The pintxo bar circuit is the defining Bilbao social experience. Bars in the Casco Viejo and the Ensanche district lay out elaborate small plates on their counters from around 7pm, and the custom is to move from bar to bar — eating two or three at each, washing them down with a small beer (zurito) or a glass of txakoli. Calle del Perro, Calle Ledesma, and the streets around Plaza Nueva are the best areas to start.