What to eat and where in La Rioja: 5 typical dishes and 7 restaurants

Eat in La Rioja It is a real joy due to the enormous Gastronomical variety of the region.

Garden, meats and spoon dishes where above all the important thing is to enjoy.

We have to admit that when we travel we love to try the typical dishes of the place we travel.

We always spend time searching good restaurants, because gastronomy is part of culture and tells a lot about each place and its ways of life.

In coastal areas, fish and seafood, just as the mountains offer good meats, or places with low temperatures, spoon dishes are the kings of the menu.

And whenever we think about going back to The Rioja, we know that we are guaranteed to eat very well.

We are going to show you what for us are some of the Best restaurants, where to eat the typical dishes of La Rioja and where to enjoy your gastronomy and, of course, of their famous wines.

What is the typical food of La Rioja?

La Rioja brand It is well known throughout the world for its wine, one of the most prestigious in the world.

And it is known that where you drink good wine, you also eat luxuriously.

But the best of all is that the list of typical dishes is very long, but there are some that are essential to eat in La Rioja.

Caparrones

Caparrones are a type of small pinto bean but with an impressive flavor.

It is without a doubt, one of the best spoon dishes that can be tried not only in La Rioja, but throughout Spain.

They are usually accompanied with chillies called joys that enhance the flavor and give it a spicy touch.

Potatoes and Cod a la Riojana

There are two dishes with their own names that are truly representative of the region and that is essential to eat in La Rioja.

We refer as no to the Potatoes and Cod in La Riojana.

The first is an ideal stew for those foggy winter days that make you warm up.

El Rioja-style cod It is the other dish that includes the name of the region.

And despite La Rioja not being located on the seashore, its proximity and connection with the Basque coast has made cod become part of Riojan cuisine.

Un cod with garden peppers that we always ask ourselves every time we return.

Vegetable stew

The Rioja It is wine and garden, that is why stew cannot be missing among the essential things to eat in La Rioja.

Depending on the season, the ingredients vary slightly, but what never changes is the quality and how satisfying it is to eat vegetables full of flavor.

Although you can eat it all over the region, one of the best places to try it is Calahorra, population known as The orchard of La Rioja.

Chamarito lamb chops with vine shoots

I have to admit that I don't usually eat lamb, but every time I travel to La Rioja it is a dish that is not missing from my diet.

And the way it is cooked with vine wood gives it a special flavor and makes it essential to try it if it is your first time visiting the region.

There are few lambs better than those made in this area of ​​Spain.

borage

As we have told you, the Vegetable stew is something very Riojan, but among all the vegetables there is one that is very local that we love.

Borages are one of the noblest vegetables in the garden and in La Rioja they grow wild. They are only produced during their season but they are delicious.

They are similar to chard and are usually cooked sautéed with a garlic sauce that is luxurious.

Although there are restaurants like some of the ones I'm going to tell you about later that cook it in a traditional way, others dare to make innovations.

A dish to try without a doubt.

Where to Eat in La Rioja?

Places to eat in La Rioja There are thousands, and in every town there is at least one restaurant where you can eat luxuriously.

But after many trips around the province and after having eaten in several restaurants, there are some that we love.

We are going to show you a selection of sites that we recommend, knowing that a good experience is guaranteed.

La Comedia Restaurant (Calahorra)

As a first recommendation, we want to show you a restaurant that we visited on our last trip and that has more than earned its way into this selection.

The restaurant is called The comedy and is located in the aforementioned population of Calahorra.

And being in Calahorra, it is evident that their specialty is vegetables and vegetables.

It uses very local products grown in the same town, such as borage, cauliflower, zucchini or pepper, and gives them a different touch that is so appreciated when you eat vegetables.

Some dishes that we tried and loved, and that we will return one day to have again, were the cauliflower bonbon, sautéed borage with prawns and garlic fresh in meat juice or spaghetti from La Rioja replacing the pasta with zucchini.

It is one of the restaurants that best prepares vegetables of all those we have tried in Spain and if that were not enough, it is a very affordable restaurant.

Half price: 15-25 euro.

Sopitas Restaurant (Arnedo)

When we were visiting Arnedo We asked about a restaurant to eat at, and everyone recommended it to us and after visiting it, we understood why.

Arnedo It is a town of The Rioja famous for its caves and precisely in one of them is the restaurant Soups.

The place is spectacular, a large cave, an old winery, where you can eat in several spaces set up as reserved areas, but although the place has great charm, the best thing is the food.

We are not exaggerating if we tell you that here we have tried some of the the best Croquetas that we have ever tried.

Be careful with the combination because it is impressive how good they are, roasted garlic, bacon and chorizo, simply incredible.

But it is not only the Croquetas, it is also very worth trying the roasted goat meat, chamarito lamb chops and the famous Sopitas roasted peppers, a dish for which many Riojans come to this restaurant.

Half price: 40-50 euro.

Lumbre Restaurant (Casalarreina)

The next restaurant is called Fire and it is in Casalarreina, small town near Haro, where you also find another highly recommended and famous restaurant, The Old Winery.

But on this occasion we are going to refer to the aforementioned Fire, also located in an old winery, which is committed to a more elaborate cuisine with two tasting menus to choose from, one with 10 dishes and another longer one with 14.

Furthermore, in this restaurant the wine list stands out, very extensive and full of wines from La Rioja ordered by the different areas in which they are made.

Of the 10 dishes we tried, since we chose the short menu, we decided without a doubt on the Najerano roasted pepper, creamy fish soup, roasted leek with mushroom salad and Hazelnut stew with grilled chorizo ​​and pickled chili pepper.

As you can see, all the dishes are made with products from the Riojan garden.

Tasting menu prices: Fire, 65 euros (short); Lumbre, 95 euros (Largo), drinks apart.

Masip House (Ezcaray)

With Masip House What happens to us is that it is one of those places that you grow fond of because the treatment is always very close and familiar, without forgetting the important thing in these cases, the food is impressive.

Masip House is located in the heart of Ezcaray, one of the most beautiful towns in La Rioja, at the foot of the Sierra de La Demanda.

We highlight Masip House for the good food in the restaurant, and also for the pinchos on offer at the bar.

One of the best places to eat in Ezcaray.

Indeed, you are a place with two spaces where you can eat, either the restaurant, which offers you more tranquility, or if you have less time, the bar with a wide variety of delicious pinchos.

It doesn't matter what you order, everything has that taste of homemade food how well it fits especially in winter, and even more so if you have spent the morning skiing in the Valdezcaray ski resort.

Although we liked everything we tried both in the restaurant and in the bar, we would highlight the caparrones, which were finger-licking good, and the eggplant skewers and the breaded alegrías.

Half price: 30-40 euros in the restaurant, and 1-20 euros in the pincho bar.

Zaldierna Rural House (Zaldierna)

Zaldierna It is a small village of stone houses, a district of Ezcaray where surprisingly there is a restaurant where you can eat luxuriously.

El Zaldierna rural house restaurant has a menu very in tune with the environment, with game products and elaborate homemade dishes.

Zaldierna is located at the foot of the mountain where what is popular is eating warm by the fire.

Deer Carpaccio, Carrilleras with red wine, shin, pochas with chorizo or some impressive Croquetas, are some of the dishes that you can eat and that are 100% recommended.

But the menu varies depending on the season, adapting to the products of each season of the year, but what does not vary is how well it is eaten.

A small place where it is advisable to make a reservation and to which it is always a pleasure to return.

Half price: 30-40 euro.

Los Caballeros Restaurant (Santo Domingo de la Calzada)

Santo Domingo de la Calzada It is a town very close to Ezcaray, with a great cultural heritage in full the Camino de Santiago, making it a fairly common visit for everyone who visits La Rioja.

And here is a very interesting restaurant.

El Los Caballeros Restaurant It is a very good place to try the Rioja-style cod.

On our visit we tasted the cod in two different preparations, to the Rioja y grilled with peppers and onion, and malso highly recommended garlic soup.

Half price: 40-50 euro.

Los Cucharones (Pradillo)

On our last trip through the Cameros region, We have been able to discover one of those restaurants that we really like.

In the small town of Pradillo we visited The Ladles, a traditional restaurant with absolutely homemade cuisine.

A stone-walled restaurant so typical of the area, with its fireplace and wooden beams.

The food is made with local products and is prepared simply but very tasty.

Caparrones, steak, borage, Pradejón mushrooms even 100% Riojan cheesecake.

Half price: Weekend menu 25 Euros

Restaurants with Michelin Stars in La Rioja

In all lists of Best restaurants premises are always included with Michelin stars, since it is the greatest world gastronomic distinction.

En The Rioja There are many restaurants with a Michelin starSpecifically, in Logroño there are restaurants Black garlic, ikaro and the japanese Kiro Sushi,

And outside the capital there are Cloud in Haro and Sale Moncalvillo in Daroca de Rioja, which this year has obtained the Green Star, a distinction that highlights restaurants that base their cuisine on sustainability and kilometer 0 products.

But above all with 2 Michelin stars, is the Echaurren Portal in Ezcaray, which is probably the most famous restaurant in La Rioja.

A good approximation to Echaurren Portal it's the restaurant Tondeluna, from the same owners and at a more affordable price than most of the Michelin star, in the heart of Logroño, where on one of our most recent trips we enjoyed a more informal meal.

In short, gastronomy is another great attraction when traveling to La Rioja.