Desayuno

Breakfast is typically the lightest meal of the day, something simple after a late dinner the night before. During the fiesta you should be able to find some sort of packaged pastry and espresso at any bar or restaurant open in the early morning hours, but Pamplona breakfast is not served until around 8:30, following the encierro.

During Sanfermines it's always "bulls before breakfast".

Be sure to try churros, fried crullers, and hot chocolate in the morning. This is quite popular in Pamplona as well as Madrid and Granada. The most lively spot for this typical Spanish breakfast is the bar in the Hotel Misonnave in the old city.

There is also the traditional midmorning break, called Almuerzo, generally served between 10:30 and noon, when you can have hour first tapas (pintxos in Navarra and the Basque country) of the day, including a tortilla española, a potato omelet, with pan (fresh bread), or a bocadillo, a filled baguette.

Comida

Lunch, which is generally considered the main meal fo the day, begins after 1:00, but is usually closer to 2:00 for most people. This holds true during the fiesta and often starts even later on the weekends. This is also a major social hour in which one visits with family and friends. Note: Butter is seldom served after the morning hours unless requested.

Cena

Dinner in the north typically begins at around 9:30 and is usually the lighter meal of the day unless you missed or skipped lunch. Dinner in Pamplona is often still being served well past midnight during the fiesta. Most Pamplona restaurants will take a reservation as earlier as 9:00 p.m., but not earlier, and many restaurants serve a special 4-course fiesta menu.

The Gastronomy of Navarra

Pamplona is a city blessed with more than 300 cafés, bars and restaurants to choose from, offering some of the finest cuisine in the north, on a par with the Basque country and Catalunya. More than 90 local cafés, bars and restaurants participate in the annual pintxos competition, which celebrates the best of miniature haute cuisine.

While most restaurants continue to offer their standard menu during the fiesta in addition to their special "Sanfermines Menu", the pintxos bars and cafés located in the Old City (Bar Gaucho, Baserri, Iru, Museo, Fitero, La Mandarra), by necessity, cannot offer their usual selection of haute cuisine pintxos at the bar. The last night to sample their best array of award winning fare would be the 5th, which is also the last night the historically famous Café Iruña, on the Plaza del Castillo, offers pintxos at the bar.

Most restaurants in Pamplona are smaller, family style, so reservations for lunch and dinner are essential, and without exception on the 6th and 7th of July and over the weekend. It is extremely important not to break a reservation without first contacting the restaurant, otherwise the table will sit empty the entire night, as most restaurants have only one seating at lunch or dinner and will not offer your table to someone else. It is not unusual for Navarrans to arrive late and they are never in a hurry to finish a meal.

There are cafés and taverns where you can find a quicker meal, but most will be located outside of the Old City, in the 1st and 2nd Ensanche: the Iturrama, San Jan Donibane and Ermitagaña neighborhoods.

Some of our favorite award-winning bars in other neighborhoods include Casa Luis (Padre Calatayud, 11), Chelsey (Iturrama, 20), Aralar (Castillo de Maya, 25), Melbourne (Olite, 36) and Letyana (Travesia Bayona, 2). These will continue to offer an ample assortment of their more elaborate pintxos throughout the fiesta.