Urdaneta sits at 3033 NE Alberta Street and brings the standing-counter pintxos tradition of San Sebastian to Portland's Alberta Arts District. Chef Javier Canteras cooks Basque and Spanish food at an open kitchen, and the bar pours txakoli, sherry and gin tonics to match.
The pitch is simple. This is a Spanish counter bar built for grazing, not a sit-down tasting menu. Anyone who wants a glass of sherry, a row of pintxos and a seat at the pass will be at home. Anyone after a quiet table for two and a long wine list may prefer a calmer room, because the energy here runs toward the kitchen.
The space is narrow and warm, anchored by a counter that faces the cooks and a short bar built for txakoli poured from height. Tripadvisor reviewers repeatedly call it the best pintxos in Portland, and Wikipedia notes the restaurant's Basque focus and its place in the city's Spanish dining scene. The room fills fast on weekend nights, so the counter is the seat to ask for.
Order from the pintxos board and let it build. The gilda, the skewer of olive, anchovy and guindilla pepper, is the classic first bite, and the tortilla and jamon plates anchor the middle of a meal. Pair early rounds with a glass of txakoli or a fino sherry, then move to a gin tonic, the drink Canteras builds in the Spanish style with a balloon glass and a careful garnish.
The crowd is a mix of Alberta Arts regulars, date-night couples and visitors who came for the pintxos format. It is busiest Friday and Saturday evenings, when the counter turns over and the kitchen runs at full tilt. Reviewers on Yelp point newcomers toward an earlier seating or a weeknight for a calmer counter and a longer conversation with the cooks.
Getting there is easy. The bar sits on NE Alberta Street in the heart of the Alberta Arts District, a stretch of galleries and restaurants on the city's northeast side, and street parking is the norm rather than a lot. The room seats a few dozen between the counter and the tables, which is why the counter facing the open kitchen is the seat regulars name first.
On the food, the kitchen reads as a Basque taberna translated for Portland. Beyond the gilda and the tortilla, the boards run to jamon iberico, croquetas and seasonal vegetable pintxos, and larger plates of paella and seafood anchor a full meal. Bridgetown Bites, writing in 2025, praised the way the menu moves from one-bite pintxos to shared plates without losing the standing-bar spirit it borrows from San Sebastian.
What regulars say tracks across the review sites. Tripadvisor and Yelp writers return to three points: the gildas and tinned-seafood pintxos are the order to lead with, the txakoli and sherry pours are the heart of the list, and the kitchen is at its best when the counter can watch it work. The common note for newcomers is to book ahead on weekends, since the small room and counter seats go quickly once service starts.
Best time to go is early on a weeknight for a counter seat, or the start of weekend service before the room fills. Who it is for: a date that wants something different, a sherry drinker, and anyone who would rather graze a counter than work a full menu. For more rooms like it, see our guide to the best cocktail bars in Portland, the wider Portland bar guide, and our pillar on the best cocktail bars worldwide.
Sources: Urdaneta on Wikipedia; Tripadvisor Urdaneta reviews; Yelp Urdaneta Portland; OpenTable Urdaneta; Bridgetown Bites (2025)
