Restaurant in Logroño, Spain
Serious tasting menu for wine-country itineraries.
Marqués de Riscal Restaurant is a serious modern Spanish tasting menu kitchen inside Frank Gehry's titanium-wrapped winery-hotel in Elciego. Chef Francis Paniego holds a Michelin Plate (2025) and draws on Rioja and Álava ingredients for two Basque-inflected menus. At €€€€, the price reflects the setting as much as the food — worth it for food-and-wine travellers, less so if you are here only for the architecture.
Most visitors arriving at Marqués de Riscal come for Frank Gehry's titanium-clad hotel, and that misconception shapes everything that follows — including how they feel about the restaurant. The building is spectacular: ribbons of pink, gold, and silver titanium curve over the complex, each colour corresponding to the winery's visual identity (the red of the wine, the gold of the wire mesh on the bottles, the silver of the capsules). But if you walk into the restaurant expecting the food to play second fiddle to the architecture, you'll miss what Francis Paniego is actually doing here. This is a serious modern Spanish kitchen, not a hotel dining room riding on a famous address.
Paniego runs the kitchen around two tasting menus: Torrea and Chirel. Both share the same opening sequence of Basque-inspired appetisers and fried dishes, including the croquettes that have become something of a calling card — the recipe passed down from Paniego's mother and now a fixed point of reference for anyone who has eaten here more than once. The format is dinner-only from Tuesday through Friday, with a lunch service added on Saturday (1:30–2:30 pm). The restaurant is closed Sunday and Monday. If you are planning a weekend visit specifically for lunch, Saturday is your only option, and the window is narrow: a single sitting that runs just one hour.
The kitchen draws its ingredients from Rioja and Álava, the two provinces that frame this stretch of northern Spain. That regional specificity is not a marketing claim , it is the logic behind the menus. What Paniego builds from those ingredients reflects a Basque culinary tradition filtered through contemporary technique, and it holds a Michelin Plate recognition as of 2025. The restaurant has also been ranked in Opinionated About Dining's Leading Restaurants in Europe list: 401st in 2024, rising to 469th in 2025, after appearing as a recommended new entry in 2023. That trajectory is worth noting , it suggests a kitchen finding its form rather than coasting on the hotel's reputation.
Given the editorial angle here, it is worth addressing Saturday lunch directly: is it the right format for this restaurant? The honest answer is that the single one-hour window (1:30–2:30 pm) is a compressed way to experience a tasting menu kitchen. If you want to pace through the full Torrea or Chirel experience, an evening booking from Tuesday to Friday gives you considerably more room. Saturday lunch works leading if you are already staying at the hotel, or if you are passing through the region and dinner does not fit your schedule. For a food-focused traveller building a Rioja itinerary around the table rather than the cellar, a weekday evening booking is the better call.
That said, the Saturday lunch slot has one genuine advantage: arriving in daylight means you get the full visual impact of Gehry's exterior before you sit down. The titanium shifts in colour depending on the light, and afternoon sun handles that better than the evening does. If the setting matters as much as the meal to your decision, factor that in.
The restaurant is on the grounds of the Marqués de Riscal winery-hotel in Elciego, in the Basque Country's Álava province , not in Logroño proper, despite the city association. Elciego sits roughly 12 kilometres from Laguardia and is most practically reached by car. If you are basing yourself in Logroño and considering this alongside other strong options in the city, factor in the drive. Booking is described as easy , this is not a hard reservation to secure compared to the Basque region's most competitive tables, such as Arzak in San Sebastián or Azurmendi in Larrabetzu, where lead times run to weeks or months. Check availability directly through the hotel website.
The price tier is €€€€, placing this at the leading of the range for the region. For context on what that tier buys you elsewhere in modern Spanish cooking, consider that El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, DiverXO in Madrid, and Aponiente in El Puerto de Santa María all operate at or near this tier but carry heavier Michelin weight. What Marqués de Riscal offers in return is a setting those restaurants cannot match, and a booking process that is meaningfully less stressful. For modern Spanish cooking in Madrid at a comparable price point, A'Barra Restaurante y Barra Gastronómica and Cocina Hermanos Torres in Barcelona offer useful benchmarks on what €€€€ delivers without the architectural surcharge.
Book here if you are a food and wine traveller building a Rioja itinerary and want a serious tasting menu experience anchored in the region's ingredients, delivered in a setting that is genuinely unlike anything else in northern Spain. The Gehry building is a reason to come, but it should not be the only reason , Paniego's kitchen is doing enough on its own terms to justify the price. If you are primarily interested in the winery visit and the architecture, and the restaurant is an afterthought, you can eat very well in Logroño for considerably less. See our full Logroño restaurants guide for alternatives at every price point, and our Logroño hotels guide, wineries guide, and experiences guide if you are planning a broader regional trip.
Against Logroño's leading tables, Marqués de Riscal sits in a category of its own on setting and price. Kiro Sushi is the only other €€€€ option in the immediate area and delivers a technically precise Japanese experience that some diners will prefer for its focus , but it offers nothing of the architectural or regional-wine context that defines a visit to Elciego. If your priority is modern cooking at a lower commitment, Ikaro (Creative, €€€) and Ajonegro (Fusion, €€€) both operate at €€€ and offer creative menus in Logroño proper, with fewer logistics and a shorter bill.
For value-conscious diners who want quality without the tasting menu format, La Cocina de Ramón (Traditional Cuisine, €€) and Juan Carlos Ferrando (Contemporary, €€) are both worth knowing about. La Cocina de Ramón is the right call if you want to eat traditional Riojan food at a fair price; Juan Carlos Ferrando offers contemporary cooking at €€ that punches above its bracket. Neither requires a car to Elciego.
The practical split is direct: choose Marqués de Riscal if the combination of setting, regional tasting menu, and Paniego's kitchen is the point of your trip. Choose Ikaro or Ajonegro if you want a strong creative meal in the city without the premium. Choose La Cocina de Ramón or Juan Carlos Ferrando if value matters more than format.
The venue database does not confirm a bar dining option at Marqués de Riscal Restaurant. The format is built around two tasting menus (Torrea and Chirel) served in the main dining room. If counter or bar seating is important to you, Ajonegro or Ikaro in Logroño are more likely to offer flexible seating arrangements. Check directly with the hotel before visiting if this matters to your booking decision.
Yes, if you are a food-focused traveller who wants a regionally grounded tasting menu in an architecturally significant setting. Both the Torrea and Chirel menus open with shared Basque-inspired appetisers and fried dishes, including Paniego's croquettes. The kitchen holds a Michelin Plate (2025) and has climbed Opinionated About Dining's European rankings year-on-year since 2023. At €€€€, it is expensive for the recognition level compared to, say, Arzak or Azurmendi, but the setting adds something those restaurants cannot offer. If the Gehry building and the winery context are part of why you are here, the total experience justifies the price. If you just want the food, there are sharper value options in Logroño.
At €€€€, the price is easier to justify when you weigh the full package: a tasting menu from a Michelin Plate kitchen, inside a Frank Gehry-designed building on the grounds of a winery recognised as the leading vineyard in Europe in 2021. Taken individually, the food alone at this recognition level does not command top-tier prices , but taken together, the experience is hard to replicate. If you are comparing purely on culinary credentials per euro, Ikaro at €€€ is better value. If the whole context matters to you, Marqués de Riscal is worth it.
A tasting menu format is generally comfortable for solo diners, and the booking difficulty here is low, which removes the usual barrier. The main practical consideration is the drive to Elciego , arriving solo by car is direct, but if you are planning to drink through the wine list (which would be the obvious move at a winery hotel), factor in a taxi or plan to stay at the hotel overnight. For solo dining in Logroño without the logistics, Ikaro or Juan Carlos Ferrando are easier options. See our Logroño bars guide if you want to extend the evening after dinner.
No specific dietary restriction policy is confirmed in the venue data. Given the tasting menu format , where dishes are pre-set and ingredient sourcing is tied to seasonal Riojan and Álava produce , dietary requirements are worth communicating at the time of booking rather than on arrival. Contact the hotel directly when making your reservation. Guests with serious restrictions should confirm in advance whether either menu can be adapted, as tasting menu kitchens vary significantly in their flexibility.
| Venue | Price | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marques de Riscal Restaurant | €€€€ | Easy | — |
| Kiro Sushi | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Ajonegro | €€€ | Unknown | — |
| Ikaro | €€€ | Unknown | — |
| La Cocina de Ramón | €€ | Unknown | — |
| Juan Carlos Ferrando | €€ | Unknown | — |
Comparing your options in Logroño for this tier.
Bar dining is not documented for this restaurant. The format here is tasting menu only — Torrea or Chirel — served in the main dining room beneath Gehry's titanium roof. If you want a more flexible, counter-style format in the region, this is not the right venue for that.
Yes, if you are building a Rioja or Basque food itinerary and want a kitchen that takes both regional ingredients and technique seriously. Francis Paniego earned Michelin Plate recognition in 2024 and 2025, and Opinionated About Dining ranked the restaurant in its Top European list both years. The two menus — Torrea and Chirel — differ in length but open with the same Basque appetisers and fried dishes, including the croquettes Paniego adapted from his mother's recipe. If you want à la carte flexibility, look elsewhere.
At €€€€, it is priced at the top of the immediate area — comparable only to Kiro Sushi in the wider Logroño and Álava market. The setting inside a Frank Gehry-designed winery hotel does real work here: you are paying for a complete food-and-wine-country experience, not just plates of food. If you are travelling specifically for Rioja wine and modern Spanish cooking, the price holds up. If the Gehry building is just background noise to you and you want pure cooking-per-euro value, Ikaro or La Cocina de Ramón in Logroño will serve you better.
Workable, but not optimised for it. Tasting menu restaurants at €€€€ in Spain are generally easier to book solo than large group formats, and a counter or bar seat option is not confirmed here. Saturday lunch (1:30–2:30 pm) is the most accessible service slot for a solo traveller fitting the restaurant into a day trip to the winery. Book ahead regardless — the window is short.
Specific dietary accommodation policies are not documented in the venue data. Given the tasting menu format at €€€€ and the kitchen's reputation under Francis Paniego, it is reasonable to check the venue's official channels before booking if you have restrictions — but confirm this yourself rather than assuming flexibility. The menus are built around Rioja and Álava seasonal ingredients, so substitutions may be limited.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
