<a target="_blank" href="https://www.juliandetolosa.com/en/">Casa Julián</a>Sta. Klara Kalea, 6

20400 Tolosa

Gipuzkoa, Spain

+34 943 671 417

BY NEAL
MARTIN | MAY 16, 2025

The Food:

Piquillo
peppers

Roasted
leeks

Txuleta
(rib steak on the bone) 

Etxeko
gazta tarta (homemade cheesecake)

The Wines:

2009 La
Rioja Alta Rioja Gran Reserva 904 – 96

2010 Recaredo
Turó d'en Mota – 95

The
Basque region is a foodie’s paradise, a cradle for some of the finest fish,
meat and dairy in the world that spawned an endless array of lauded bistros and
restaurants. Whilst many cluster in the coastal city of San Sebastián, the hinterland
is home to a diaspora of “OMG…You gotta’ check this place out” places to dine
where—not unlike Japan—simplicity is the key, as you might have already noticed
by the rather banal seeming menu above. During en primeur, I took
advantage of Bordeaux’s proximity to check out Casa Julián after an epicure
told me, in not so many words, “OMG. You gotta check this place out.” Together
with a fellow French gourmand and one French chihuahua, we packed the car and
made the two-hour trip to the medieval Basque town of Tolosa. 

Casa
Julián is a bona fide institution, having started out selling local produce back
in 1951. Navarre-born proprietor Julián Rivas later began serving his own
Iberian hams to passing businessmen and experimenting with different cuts, even
seeking advice from local surgeons about how best to cut the meat. This, in
turn, led Rivas to conceive an angled rotisserie that allowed him to retain the
meat’s fat. In the 1980s, after apparently much persuading and a promise to
pass on his secrets, the restaurant changed hands to Matías who had been running
a nearby bar. He opened a sister restaurant in Madrid. Gorrotxategi’s son, Xabi,
is now head chef in the original Tolosa branch.

<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1747315842802-casa+julian+facade_VT.JPG"><img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1747315860807-fridge_VT.JPG">

We made
a reservation for 7pm. Already, a small queue of pilgrims had formed down the
street. Casa Julian is an innocuous-looking restaurant that overlooks the
tree-lined Oria River, so unassuming so that you could easily walk straight
past. Ushered inside, the first things you notice are fridges housing hunks of hung
marbled carcasses. The restaurant’s interior is timeworn, like an old, cherished
paperback, so that it seems familiar even if it’s your first time. Wooden
tables and concrete floors, paraphernalia on shelves and racks of empty wine
bottles, doubtlessly little-changed over the years. The staff is young and
friendly, dressed in t-shirts and aprons, most speaking English in case your
Euskara is not up to scratch. <img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1747315998476-VT_grill+cover.JPG">The open-flame parilla grill. 

The centrepiece
of the restaurant is an open-flame charcoal parrilla grill (when making
a reservation, see if you can get a table near it). We’re sat in an adjoining
room that is absolutely fine, but I prefer being where the action is. The menu
itself is simple. I mean, essentially, Casa Julián is a steakhouse. However, you
don’t find many steakhouses listed in “The World’s 50 Best Restaurants,” featuring
on TV, or attracting gourmands from around the world, as evidence by the
dialects around the room on this night. 

<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1747317746711-leeks_VT.JPG">Roasted leeks.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1747316055340-pequillo+peppers_VT.JPG">Piquillo peppers.

From
start to finish, the quality of ingredients is stupendous. We keep it simple
with grilled leeks and a plate of sizzling, thinly sliced piquillo peppers. The
former is great, the latter is sensational, so sweet and packed with flavour
that the peppers just melt in the mouth. I don’t think I have ever eaten
peppers with this much flavour. We are also presented with a small tin cup of
meat juices from our imminent main course.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1747317786084-txuleta_VT.jpg">The txuleta (rib steak on the bone). <img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1747316130673-txuleta+raw_VT.JPG">Steak is so difficult to photograph—it
probably looks better raw rather than when it is cooked!

The
main event is the famous txuleta, local dialect for “rib steak on the
bone,” perfected by Julián Rivas all those years ago. At the start of our meal,
our waitress presents a selection of three raw cuts at the table so that we can
choose the size—around 1.0 kg or 1.5 kg, and about 2.5 cm thick. These come
from local cows that tend to be a little older and produce more marbling. The
wedges of meat glisten before my eyes and I’m already salivating at the
prospect. Naturally, the txuleta is served rare with just a salt seasoning,
no sauces. 

It
tastes like heaven. 

I had
high expectations, and for once, this dish met them. It’s just insanely
delicious and worth travelling around the world for.&nbsp; 

<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1747316182732-cheesecake_VT.JPG">Etxeko gazta tarta (homemade cheesecake). 

And
here’s the amazing thing…the meat wasn’t the highlight. No, no, no. We order a
cheesecake. With bellies full, we discuss whether to share, though the waitress
intervenes and warns that we might regret that decision. She was 100% correct. 

It. Is.
The. Best. Cheesecake. That. I. Have. Ever. Eaten. 

Being
of Basque origin, it is burnt on the top, with a very thin crumble at the base.
I cannot quite put into words just how ineffably scrumptious it tastes. We call
the waiter over to see if we can get the recipe, specifically, what kind of
milk they used. 

“That’s
a secret,” she tells us, smiling. She is probably asked that question three or
four times a night. 

<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1747316241107-la+rioja+alta_VT.JPG">If the
food has not tempted you enough, be warned that Casa Julián has a superb wine
list with a number of outstanding producers from across most Spanish regions. I
spied deep verticals of Tondonia back to the sixties, likewise, one of my
personal favourites, the Gran Reserva 904 from La Rioja Alta. I
chose the 2009 vintage, as further back the prices escalate a little
quicker, but I had no regrets about my choice. The 2009 is a stunning Rioja.
Pure crushed strawberry, Morello cherries, fireside hearth and terracotta on
the fabulous, exquisitely defined bouquet leaves you instantly entranced. The
palate is so elegant and refined with its cashmere tannins, perfectly pitched acidity
and sumptuous red-fruit driven finish. It is everything I love about Rioja. Such
is the extensiveness of the list that I advise trying to form a small party
like our neighbouring table of Canadian importers had done. 

<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1747316256775-recaredo_VT.JPG">I am
also given a glass of 2010 Brut Nature Turó d'en Mota from Recaredo,
a producer that celebrated its centenary last year. This flagship cuvée comes
from a single-hectare vineyard of Xarel-lo, planted on calcareous soils
back in 1940 in the Alt Penedès and farmed biodynamically. It usually sees 120
months of aging on the lees, this 2010 disgorged in November 2023, a limited
production of 2,581 bottles. The 2010 has an arresting sea-spray-scented
bouquet, with touches of shucked oyster shell and just a very subtle oxidative
note. Later, like my colleague Joaquín Hildago, I picked up a light Vermouth
aroma. The palate is taut and tensile, brimming with tension, quite sharp yet
displaying exquisite balance with a just the slightest smoky note right on the
finish. This is the first time I’ve tasted the Turó d’en Mota, and like my
forementioned colleague, I am very impressed.&nbsp;&nbsp; 

Casa
Julián will be one of my meals of 2025, for sure. These days, I hanker for uncomplicated
and unpretentious dishes using the finest ingredients, soulful food that leaves
you feeling sated rather than impressed. If you love your steak, then this should
definitely be on your places to go. Located around 28 km from San Sebastián,
it’s not much of a schlep.

Casa
Julián? OMG…You gotta check this place out.© 2025, Vinous. No portion of this article may be copied, shared or redistributed without prior consent from Vinous. Doing so is not only a violation of our copyright but also threatens the survival of independent wine criticism.

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