NAVARRA - IRUÑA - PAMPLONA PINCHO BAR CRAWL - OLD TOWN
Pamplona/Iruña is the historical capital of Navarre/Navarra and was the capital of the medieval Kingdom of Navarre. In the early 16th century, Castile conquered the southern part of the kingdom and later incorporated it into the Crown of Castile. The city is famous worldwide for the running of the bulls during the San Fermín festival, which is held annually from July 6 to 14. This festival gained literary renown with the 1926 publication of Ernest Hemingway’s novel, The Sun Also Rises. On this occasion, we had a pincho bar crawl through Pamplona’s Old Town.
We stayed at:
CASA OTANO BAR RESTAURANTE
Bajo, Calle de San Nicolás 5, 31001 Pamplona, Navarra
+34 948 22 26 38
This hostal is right on Calle de San Nicolás. It is also home to Bar Otano, one of Pamplona’s oldest pincho bars, which you can see below.
The bar is on one of the liveliest streets for drinking and pinchos.
They prepare all kinds of croquetas, chistorras, tortillas, and mini hamburgers. It also has an excellent restaurant on the upper floor with a balcony overlooking the street below.
Upper floor restaurant.
It also offers a selection of special pinchos at the bar. These include zucchini stuffed with shellfish or fresh foie with raisin bread and Modena sauce.
We started with the Bar Otano chistorras.
We then moved on to:
LA MANDARRA DE LA RAMOS
Calle de San Nicolás, 9, 31001 Pamplona, Navarra
+34 948 21 26 54
This modern tavern blends traditional style with beautiful décor, making it one of the area’s busiest. Its pepper pincho is a favourite among fried-food lovers, and its tapas selection includes other delicacies such as the boletus (mushroom) pincho, fresh vegetable croquetas, toast with piquillo peppers, and anchovies from Santoña. It's also one of Pamplona’s best pincho bars, and we had a great jamón tapa.
Jamón de Cebo Ibérico 50% Raza Ibérica de Huelva.
Next up was:
BASERRIBERRIE
Calle de San Nicolás 32, 31001 Pamplona, Navarra
+34 674 67 29 53
Here you will find more modern pinchos, like the Boombeja, which won the 2017 Pincho Award and is made with bread from sheep’s milk, truffled lactonesa (a type of sauce), cod ceviche, foie, champagne, and truffle. You can continue the sensory experience at their avant-garde restaurant. We had croqueta Semana (mushroom croquette).
Frito sin gluten.
Exo Talo (crab wrap).
Our next stop was:
CAFÉ ROCH
Calle Comedias, 6, 31001 Pamplona, Navarra.
+34 948 22 23 90
This family affair was established in 1898 on the very same street where it now resides. The history and culture of Pamplona have been preserved in full here.
With its old-style décor and strong commitment to tradition in how it makes its coffee and food, this small café has become world-famous for its fritos (large, filled croquettes) with a wide variety of fillings. There’s usually a selection of at least a dozen, depending on when you get there. All are crisp on the outside and soft in the middle, perfect for eating with a fork.
We then walked up the steps and onto Plaza del Castillo and popped into
CAFÉ IRUÑA
Plaza del Castillo 44, 31001 Pamplona, Navarra +34 948 22 20 64
Café Iruña is one of Pamplona’s most famous bars and an excellent spot for an authentic taste of Pamplona’s culture and a great-quality café con leche. Time stands still here. Established in 1888, it is one of the most symbolic corners of the old town.
After Ernest Hemingway immortalised Café Iruña and Pamplona in his novel The Sun Also Rises, many visit the café, not just for the coffee, but to experience Pamplona as Hemingway did in his literary travels. It was the first establishment in Pamplona to have electricity and exudes Spanish style and tradition. It is like a ghost from the 19th century, with vast, polished mirrors fixed to its walls, Arabesque pillars rising to the ornate ceiling, and the tiled floor scuffed by decades of chair legs scraping backwards.
It still has a local feel. On weekday mornings, sipping café con leche, you are still surrounded by elderly matriarchs huddled in pairs at rounded tables. Hemingway is here too. He’s a swarthy statue standing by the bar in a side room that, until Spain enforced a ban, was the smoking area.
This is the Fifties Hemingway, full of face, and the scowl upon it conveys what would indeed have been his opinion of Spain’s new tobacco ban. We visit here for the atmosphere and a drink, but the food is better elsewhere.
CAFÉ BAR GAUCHO
Calle de Espoz y Mina 7, Plaza del Castillo, 31002, Pamplona, Navarra +34 948 22 50 73
Pinchos are always on the bar here, though freshly made hot ones are best.
Huevo trufado con patatas fritas (truffled egg with French fries).
Carrillera de cerdo (pork cheek).
Paquete de pato y bechamel (duck and béchamel parcel).
Bombita dos salsas (meatball with spicy tomato sauce).
This small bar has charm aplenty and is an obvious local favourite. It is set in a city that still echoes the medieval era in its defensive walls. As in most bars, we top the food off with excellent local wine from the Navarre region.
To finish off, we went to:
BAR TXOKO
Plaza del Castillo 20, 31001 Pamplona, Navarra
+34 948 22 20 12
When we arrived, a group of locals were providing some midnight entertainment.
This is where Hemingway drank in 1959; it's still as boisterous as ever. The bar is always busy with tourists and locals alike. It is famous for its award-winning chistorras.
We ate our chistorra, drank up, and drifted off into the night.
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