A Bilbao pastry house founded in 1852, more than 170 years in the business of getting the small things exactly right. Arrese is the home of the Carolina — a peculiarly bilbaíno confection of puff pastry crowned with a tower of meringue, egg-yolk glaze, and dark chocolate — and its truffles and cakes have anchored the city's coffee-and-pastry ritual for generations. Several central outlets exist, but the Ercilla café is the classic place to sit with a coffee and a Carolina.
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The Carolina — the meringue-topped Bilbao pastry that Arrese is famous for — with a coffee. The truffles and cakes are equally the point; this is a pastry house first, café second.
Mid-morning or the afternoon merienda hour, when the pastry counter is fully stocked and the coffee-and-cake ritual is at its best.
Open since 1852 with several central Bilbao outlets — the Calle Ercilla address in the Ensanche is the classic sit-down. The Carolina is a Bilbao specialty you won't find done better anywhere else in the city.