Casa Julián in Tolosa was inaugurated in 1954 by Julián Rivas, an active fruit seller who, after long conversations with a friend recently arrived from Argentina, decided to convert his fruit shop into a grill house, thus becoming one of the first grillers of what is today a Basque tradition. Thus, he was a precursor of the current Basque grill houses and, furthermore, Julián was the creator of the famous piquillo peppers of the Casa.

Thanks to his reflections on mastering fire and embers, he invented the inclined and rod grill that is still used today in Casa Julián in Tolosa, and has been imitated countless times everywhere.
After the retirement of Julián Rivas, the grill house passed into the hands of Matías Gorrotxategi, who established it as a world benchmark for meat grilling. His sons Mikel, Xabi and Iñaki have continued his work, each leading the three establishments.