Dining in Pamplona during the Running of the Bulls® can be a challenge. Our Pamplona Restaurant Guide helps you navigate the complicated adventure of finding good food during fiesta. Most mid-range establishment trim their menu to offer what is quick and easy to serve – Bocadillos (sandwiches) and maybe Fritos (fried food). Fine dining restaurants cater to long-term, loyal clients who book months in advance for lunches and dinners during the San Fermin Festival. One bright spot during Fiesta is the traditional Basque Cider Houses or Cidrerias and Asadors, which are equipped for large groups and serve up hearty steaks and fresh fish. Your best bet is to book pre-paid Pamplona restaurant reservations with us, in order to ensure you really have a table. The best restaurants require pre-paid bookings, because some people tend to drink a bit too much and forget they have a table booked. This way, the restauranteur has a guarantee we’ll show up for dinner.
Running of the Bulls, Inc. works with local Pamplona restaurants and event organizers to present Pamplona restaurant offers. Use the following list to compare your San Fermin dining choices, or if you’re interested in travel advice for your entire trip, we highly suggest completing our Pamplona Expert Travel Advice form.
Consult our experts to help pick the right Running of the Bulls 2024 travel package for you. These exclusive packages also include: Pamplona baclony rentals, Pamplona hotel rentals, and bullfight tickets, and much more.
Pamplona Fine Dining
Indulge in not one, but three Michelin-starred restaurants during your travels to Pamplona, Spain. Fine dining restaurants cater to loyal long-term clients who book months in advance for lunches and dinners during the San Fermin Festival. Your best bet is to book pre-paid reservations with us to ensure seating. The city’s most elite restaurants always require pre-paid bookings, particularly during the Running of Bulls.
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Rodero Restaurant
Rodero, is a family business with over 40 years offering creative cuisine of the highest quality with its own unique identity. Its Chef, Koldo, holds a Michelin Star and his cuisine is characterized by loving affection and detail in the creation of new flavors that are the fruit of traditional products from the Navarran Region - a vanguardism and imagination that combine to produce the resulting exceptional cuisine. The restaurant is located immediately across from Pamplona's Bull Ring. It makes Rodero the perfect place to enjoy an amazing lunch or dinner before of after bullfights. This restaurant can be booked as part of one of our Pamplona Tour Packages.Read more
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Chez Belagua Restaurant
Chez Belagua welcomes you to the Basque region with a traditional cider house menu accompanied by cider and Navarran wines. Located on Estafeta—the festival’s most famous street—Chez Belagua is a lively dining experience in the heart of the festival. This restaurant can be booked as part of one of our Pamplona Tour Packages.Read more
Pamplona Dinner Options
It’s not difficult to find good food during the San Fermin Fiesta. Most mid-range eateries trim their menu to items that are quick easy to serve – including Bocadillos (sandwiches) and Fritos (fried food). From casual restaurants that focus on simple regional cooking and cheerful cafes to award-winning establishments, Pamplona is home to excellent cuisine. If you’re craving some savory nibbles and wine, Pamplona’s Old Quarter has dozens of bars and smaller restaurants that specialize in budget-friendly pinxtos.
Local Cuisine in Pamplona
Many would argue that Pamplona’s social life revolves around pintxos and wine. In terms of local cuisine, nothing better exemplifies vibrant Navarran flavors than these bite-sized delicacies we know as tapas. Some of our favorite places to sample Pamplona’s signature snack include:
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Cuadrilla Dinner & Pamplona’s Famous Fireworks
Read moreEach night of the festival, we host a dinner where we dine as a group--a Cuadrilla--like the locals do in the streets. Our Cuadrilla is held inside the beautiful Baluarte Arts Centre, with free flowing wine and delicious meal prepared by a local chef. Afterwards, we join Pamplona VIPs for a cocktail on the roof of the Baluarte and watch Pamplona's famous fireworks.*
*Baluarte does not permit children under 12 on the rooftop terrace for the fireworks. If you are traveling with young children, please purchase the dinner-only option for those who will not attend the rooftop fireworks.
This activity can be booked as part of one of our Pamplona Tour Packages.
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Lunchtime Tapas and Wine
What better way to start your exploration of Basque wine and tapas than a guided tasting with a local expert! Take a seat in a tapas bar open exclusively to our guests, and taste your way through three local wines, each paired with its own pintxo. The tasting is accompanied by commentary from a local food and wine expert who will discuss the wines and the innovative pintxos, which present traditional Basque cooking with a twist. Children are welcome and have their own menu of croquettes, ham sandwich, and orange juice.Read more
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Welcome Tapas and Cathedral Tour
July 5th only! The night before the festival begins, we welcome our guests with an exclusive tour of Pamplona's famous Cathedral by a local guide, followed by delicious tapas accompanied by fine wines of the Navarra region. The event is held in the inner court of the Cathedral as a private reception. Our team will be present to answer any questions you may have before the fiesta starts. This activity can be booked as part of one of our Pamplona Tour Packages.Read more
For Pamplona nightlife, we highly recommend a stop at the former Bar La Carbonera at Calle Olite 12. This live music venue has recently been reborn as Rockollection Bar Live with concerts each Friday night during the year, and nightly during the Fiesta.