Best local food to eat along el Camino Francés

[Rociolamaja]

I’m walking now with my daughter from Roncesvalles celebrating our birthdays and I’m finding places with really good local food in El Camino.

I want to mention cafe Ttipia in SJPDP
Hotel Roncesvalles in Roncesvalles
Bar Valentin in Zubiri

Any other places in Navarra we should visit for dinner?

 

[Perambulating Griffin]

When you get to Pamplona and to Logrono, look for spots that are Michelin recommended (even if they are not starred)... also: follow the locals.
Price points on the upper end will still be far below anything you are used to from your area in the US.
When you reach Santiago. do not miss out on O Seindero -- it's just astonishingly lovely. And if you like seafood, eat at the Abastos market in Santiago.
All the joints in the main square in Astorga are "as you would expect" -- BUT --

You can get a very elegant *suite* for a fraction of the cost of anything similar at home and they have a fantastic buffet breakfast, and right across the way, beside the archeology museum for Roman culture, there's a lovely little restaurant (though the name escapes me now).
Have a fantastic journey!

[Thanks to whichever moderator corrected the autocorrect mangling of "Abastos" into "asbestos" --- that's as bad as "allergies" into "allergies".]

 

[jefferyonthecamino]

I’m walking now with my daughter from Roncesvalles celebrating our birthdays and I’m finding places with really good local food in El Camino.

I want to mention cafe Ttipia in SJPDP
Hotel Roncesvalles in Roncesvalles
Bar Valentin in Zubiri

Any other places in Navarra we should visit for dinner?

Katuzarra in Pamplona
La Cepa in Estella
Casa Armendariz in Viana

 

[alexwalker]

I’m walking now with my daughter from Roncesvalles celebrating our birthdays and I’m finding places with really good local food in El Camino.

I want to mention cafe Ttipia in SJPDP
Hotel Roncesvalles in Roncesvalles
Bar Valentin in Zubiri

Any other places in Navarra we should visit for dinner?

In Logrono is the Calle Laurel (Laurel street), famous for the many tapas/wine bars/restaurants.

Calle Laurel - Visita Logroño

Web oficial de turismo del Ayuntamiento de Logroño (La Rioja).

www.visitalogrono.com

 

[alexwalker]

In Santiago is the taverna Do Bispo, 200 m. from the Cathedral, with a big menu, as well as a tapas setting of some 6m. (18 feet)+ in 2 levels.

A Taberna do Bispo, sabores auténticos en el centro de Santiago de Compostela

Restaurante con atmósfera cercana y hogareña para degustar nuestras elaboraciones realizadas con variedad de tapas gallegas, mariscos y vinos regionales.

atabernadobispo.es

 

[alexwalker]

In between, there are so many albergues making communal dinners, as best they can, and often very good. Support the locals, make new friends, and have a splendid time.

 

[oursonpolaire]

A Spanish friend advised me to stay away from restaurants on the main plaza (except in villages and very small towns) and restaurants with English menus. Ask your innkeeper or the barkeep, pointing out that you love Spanish food, and the odds are you'll get a good recommendation-- the Spanish (to generalize) are proud of their country's cuisine and of the region's specialties.

As long as you're staying away from freezer paella, you'll do just fine.

 

[naplesdon]

Some great restaurants in Burgos, Castrojeriz, Fromista, Carrion (esp. San Zoilo), Villalcazar, Ledigos, Astorga and Cacabelos just to name a few towns.

 

[naplesdon]

I forgot to mention the small area of tiny restaurants near Plaza Mayor in Leon

 

[Anhalter]

Can highly recommend these places:

Bar Gaucho · C. Espoz y Mina, 7, 31002 Pamplona, Navarra, Spain

âââââ · Tapas bar

maps.app.goo.gl

Bar Soriano · Tr.ª de Laurel, 2, 26001 Logroño, La Rioja, Spain

âââââ · Tapas bar

maps.app.goo.gl

Bar El soldado de Tudelilla · C/ San AgustÃn, 33, 26001 Logroño, La Rioja, Spain

âââââ · Bar

maps.app.goo.gl

La Taberna de Gaia · LE-142, 24722 Foncebadón, León, Spain

âââââ · Tavern

maps.app.goo.gl

Parrillada Xacobeo Restaurante · Rúa Santiago, 4, 27632 Triacastela, Lugo, Spain

âââââ · Restaurant

maps.app.goo.gl

A Cantina PulperÃa Luis · Rua Calvo Sotelo, 124, 27600 Sarria, Lugo, Spain

âââââ · Galician restaurant

maps.app.goo.gl

Restaurante Mesón A Esquipa · Calle Salceda, 8, 15821 A Salceda, A Coruña, Spain

âââââ · Restaurant

maps.app.goo.gl

Bar O Pedrouzo · Rúa Concello, 3, 15821 O Pedrouzo, A Coruña, Spain

âââââ · Bar & grill

maps.app.goo.gl

 

[Cuttooth]

I have walked the Camino Frances a few times and will be leading a group of my dad's friends this September. Many of them inquired about the food, and I was glad I had been compiling a list of places we enjoyed along the route, along with recommendations from other pilgrims.

Check out https://maps.app.goo.gl/ppgGVubCkpBgDfp98

EDIT: Turns out, some of the places we ate at were on the Michelin list, so I added a few more of their picks and labeled them accordingly.

 

[Rebekah Scott]

Los Palmeros in Fromista.
El Natural in Carrion de los Condes.
El Castillo de Moratinos in Moratinos.
La Curiosa in Mansilla de las Mulas.

 

[Juanma]

Casa Carmen in Estella (just across the street from the municipal albergue).
A Nosa Terra in Palas de Rei, a few meters from the municipal.

 

[KeyserSoza]

In Santiago for a genuine Galician menu in a simple no frills eating house visit
Restaurante Entre Rúas. It’s at the south end of Rua Vilar on lane connecting it to Rua Nova (the name translates as Between Streets).

 

[Tincatinker]

Does anyone know why the “menu Peregrino” persists. Is it ignorance or penitence?

That said there are several meson listed above that I would most definitely not recommend.

It’s hard enough getting a table already.

 

[Rociolamaja]

When you get to Pamplona and to Logrono, look for spots that are Michelin recommended (even if they are not starred)... also: follow the locals.
Price points on the upper end will still be far below anything you are used to from your area in the US.
When you reach Santiago. do not miss out on O Seindero -- it's just astonishingly lovely. And if you like seafood, eat at the Abastos market in Santiago.
All the joints in the main square in Astorga are "as you would expect" -- BUT --

You can get a very elegant *suite* for a fraction of the cost of anything similar at home and they have a fantastic buffet breakfast, and right across the way, beside the archeology museum for Roman culture, there's a lovely little restaurant (though the name escapes me now).
Have a fantastic journey!

[Thanks to whichever moderator corrected the autocorrect mangling of "Abastos" into "asbestos" --- that's as bad as "allergies" into "allergies".]

Thanks so much Perambulating Griffin. We went to a couple of very very good places in Pamplona for pintxos: Bar Gaucho (nothing Argentinian) and Bar Taberna Fitero. Very recommended!

 

[Rociolamaja]

Does anyone know why the “menu Peregrino” persists. Is it ignorance or penitence?

That said there are several meson listed above that I would most definitely not recommend.

It’s hard enough getting a table already.

I agree the pilgrims menu is something sad to see when includes just a pasta. Why not use the traditional local food and replace it with something you could eat wherever?

 

[Rociolamaja]

Los Palmeros in Fromista.
El Natural in Carrion de los Condes.
El Castillo de Moratinos in Moratinos.
La Curiosa in Mansilla de las Mulas.

Hi Rebekah! Thanks for sharing your favs.

 

[Rociolamaja]

I have walked the Camino Frances a few times and will be leading a group of my dad's friends this September. Many of them inquired about the food, and I was glad I had been compiling a list of places we enjoyed along the route, along with recommendations from other pilgrims.

Check out https://maps.app.goo.gl/ppgGVubCkpBgDfp98

EDIT: Turns out, some of the places we ate at were on the Michelin list, so I added a few more of their picks and labeled them accordingly.

This is awesome Cuttooth and I would like to share it outside this community if you don’t mind. I promise to give you the credit. ;-) thanks a lot.

 

[Rociolamaja]

Katuzarra in Pamplona
La Cepa in Estella
Casa Armendariz in Viana

I should have gone to La Cepa en Estella but I changed last minute to BiEnara, a mix of Navarra and PanAsian food. It was OK, but not good.

 

[Rociolamaja]

In between, there are so many albergues making communal dinners, as best they can, and often very good. Support the locals, make new friends, and have a splendid time.

I’m working in an app to support the local makers of food, wine and crafts. I’ll let you know as soon as is ready for download. I would love to hear from someone that cares about the local community. Thanks a lot!

 

[ArtRuiz]

La Moncloa in Cacbelos

 

[Cuttooth]

This is awesome Cuttooth and I would like to share it outside this community if you don’t mind. I promise to give you the credit. ;-) thanks a lot.

You are welcome to share it with whomever you like; no credit is needed. There will likely be some updates as we walk as well.

 

[jefferyonthecamino]

I’m working in an app to support the local makers of food, wine and crafts. I’ll let you know as soon as is ready for download. I would love to hear from someone that cares about the local community. Thanks a lot!

sounds awesome, as I spaniard, pilgrim and foodie, this is just up my road.

 

[Perambulating Griffin]

I agree the pilgrims menu is something sad to see when includes just a pasta. Why not use the traditional local food and replace it with something you could eat wherever?

At a guess… there are a few motivations (in no order):
1) carbo-loading helps pilgrims to walk the next day, even if all the pasta and potatoes are rather bland, and people on these roads have an ancient history of feeding pilgrims so they have it down to a bit of a science (and it’s far more generous now than when it was a bit of barley-bread and beer)
2) much of what is local cannot be sustainably supplied to 2000 extra mouths per village per day in the high season,
3) keeping things economical for purveyors as well as the most tightly budgeted pilgrim (on my first pilgrimage I have to be wildly, wildly careful with every euro; now I get to splurge when I want to… so when I get to larger centres with larger markets, yes, I absolutely indulge, but I remember that I could not always do so)

I came away from my first camino about a decade ago thinking that the food was absolutely the least interesting part, but grateful that I’d been so well nourished all along the way.

 

[JennyH94]

In Burgos I can highly recommend Casa Pancho at Calle San Lorenzo 13, 15. It was founded in 1958 and it serves a fantastic array of both local dishes - eg Burgos lamb - and food offerings from further afield. They have the Tapas Bar side and a casual restaurant side.

On my last two visits to Burgos I made sure to have a meal there - the grilled mushrooms starter and lamb cutlets main course were celestial! There’s a terrific wine list too. Such happy memories of Casa Pancho!

Cheers from Oz -
Jenny

 

[henrythedog]

I agree the pilgrims menu is something sad to see when includes just a pasta. Why not use the traditional local food and replace it with something you could eat wherever?

Price.

Seek out somewhere with a menu del dia and leave the ‘mystery meat and fries’ for others.

 

[Tincatinker]

In Burgos I can highly recommend Casa Pancho at Calle San Lorenzo 13, 15. It was founded in 1958 and it serves a fantastic array of both local dishes - eg Burgos lamb - and food offerings from further afield. They have the Tapas Bar side and a casual restaurant side.

On my last two visits to Burgos I made sure to have a meal there - the grilled mushrooms starter and lamb cutlets main course were celestial! There’s a terrific wine list too. Such happy memories of Casa Pancho!

Cheers from Oz -
Jenny

Oh Jenny what have you done? It’s getting harder and harder to get a table and a meal along the camino, sorry, THE CAMINO, without the impact of the the hordes getting informed . Just imagine if dear old Ghengis’ hordes had known there were two gates into Vienna.

I would hope that Camino veterans of any discretion would recommend only those establishments that they themselves would seek to avoid

 

[tigermike]

Los Caballeros in Santo Domingo de la Calzada - fabulous !