The best restaurants PAYS BASQUE NAVARRE - RIOJA

Restaurant facing the harbour, offering traditional Basque cuisine in a canteen decor. Friendly atmosphere and quality products (especially fish). 

A nice restaurant, where the revisited tradition is the joy of special occasions. Charcoal-grilled meats, fish and seafood.

If we appreciate this restaurant, it is first of all for its privileged location on the ría de Mundaka and its panoramic views over the beach of Laida. Fitted out in a rustic caserío, the restaurant has been extended with a modern extension and a large terrace. The à la carte menu offers good Basque cuisine and brasa grilled fish from the ports of Mundaka and Bermeo. The restaurant also has its own fish tank and offers excellent meats.

A pleasant family-run restaurant.

A singular space with views over the ría, which mixes gastronomy and music, especially jazz. Located inside the Mercado de la Ribera, it is a restaurant, a cocktail bar and a music club. On site, seasonal cuisine prepared with market produce, sophisticated cocktails, and live concerts led by La Ribera Jazz Band. Its programming also includes emerging bands from the local and international scene, and once a month, concerts and activities designed for young audiences!

Located in the main street of the Las Arenas district, this small bar is famous for its many pintxos, especially the tortilla one. At aperitif time, its bar is overrun by pintxo-pote lovers (pintxo and glass of wine), a local custom that is always very popular with visitors! In addition to its inevitable tortilla, try the mini sandwich of bonito (tuna) and green chilli pepper, octopus, stuffed peppers, foie gras... Everything is good, so let yourself be tempted according to the mood of the moment! Informal and local atmosphere.

Located right next to the suspension bridge, this restaurant is run by the young chef Alvaro Martínez, trained in the kitchens of Arzak, Martín Berasategui and El Bulli. With such a culinary background, it is easy to understand the presence of some very modern dishes, such as egg cooked at low temperature, or Asian-inspired dishes, such as nigiri de txangurro (crab). Also on the menu, crispy fritters with chilli and blood sausage, shrimp gyozas, parmentier with mushrooms and oxtail... all to be enjoyed in a beautiful contemporary setting!

The locals flock to this address to taste the menu of the day. On the terrace or inside, in a large, noisy and airy room, gourmets will revel in traditional cuisine, but also more international cuisine served in generous portions. On the menu you will find a wide range of salads and sandwiches, but also more elaborate dishes such as tagliatelle courgette, pork chops a la plancha, beef rib steak and its small vegetables... For dessert, the hot chocolate panna cotta is worth its weight in gold.

La Casa Vieja - Etxe Zaharra is an excellent place to enjoy traditional Basque cuisine, with a magnificent pig or suckling lamb cooked over a wood fire as the ultimate speciality! La casa is also famous for its codfish, in salads or stewed in a squid sauce. You dine in a medieval atmosphere - the rustic decoration has been thought out down to the last detail - just behind the church of Santa Maria. The wine list is generous and lovers of sweet delicacies will find something to put in their mouths at dessert time!

The most prestigious table in Vitoria, run for more than 30 years by chef Patxi Eceiza (holder of a Michelin star for 14 years). Excellent products, inventiveness, charming service, everything is there to enjoy a menu that combines tradition, modernity and daring. Wine lovers will be in heaven here: guided by an experienced sommelier, you are sure to find the perfect match with the dish you ordered. Don't miss the desserts, whose shapes are at least as surprising as their flavours. A real taste adventure!

Modern, in the tradition of the gastrobars that are all the rage in Spain, this restaurant is organised around two well-arranged rooms, with the right design and play of light to create an attractive setting. The menu gives pride of place to "pikoteo" (dishes to share), a good way to dine chic, but informal! A few suggestions to share? Beef carpaccio with mustard or homemade jamón ibérico croquette for carnivores; salmon tartar, octopus sautéed with potatoes or mussels for lovers of marine flavours...

A little out of the city centre and mostly frequented by locals, Bodeguilla Lanciego is a noble house where, since 1959, a local cuisine has been prepared that varies according to the seasons. Everything is very fresh and absolutely delicious, with the proposals changing according to the products on the market. However, there are always some specialities, such as sea bream (besugo) and cazuelitas with anchovies, cod or piquillo peppers, to be enjoyed in a sober and elegant setting. A gourmet address that has become an institution in Vitoria.

Located on the port, Txoko, also the famous grilled fish < i > the parilla < /i > offers, to enjoy in the dining room or on the pretty terrace facing the port. Stuffing presentation of dishes and friendly service.

Specializing in seafood grills, this restaurant, founded in 1964 by Pedro Arregui, is a Getaria institution. His son Aitor has taken up the torch and perpetuates the art of parrilla grilling. This is how freshly caught lobster, crawfish or sea bream masterfully pass over the coals before ending up on your plate. In 2014, it was awarded a Michelin star, while in 2019 it made it into the World's 50 Best Restaurants ranking. A stone's throw away, the charming Elkano bar (Elkano, 13) serves pintxos and raciones.

Restaurant with terrace where you can taste simple and tasty cuisine in a local atmosphere. The place, unpretentious, serves a very good menu of day, with cider in accompaniment!

La Taberna de Ollari is an elegant little restaurant with a contemporary spirit that offers a traditional menu where you can try the local specialities - patatas a la riojana, pochas beans, lamb chops, boletus risotto with parmesan cheese, pears in wine, fresh cheese pie and red fruits, etc. - and also a wide range of other local specialities. In the tavern area, you can share good food in a more informal atmosphere, and you can linger for whoever wants, Rioja obliges, on the many labels that the tavern keep in stock. Good value for money!

An old bodega from the 17th century converted into a restaurant, which preserves traditional "calados" (underground bodegas). Opened in 1994, a terrible fire ravaged the place, which reopened in 2001. Surrounded by huge gardens, the restaurant houses several rooms with stone walls and exposed beams. In this beautiful setting, you can taste many specialties of the region: menestra de verduras (vegetable gardener), pisto riojano (frying of different vegetables), cochinillo asado (grilled suckling pig)..

An excellent restaurant with a classic decoration, where you can enjoy, after a tasty starter (carpaccio, finely presented salads or homemade jamón ibérico croquette, for example), grilled meat and fish "a la parilla": lamb chops, beef entrecote, turbot, hake... Seasonal vegetables are also on the menu, including the unmissable menestra, but also asparagus, peas, truffles, artichokes, mushrooms, piparras, Rioja thistle and broad beans... A delicacy!

Founded in 1884, this renowned table is run by the fourth generation of the Cámara family. It is located in a beautiful 17th century mansion on the water's edge, from where one can contemplate the comings and goings of the boats. In the large, bright room, you will enjoy a tasty Basque cuisine, based on seafood and served with a smile. Note the amazing natural fish pond in the centre of the comedor, from where the lobsters and crayfish are brought up and served on the plates! An unmistakable Pasaia classic for enjoying seafood cuisine.

A Logroño classic. Founded in 1903, this restaurant has been run since its beginnings by the Arechinolaza family. Among its illustrious visitors are Ernest Hemingway, Anthony Quinn and members of the Spanish royal family. In a classic setting, with all the charm of history, the friendly chef Txebiko serves excellent traditional cuisine that highlights local products: grilled artichokes with ham, potatoes with chorizo, pochas (white beans) in season, bacalao ajoarriero (cod with garlic, chillies and tomato). A sure bet!

At Bodegón Sarria, an address that has a rather good reputation in town, there are a few tables and a large bar where you can enjoy pintxos made with ham and cold meats. Treat yourself to a ration of "5 Jotas", a top-quality Iberian ham, accompanied by a glass of Rioja. Popular atmosphere in this large room where silence has definitely not taken over. Be careful, seating is expensive here, so expect, like almost everyone else here, to eat standing up! Perfect for a typical restorative stopover.

This 18th century farmhouse offers a very pleasant setting with its cosy lounges and large garden where you can enjoy delicious grilled meats, a speciality of the house. The chuletas, turbots, monkfish cooked in their simplest apparatus are superb. They participate in the elaboration of a local cuisine where Iberian ham, asparagus and piquillos are the kings of the fiesta. Note that their Kobe meat comes from a farm in Hondarribia that specializes in this breed of Japanese origin. In season, try the guindillas and tomatoes from the vegetable garden!

Andoni Luis Aduriz, a chef with an impressive career, who trained in the kitchens of El Bulli, is no longer in the picture. Winner of the National Gastronomy Prize in 2002, he is known for his creativity and his taste for innovation, often going beyond the limits of cooking to rub shoulders with the world of art. The human-size dining room, which contains around 40 seats, is a serene place to rub shoulders with the high gastronomy that Andoni Luis Aduriz defends, constantly playing between innovation and Basque tradition.

Located in an old fisherman's house in Puerto Viejo, this charming little restaurant has been run by the same family for 50 years. Here, you can feast on fresh fish and seafood that varies according to the catch and the season, as well as tasty traditional recipes such as cod in Biscayan sauce or kokotxas in pil-pil sauce. An honest cuisine highlighting the products of the sea, to be enjoyed in a charming comedor in the colors of the ocean, under beautiful beams weathered by time.

The Navarra restaurant offers dinner in a typical Navarrese setting, where even the waiters are dressed in traditional costumes. On the menu: stuffed asparagus, hake Navarrese-style hake, braised pork or green beans... The menu is tempting and the plates are full, to be accompanied by good wine! The decoration plays the medieval card to the full, with carved wooden ceilings, heavy armchairs with coats of arms and mosaics on the walls... An experience that is both fun and brings us a little closer to Navarrese folklore.

Zurima is a small restaurant dedicated to world cuisine in the San Francisco area. Its vintage decoration and its good home cooking, which mixes without complex the most varied influences, are the key of its success. Here, the menu is constantly changing according to the season's products and the mood of the moment, but don't hesitate to try its daily menu: it's a sure bet! Black rice with squid ink, Thai salad with shrimps, green beef curry, grilled cauliflower with ras el-hanout (spices) and its couscous: a festival of flavors from all over the world!

This beautiful hotel offers rooms that are much more comfortable than what pilgrims are used to - and also much more expensive. But if you feel like a comfortable stopover for one or two nights to relax your legs, this is the place to be. Modern and tasteful design, spacious rooms with large windows. The gourmet restaurant is also of an excellent standard, and the spa will complement your stay superbly.

A small restaurant with an intimate atmosphere, where you feel almost at home. Located just a stone's throw from the old bridge of La Cárcel, this "gastronomic workshop" functions as both a restaurant and a cooking school. Every day at lunchtime, you can taste good dishes made with organic or local products: vegetable wok, chicken cannelloni, grilled chipirons with onions... On Fridays and Saturdays in the evening, possibility of nibbling sandwiches on the spot.

Welcome to Gorka Irisarri, chef acclaimed worldwide for his creations and publications. His Basque cuisine is creative and innovative. Irisarri sees his craft as an ephemeral art form, at the center of which lies a precious raw material: local, seasonal produce. You can go there to pick up a few dishes from the à la carte menu, or to try the tasting menu (which is particularly worthwhile!). You can also opt for the wine pairing option. Bon appétit!