Héctor Oribe restaurant

Héctor Oribe is a signature-cuisine restaurant with traditional roots in Páganos, a hamlet of Laguardia at the foot of the Sierra de Cantabria, about 2 km from the old town. There is no à la carte menu: you eat one of its two tasting menus, at lunchtime, Wednesday to Sunday.

A chef from Vitoria in Páganos since 2000

Héctor Oribe is from Vitoria-Gasteiz and trained in Basque kitchens such as Arzak or Zuberoa before opening his own place here, in 2000. The dining room is a rustic, bright room for about 30 people, with the wine cellar in view: more than 100 Rioja and Rioja Alavesa references. The Michelin Guide includes it among its recommended restaurants for 2026.

The long menu and the short one

Both menus change with the season, are served to the whole table and do not include drinks. Some dishes may change depending on the day's produce. This autumn's:

Tasting menu, €60. An aperitif and eight courses: red prawn carpaccio with black garlic mayonnaise and citrus vinaigrette; home-roasted red peppers with Balfegó tuna belly; leek stuffed with salt cod with its crispy skin and boletus pil-pil; Riojan-style potato cream with seared fresh foie gras; oven-baked hake loin with green sauce and piquillo risotto; roast venison with chestnuts and apple; and two desserts, peach canutillos with cheese cream and passion fruit, and creamy rice pudding with walnut foam. Served Wednesday to Sunday.

Short menu, €40. An aperitif and five courses: the stuffed leek, the Riojan-style potatoes with foie gras, the hake, the venison and the rice pudding. Only Wednesday to Friday, not public holidays.

They do not prepare vegetarian or vegan menus. The website says nothing about allergies: mention it when you book. The website does not offer a wine pairing: the wine is chosen from its cellar and paid for separately.

Book a day ahead

It opens Wednesday to Sunday, from 13:15 to 15:30; closed Monday and Tuesday. Lunch only. Book by phone, on 945 600 715, on the form on its website or by email at [email protected]; by email, at least 24 hours in advance, and the booking is valid when the house confirms it with another email.

Getting to Gasteiz Kalea

The restaurant is at Gasteiz Kalea 8, in Páganos. It is a small village and the restaurant itself says parking is no problem. From Laguardia's old town it is five minutes by car; the walk round the walled old town, of one or two hours, fits in entirely before the 13:15 table. In Páganos itself is the Eguren Ugarte winery hotel, for eating and sleeping without taking the road.