosphere, cold cuisine: pickles, cured meats, salads and, how could it be otherwise, Basque pintxos.
