El Portal del Echaurren

While this old building in Ezcaray was founded in 1698 and functioned as a communal food hall and notice board, today it has all the comforts of a modern hotel and two incredible restaurants: El Restaurante Echaurren and El Portal del Echaurren.

The former is headed by the great Marisa who, with over five generations of expertise, makes excellent traditional cuisine.

In El Portal del Echaurren, the menu is based on the creative concoctions of Francis Peniego, the son of Marisa.

Eating in El Portal is an incredible experience. The haute-cuisine has won many accolades over the years, including the La Rioja food championships and the finals for Spain as a whole. It also has a Michelin star.

In the Hotel Echaurren, there are two options to eat: the Echuarren and the Portal.

While the Portal is a good choice for innovative, modern haute-cuisine (Michelin stars, too), the Echaurren leans more towards traditional Riojan cuisine, the cuisine which started it all and to which the other restaurants owe a debt.

We let the wait staff suggest dishes, and the appetizers were delicious. After, they gave us an exquisite sea bass, but what really won us over were the desserts!

The place is a bit more “luxurious” than I’m accustomed to, but truth is that you note the quality with every bite.

The cream of vegetable soup, the croquettes, and the redondo are incredible, not to mention the desserts.

All in all, whatever you order, I’m sure it’ll be great!

The Gastro Bar Echaurren is in the municipality of Ezcaray. This gastro-bar was formerly occupied by a salon in the hotel dedicated to hotel guests. The space has been redesigned and completely transformed. Today, it's open to the public as a Gastro-bardonde serving delicious dishes.