Gastronomic tourism
A real treat for the palate and the perfect way to complement your trip to Navarre.
Gastronomic experiences
We invite you to take part in some of the fun, educational and even surprising food tourism experiences available, an assortment of which you can find here.
The pintxos route in Pamplona
So, let’s get started! And we’re going to begin with one of the most deeply rooted traditions in the capital of the old Kingdom: going out for pintxos. You’ll soon discover that Pamplona emanates food culture everywhere you turn, and you can find a good example on the counters of its bars. And when is a good time? Well, here we go out for pintxos before lunch or in the early evening, before dinner.
Whether you go for the revered traditional pintxos of txistorra sausage and deep-fried prawn, pepper and egg or would prefer to try miniature haute cuisine with a creative touch, your mouth will start to water with just a glance at the array of food on offer.
You’ll always want to try more!
And now it’s time to eat!
After hearing all this, aren’t you just dying to sit down and eat?
On the one hand, you have those traditional restaurants that appear in all the prestigious Spanish and international guides, including, of course, the odd Michelin-star eatery.
And then you have newer talent, gradually reaping well deserved success thanks to hours and hours of hard work and enthusiasm, all with a good dose of innovation; the traditional cider and grill houses that specialise in serving that irresistible meat and fish cooked till it is “just right”; and one of the latest arrivals on the scene, the Slow Food movement, with its emphasis on chiefly organic, local products and respect for the environment.
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Restaurants with stars and suns
If you've always dreamed of treating yourself to a meal at a restaurant with the odd Michelin star to its name, why not do it in Navarre? Enjoy the presentation, the quality of the ingredients, the flavours and the talent of the chefs at:
- Molino de Urdániz (**) by David Yárnoz.
- Rodero (*) by Koldo Rodero.
- Europe (*) by the Idoate family.
- Kabo (*) by Aarón Ortiz
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Restaurants for foodies
Let’s start with the more established restaurants in the region. Their main objectives? Respect for Navarre’s gastronomic identity, innovation and only using the finest ingredients available.
Check out the Kingdom’s restaurants.
And here’s another association whose members include not only renowned chefs and sommeliers but also younger talent that offers a large dose of creativity at very reasonable prices. Who could resist?
See the restaurants that belong to Zaldicook.
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Cider houses
At the cider houses, particularly from January to May, the menu on offer is very specific and there is one star dish: chorizo cooked in cider. But there are more things, too: cod omelette, cod loins with green peppers, the revered rib-eye steak and, for dessert, cheese with walnuts and quince jelly. Simply delicious! All washed down with the fresh cider of the season that you serve yourself straight from the barrels lining the dining room.
Discover Navarre’s closed-cycle cider houses -
Grill houses
In the local asadores (grill houses), it goes without saying that you can enjoy grilled meat such as rib-eye steak, sirloin steak, lamb cutlets or suckling pig, all paired with a good D.O. Navarra wine, but you can normally find grilled wild-caught fish on the menu there too: tasty hake, monkfish, bream or turbot.
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Locavore restaurants
Navarre’s locavore restaurants (which are called “km 0” here) prepare all their dishes with local, high quality, mainly organic ingredients produced within a radius of less than 100 km. And Navarre was a global pioneer when it opened the first ever Slow Food School at the Ultzama School Farm thanks to the enthusiasm of its founders, Beatriz and Óscar. A true institution since the push traditional food, to savour at your leisure...
Food, the soul of every celebration.
It doesn’t matter when you plan to come, because the hard thing is not to find some kind of food-based celebration somewhere in Navarre. Here are some of the most popular ones, but there are many more.