Top Restaurants in Province of Alava
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Province of Alava Food Guide: 10 Must-Eat Restaurants & Street Food Stalls in Province of Alava
Discover the best restaurant in Province of Alava, Spain including Asador Etxebarri, Andra Mari Restaurant, Restaurante El Clarete, El Porron, Zaldiaran, Boroa, Hector Oribe, Restaurant Marques de Riscal, Taberna Tximiso, Amelibia
Things to do in Province of Alava
1. Asador Etxebarri
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 688 reviews
Reviewed By JVMTDK - Dronninglund, Denmark
Yet another visit to (for me) the best restaurant known to mankind - this time together with 21 close friends and family members to celebrate my 40th birthday.
Re-visiting ones absolute favourite places is a risky business - usually "You can't go home again" - and I have often been disappointed when I tried to repeat the magic in other places. Most change sooner or later.
This time I had my concerns - could the Etxebarri experience be the same in a larger group? Would everything be as perfect as usual? All my guests had travelled far and had high expectations.
Etxebarri didn't let me down the slightest bit - they performed flawlessly and again went beyond my expectations.
Everyone was ecstatic and we all had a day we will never forget. Don't even get me started on the food and the wine - words are not enough.
I don't know what guide Michelin are thinking about, but none of the three star places I have visited come even close to Etxebarri in flavour and sheer enjoyment.
This is great food in its simplest form and it's so hard to do, because there is nowhere to hide, no fancy sauces to impress with, no visual tricks etc. Every time I notice new subtle details which are amazing to discover. Clearly a lot of thinking and hard work went into developing each dish.
Victor does not like to be called a genius, but there is no other word that comes to my mind. He's also a humble guy who prefers to stay in his kitchen - in contrast to many other chefs who promotes and expands endlessly.
Etxebarri has recently "become" no. 6 on the 50 best restaurants of the world - but note the irony in the fact that Victor opened in 1990 and very little has changed in the years I have been coming there. It's not trend or fashion, it's excellence in it's purest form.
Thank you Victor, thank you Agustí and your team - our respect for you only grows and we already look forward to our next visit.
And to everyone else: something that cannot continue forever will eventually stop. Etxebarri has been in business for 27 years which is a long time in this industry - go while it's still like it has always been.
2. Andra Mari Restaurant
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 240 reviews
Reviewed By marquesa_de_parabere - Catalonia, Spain
We tried the gastronomic menu. We were offered to enjoy the beautiful Terrace with views over the valley. Though the restaurant lacked of wine pairing, the head waiter offered us very interesting wines, like a txakoli vermouth and a late harvest txakoli. The menu consisted of different elaborations with mushrooms, vegetables, fish and meat, all of them very tasty, finely cooked and served. The price is quite reasonable for a restaurant of this level.
3. Restaurante El Clarete
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 456 reviews
Reviewed By 101coastie - Portland, Oregon
A friend who is a chef in the Basque Country recommended this, and we were NOT disappointed. The interior is nicely furnished, small, and intimate. The owner/host speaks good English, has a huge smile, and instantly makes you feel welcome.
There is no menu: you just take what they offer that day, with consideration given to food allergies, etc by the host. The presentations are excellent, and the food is firstrate: every course was just perfect! Vitoria is an interesting city, and this small excellent restaurant stands our among our many choices on a long recent trip to Spain. Highly recommended, would returnin a minute!
4. El Porron
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 183 reviews
Reviewed By aner g - Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
If you enjoy basic but delicious Basque/Northern Spanish food and do not care too much about a fancy environment, this is the place.
The traditional "txuleton" (big steak) is one of the best in the Basque Country, and at just 25 euros per kilo, a real bargain. The fish and sea-food are also excellent and very moderately priced.
Beware though, no English spoken...Still, well worth it!
5. Zaldiaran
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 574 reviews
Reviewed By hacrobaat - Brussels, Belgium
When you visit a one star restaurant you expect a gastronomical adventure combining fresh and tasteful products creatively combined in exquisitely presented dishes. You get all of this here. We choose the "Menú degustación OTOÑO 2016" combining 3 appetizers, 5 main dishes and 2 desserts and includes wines, water and coffee at an amazing attractive price of 63€. During our week stay in the Basque region, we never found a better price/quality ratio than here.
About the food ... What I really appreciated is the tastefulness of the dishes. In many star-restaurants, the culinary experiments result in too delicate tastes that often get lost after the 4th course. Not here, the tastes are fresh, explicit, delicious, ....
About the service ... After a day hiking at the Salto de Nervion, we arrived kinda under-dressed at the restaurant. Despite that, the welcome was very friendly and professional. The waiters did their very best to accommodate us. They used English and French to explain the dishes. The restaurant is chique and tastefully decorated but there's a coziness you do not find in most Michelin-star restaurants.
The restaurant has no private parking but we easily found a parking space in the streets nearby.
Tip: The pictures on the website are very realistic. They show exactly how you the dishes are presented (nov 2016)
If we return in the neighborhood we'll surely return to explore other menu's or eat à la carte.
6. Boroa
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 352 reviews
Reviewed By Evoqueen - Frankfurt, Germany
I had visited this restaurant a few years ago and happened to be in the area so I took the chance to see if they had improved further. And they had! I chose fresh asparagus for starters which were beautfully decorated and then for the main course a filet steak. The waiter kindly offered a half portion so that I could have a dessert as well. This takes the review to a definite five star. The dessert was a mango pavlova with all the bubbly effects intact on the plate.
The interior is also something to be impressed by: a huge dining area with an ambience of brasserie in the middle of the country side. Speciality is obviously parilla so this permeates the place. Huge green areas surround the place with an equally large Terrace. You can linger on here and have coffee and if you need to drive spend the time relaxing and let the dinner settle first.
7. Hector Oribe
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 279 reviews
Reviewed By TreyofLON - London
We detoured to this small village for lunch which was as amazing. The food is well presented, interesting flavours and well executed. Not necessarily Michelin star food, but certainly aspiring. We had the tasting menu for €40 and the waitress was flexible enough to exchange one dish for another. Only one of them spoke English so we didn't have any issues communicating. Great value wine list including a small selection of half bottles. The walk back to LaGuardia wasn't too bad either albeit an uphill walk without much shade. Overall well worth the effort.
Don't come early as there is not much to see and do in this tiny town, unless you are visiting the fantastic Torre del Onas winery nearby (booking required).
8. Restaurant Marques de Riscal
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 439 reviews
At the Michelin star and Repsol sun-awarded restaurant Marques de Riscal, exquisite dishes created by the prestigious Chef Francis Paniego can be tasted accompanied by some of the estate’s finest vintages. Its culinary excellence and superb levels of service have earned the restaurant a prestigious Michelin star and helped make it one of the hottest destinations in the region for gourmands. Located on the second floor of the hotel, the dining room is a masterful exercise in design. Wine aficionados will be drawn to the bespoke Frank Gehry-designed display wall containing a large selection of fine vintages from the Marqués de Riscal cellars as well as more than 200 international labels.
Reviewed By martinezcm - Kansas City, Missouri
Frank Gehry´s creation at bodegas del Marques de Riscal is a worldwide attention getter. Those wine colored theme exterior metal panels are unique and a fabulous contrast to the stark Spanish earth tones constructions of the town and the spot from which to view the nearby sierra. The restaurant was always good and now has been awarded a well-deserved Michelin star. We chose the 14 ideas menu since we were in a leisurely drive through Rioja country. It is a menu to enjoy slowly in such a relaxing environment. There were 14 small portions which were exquisitely presented and of interesting flavors. All, with the exception of the hake, were outstanding with the ravioli
leading the charge and the pigeon breast the best we had ever had in Spain including one at a prominent 2 Michelin starred restaurant. The wine selection is very good and a selection of Marques de Riscal whites very well priced.
The service was good, well informed and polite.
They have a next door traditional restaurant at lower pricing that they recommended for those wanting something simpler and faster. Yet, their prime restaurant is their crown jewel and worth a detour when traveling those lands.
9. Taberna Tximiso
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 563 reviews
Reviewed By FreoOz - Fremantle, Australia
We called into the Taberna after arriving by bicycle in Vitoria-Gasteiz for a mid morning snack/tapas and from our initial entry we were greeted like long lost friends. The waiter behind the bar was very friendly and helpful and even though we have a poor grasp of Spanish he assisted us with our choice. We got talking to the owner (I think) and as we enjoyed our second coffee and tea he brought to our table a delicious example of a Basque tapas delicacy called Txangurro. We went to pay and the manager then presented us with our bill which was a fraction of what we had ordered - he said it was his pleasure to provide us with the tapas. Absolutely amazing kind and generous service. Thank you for making our visit to your beautiful city so memorable.
10. Amelibia
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 374 reviews
Reviewed By Ken A
A delightful experience. Visited for dinner and all the dishes were excellent. As usual in Spain the restaurant didn't open until 9pm but we got a warm welcome and attentive service. Traditional Spanish cuisine cooked to a high standard. I think the restaurants' business is largely the lunchtime crowd and that it only opens for dinner twice a week. So make sure and I think a reservation is essential.
The only problem is parking. LaGuardia is an attractive medieval hillside town built when they didn't have cars. They seem to do their best to accommodate visitors but there just isn't anywhere to park.
