The Top Fine Dining Restaurants in Vitoria-Gasteiz

The only Michelin-starred restaurant in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Zaldiarán is a must-visit for gourmets and foodies. Having won multiple awards, they specialise in Basque cuisine, whilst also providing a number of quality international dishes. Try their Kokotxas – hake cheeks served with peas, pil pil sauce, clams and steamed seaweed, or snails filled with special house sauce.

A restaurant and pintxos bar, Sagartoki has twice been named Spain’s Best Pintxos Bar. Chef Senén González creates main fish dishes such as hake with prawns and potatoes, trout with Piperrada peppers and cod pil pil, as well as delicious pintxos bites such as Mediterranean sushi, fried egg with blue cheese and walnut croquettes, and baby mushroom omelette with truffle and mustard sauce.

An elegant and sophisticated place to dine, Andere offers both tasting menus and à la carte options. Their tasting menu costs €55 and includes dishes such as charcoal-roasted artichokes with parmesan and lime, beech-smoked sardines with lentil sprouts and pickles, and pan-seared scallops with creamed potato and truffled cabbage. On the main menu, diners will find options such as shoulder of lamb roasted in herbs, hazelnuts and sweet garlic and hake cooked with a vegetable ragout.

Housed in a romantic cave-like setting, dining under stone archways, Kaskagorri offers a typical Basque menu. Perhaps begin with peppers filled with anchovies, then move on to cod with spider crab, followed by Idiazabal cheese with membrillo (quince jelly). It’s an excellent place for seafood lovers, serving hake, cod, halibut and skate, but also has a good variety of meat dishes.

Step back in time at El Portalón – an old tavern-style restaurant with chunky black beams and exposed brick walls, decorated with antique-style plates. Choose from starters such as baked spider crab, grilled octopus and ravioli filled with prawns, while mains include roasted lamb chops, roast pork and clams in green sauce. Stunning looking desserts include apple tart with toffee ice cream and raspberry cheesecake.

Contemporary country-kitchen style restaurant, Arkupe has two different areas – a wine and tapas bar and a more formal dining room. The dining room offers a variety of set menus as well as à la carte starters, seafood, fish, meat and desserts. Dishes are modern, fun and colourful and feature plates such as baby squid in ink with wild mushroom risotto, and grilled crayfish.

El Clarete serves a beautiful tasting menu of dainty creative dishes that are made to look like works of art. Menus change throughout the year according to what’s available during the season. Those on a budget can opt for the menú de cuchara costing only €20, while those with a little more to spend can choose a variety of other options.