Palacio Arriluce has a new chef: Fernando Canales, one of the most respected names in Bilbao’s culinary scene. Both of the hotel’s dining spaces — the Delaunay restaurant and the Bar Inglés — are now under his direction, with a cuisine built on fine produce, a strong sense of place and a contemporary take on Basque cooking.
His career spans more than thirty years, many of them in some of the most acclaimed restaurants in Bizkaia. That he is now cooking in Getxo is wonderful news for anyone who loves good food.
Fernando Canales, thirty years of Basque cuisine
Born in Bilbao in 1962, he trained at the Leioa culinary school and began his career in France. On his return, he ran the Goizeko Kabi restaurant for eight years before setting out on his own.
In 1998 he opened his own restaurant, Etxanobe, in Bilbao’s Palacio Euskalduna — a landmark in contemporary Basque cuisine. Atelier Etxanobe and La Despensa de Etxanobe followed, and last year he completed his return to the Euskalduna. His Etxanobe restaurants hold one Michelin star and two Repsol Suns.
His accolades include the Euskadi Gastronomy Award, the Chef Millesime distinction and the title of Ilustre de Bilbao — the reward for more than three decades defined by innovation and respect for outstanding produce.
The cuisine at the Delaunay restaurant
At the Delaunay, the hotel’s main restaurant, Fernando Canales reinterprets the great Basque classics with an elegant, contemporary eye. Outstanding produce, a warm welcome and a clear bond with the land.
The menu brings together familiar dishes — 5 Jotas ham croquettes, the Etxanobe take on Spanish potato salad (ensaladilla) or hake kokotxas a la bilbaína — alongside creations such as grilled octopus with choricero pepper foam, socarrat rice with fish, seafood and red prawn, or steak tartare with fries. To finish, baked cheesecake or butter-bun ice cream.
The Bar Inglés, the hotel’s more relaxed menu
Fernando Canales is also behind the menu at the Bar Inglés — more informal, yet built on high-quality produce and recognisable recipes. A place for sharing plates and hot and cold starters, with bites such as the gilda, salt-cured anchovies, Iberian ham, salmon brioche with caviar, the rib-steak burger or the Arriluce sandwich. For dessert, torrija (Spanish-style French toast) with ice cream or chocolate cake.
With the feel of a classic English bar, right in the heart of Neguri, it is the spot for a long, lingering afternoon: Canales’s cooking at its most laid-back.
A palace facing the Cantabrian Sea, to dine in Getxo
Both spaces sit within Palacio Arriluce, a stately residence turned hotel in the Neguri district and a member of Leading Hotels of the World. You dine within the walls of the original building, with the garden and the sea just steps away. Few places are quite like it for an unhurried lunch or a leisurely dinner.
It is somewhere for a celebration or a midweek treat: a table after a walk along the cliffs of La Galea or through the Old Port of Algorta, or the perfect end to a morning in Bilbao, just fifteen minutes away. The kind of plan you never want to leave.
With Fernando Canales at the helm, Palacio Arriluce begins a new culinary chapter well worth discovering.
We look forward to welcoming you to Palacio Arriluce. Discover the hotel’s dining offer, with the Delaunay restaurant and the Bar Inglés, and book your table.
Palacio Arriluce has a new chef: Fernando Canales, one of the leading figures in contemporary Basque cuisine. The Delaunay restaurant and the Bar Inglés are now under his direction, with a cuisine built on fine produce and a strong sense of place. Discover the hotel's new culinary chapter in Getxo.
