Restaurant in Kexaa, Spain
Basque interior dining without the reservation battle
A Michelin Plate rural hotel restaurant in the Basque interior, Arcos de Quejana offers two set menus and an à la carte rooted in updated traditional cuisine at €€ pricing. The cod preparations and locally produced cheeses are the standout dishes. A practical choice for a special occasion meal without the outlay or booking difficulty of the region's starred restaurants.
If you are weighing a Michelin-recognised meal in the Basque Country and your budget is €€ rather than the €€€€ required by Arzak in San Sebastián or Azurmendi in Larrabetzu, Arcos de Quejana is one of the most sensible bookings in the region. It holds the Michelin Plate in both 2024 and 2025, it sits inside a rural hotel with genuine architectural character, and it offers two set menus alongside an à la carte. The cod preparations alone are worth the detour.
Arcos de Quejana is part of a rural hotel in Kexaa (Quejana), a village in the Araba province of the Basque Country. The physical layout is more varied than you would expect at this price tier: several panelled rooms with a rustic feel, an attic-style private dining room on the leading floor accessed by a panoramic lift, and a modern wine cellar that guests can visit. The combination of stone, wood panelling, and a cellar you can actually walk through gives the property a sense of place that purpose-built hotel restaurants rarely achieve. For a special occasion in a rural setting, the room does real work.
The attic private room is worth noting specifically for small celebrations or business meals where a degree of separation from the main dining room matters. Request it when booking if that format suits your group. See our full Kexaa restaurants guide and full Kexaa hotels guide for context on the wider area.
The kitchen works from two structural anchors: the Bertako menu and the Tradicional menu, both set formats, plus an à la carte for those who prefer to order individually. The editorial angle here is updated traditional cuisine, meaning the cooking references the flavour grammar of the Basque and broader northern Spanish canon without being a museum piece.
Michelin's own notes single out the cod, which arrives with the choice of Pilpil or Vizcaína sauce — two preparations that are fundamental reference points in Basque cooking. Pilpil is the emulsified gelatin sauce made from the cod itself, requiring technique and patience; Vizcaína is the deeper, dried-pepper-based sauce from Bilbao's tradition. Offering both is a clear signal of the kitchen's investment in the category. The local cheeses, described by Michelin as splendid, are produced in the area and served as a course in their own right rather than as an afterthought. A wine cellar available for guest visits suggests the beverage programme is taken seriously, though specific list details are not confirmed in our data.
For the tasting menu format specifically: the Bertako and Tradicional menus give the kitchen room to sequence dishes with intention, which suits a celebratory meal better than a rushed à la carte. If you are coming for a special occasion, choose one of the set menus rather than ordering individually.
Arcos de Quejana works leading for couples or small groups who want a destination meal in the Basque interior without the reservation difficulty or price of the region's starred restaurants. The rural hotel setting makes it a natural fit for an overnight stay; the private attic room makes it viable for a small business dinner or birthday. It is not the right choice if you want an urban dining room or the progressive techniques of somewhere like Mugaritz in Errenteria. The cooking here is updated tradition, not avant-garde.
Google reviewers rate it 4.3 from 62 reviews, which is a solid signal for a rural venue with a relatively small diner pool. The Michelin Plate in consecutive years confirms the kitchen is consistent.
Booking difficulty is rated Easy for this venue. Given the rural location and relatively modest review volume, you are unlikely to need more than a week or two of lead time for most dates. Weekend summer bookings and holiday periods may require more forward planning, but this is not a reservation that demands the three-week minimum of a starred urban restaurant. Contact the hotel directly to reserve; phone and website details are not confirmed in our current data, so approaching via the hotel's own booking channels is advisable. If you are planning a visit to the wider region, cross-reference our full Kexaa experiences guide and full Kexaa bars guide to build the day around the meal.
Quick reference: Michelin Plate 2024–2025 | €€ | Traditional Cuisine | Kexaa, Araba | Booking: Easy | Google 4.3 (62 reviews) | Two set menus (Bertako, Tradicional) + à la carte | Private attic room available | Wine cellar visits for guests.
Order the cod. Michelin specifically flags it, and having both Pilpil and Vizcaína on offer is a reliable indicator the kitchen handles it properly. Follow it with the local cheeses, which are produced in the area and served as a substantive course. For the overall structure, one of the two set menus (Bertako or Tradicional) gives you a better sequenced experience than ordering à la carte.
Yes, particularly if you want a rural Basque setting rather than an urban dining room. The panelled rooms have genuine character, the private attic room with panoramic lift access works well for small celebrations, and the wine cellar is available for guest visits. At €€ pricing with a Michelin Plate, it delivers occasion-worthy quality without the outlay of a starred restaurant. Book the attic room in advance if your group needs privacy.
Kexaa is a small village; the comparison set extends to the broader Basque Country. For traditional cuisine at a similar price tier, look at our full Kexaa restaurants guide. If your budget extends to €€€€ and you want starred cooking, Arzak and Azurmendi are the region's benchmarks. For progressive techniques, Mugaritz is the most challenging option in the Basque area.
No dress code is confirmed in our data. Given the rural hotel setting, the Michelin Plate recognition, and the €€ price tier, smart casual is a safe default. The panelled rooms have a rustic-formal feel, so trainers and beachwear would be out of place, but you do not need to dress for a starred urban restaurant.
It is a rural hotel restaurant in Kexaa, Araba, which means you are making a deliberate trip rather than walking in from a nearby street. Plan transport in advance. The two set menus (Bertako and Tradicional) are the most structured way to eat here; the à la carte is available but the kitchen's strengths show better across a sequence. The cod and local cheeses are the dishes Michelin highlights directly. The wine cellar is open for guest visits, so factor that in if you are staying overnight.
At €€ pricing, both set menus represent strong value for Michelin-recognised cooking in the Basque Country. The Bertako and Tradicional menus give the kitchen room to build a proper sequence around local ingredients, which is more satisfying than ordering individually. If you are comparing value against the €€€€ tasting menus at Azurmendi or Arzak, Arcos de Quejana is considerably easier on the budget while still offering a structured, occasion-quality meal.
At €€, yes. Two consecutive Michelin Plates, a 4.3 Google rating, local produce, and a wine cellar on-site make this competitive for the price tier. It is not trying to be a starred restaurant, and the cooking is grounded in tradition rather than technique for its own sake. If you want progressive cuisine, look elsewhere. If you want honest, well-executed Basque cooking in a room with genuine character, the price-to-quality ratio here is solid.
Booking difficulty is rated Easy. For most dates, one to two weeks of lead time should be sufficient. Peak summer weekends and Spanish public holidays may require slightly more forward planning. This is not the kind of reservation that requires months of notice, unlike starred restaurants in the region. Contact the hotel directly to reserve and request the private attic room if your occasion calls for it.
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arcos de Quejana | This restaurant is part of a rural hotel which, despite its relatively remote location, has an abundance of charm. Facilities here include a modern wine cellar (that can be visited by guests), several panelled rooms that are rustic in feel, plus an attic-style room on the top floor for private events (with access via a panoramic lift). The cooking on offer is an updated take on traditional cuisine presented on an à la carte and two set menus (Bertako and Tradicional). We can highly recommend the cod, which comes with different sauces (Pilpil and Vizcaína) and the splendid cheeses, all of which are produced in the local area.; Michelin Plate (2025); Michelin Plate (2024) | €€ | — |
| Quique Dacosta | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
| El Celler de Can Roca | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
| Arzak | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
| Azurmendi | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
| Aponiente | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
Comparing your options in Kexaa for this tier.
Order the cod. Michelin's own notes specifically call it out, served with a choice of Pilpil or Vizcaína sauce — both are classic Basque preparations. Finish with the local cheeses, which are produced in the surrounding area and worth saving room for.
Yes, particularly for couples or small groups who want something low-key rather than high-pressure. The hotel has a private attic-style event room accessible by panoramic lift, making it a workable option for small celebrations. It won't deliver the theatrical scale of Azurmendi, but at €€ with Michelin recognition, the value case for a low-key occasion is solid.
There are no directly comparable venues in Kexaa itself given how small the village is. If you're considering the broader Basque interior, Azurmendi near Bilbao is the closest Michelin-starred step up but at a significantly higher price point. Arcos de Quejana is the sensible choice if you're based in or passing through Araba province and want a Michelin-recognised meal without driving to the coast.
The venue description points to rustic panelled rooms in a rural hotel setting — this is not a formal dining room. Neat casual is appropriate: no need for a jacket, but this isn't a jeans-and-trainers kind of place either. Treat it like a good countryside restaurant rather than a city fine-dining address.
It's a restaurant inside a rural hotel in a very small Basque village, so plan transport in advance — this is not somewhere you'll stumble across. The kitchen offers two set menus (Bertako and Tradicional) alongside à la carte, so you have flexibility in format. The modern wine cellar is open for visits, which is worth factoring into the visit if wine is a priority for you.
At €€ pricing with two menu options — Bertako and Tradicional — the set menu format is the better way to eat here. It gives the kitchen a chance to show the range of updated traditional Basque cooking that earned its Michelin Plate in both 2024 and 2025. If you prefer to eat around the cod and cheeses only, à la carte is available, but the menus offer better overall value.
At €€, it almost certainly is. Michelin Plate recognition two years running (2024 and 2025) at this price tier in rural Araba is a strong combination. You are not paying the €€€+ required at San Sebastián's headline restaurants, and the quality anchor — particularly the cod and local cheeses — is well-documented. The detour to Kexaa is the main cost to weigh, not the meal itself.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
