Experiences
From pintxos at the bar to a private dinner on the rooftop terrace — Novaxpulse is a base for the full texture of Bilbao life.
Txoko (the Basque word for a private dining club) is open to hotel guests and to the public. The kitchen is led by a chef who trained in San Sebastián and worked in a two-Michelin-starred restaurant in the Rioja Alavesa before joining the Novaxpulse project in 2019. The menu is short by design — four starters, three mains, two desserts — and it changes weekly according to what arrives from the Bizkaia market on Monday mornings. At the bar, pintxos are served from 19:00 Tuesday through Sunday, priced individually and rotated every forty-five minutes. The five-course tasting menu (Wednesday through Saturday, from 20:30, by reservation) is the best introduction to the kitchen's range; it runs to approximately two and a half hours and pairs naturally with the Basque and Riojan wine list curated by the hotel's sommelier. Private dining for groups of up to twelve is available in the back room every night except Monday.
The top-floor terrace holds up to thirty guests standing or twenty-two seated. Available for private dinners, corporate receptions, product launches and small ceremonies. Catering is handled exclusively by Txoko's kitchen; external caterers are not admitted. Evening hire from 19:00.
The sommelier hosts a ninety-minute Txakoli and Rioja Alavesa tasting in the wine room every Friday at 18:00. Maximum eight participants. Available to hotel guests at a preferential rate; public tickets sold via the contact form. Advance booking essential — sessions sell out within two weeks of publication.
On Saturday mornings the hotel partners with a local architecture guide for a ninety-minute walk through Bilbao's Ensanche and Casco Viejo districts. The route passes five buildings featured in our in-room book selection. Maximum six guests per walk; included free for suite guests.
Twice a month, the Txoko chef leads a small group to the Mercado de la Ribera for a guided ingredient tour, followed by a cooking demonstration back at the hotel. Available to guests on Saturdays; cost includes all ingredients and a seated lunch at Txoko afterward.
“The Friday Txakoli tasting was the highlight of our entire trip to Bilbao — better than any museum. The sommelier spoke about the vineyards with a clarity that made each glass taste like a geography lesson. We bought two bottles to take home and the hotel wrapped them beautifully.”
Sofia L., Brussels
Wine tastings and market mornings book out quickly. Write to us early and we will reserve your place.