Restaurante el Siete, great menu of the day in Vitoria Gasteiz.

Restaurante el Siete, an unbeatable option to eat in the center of Vitoria-Gasteiz.

Cuchillería street, better known as “la Kutxi”, one of the most emblematic streets of Vitoria Gasteiz, welcomes in its number 3 the restaurant el Siete. An establishment, which represents one of the best options to enjoy a menu of the day in conditions in the urban core of the capital of Alava. The Medieval Almond, the Old Town of Vitoria Gasteiz, keeps corners worthy of enjoying and admiring, among them, the stoves that keep alive the traditional Basque cuisine. In this matter, the Siete, the restaurant that occupies us today, is partly to blame. Specialized in menu of the day, sandwiches and pintxos, the ABC of the Basque gastronomy, this bar and restaurant from Gastetzaro does not have a menu, and its bar and tables, always crowded, are proof of it. Although in this article we are going to detail our opinion and experience about the menu of the day offered by the restaurant el Siete, we must not forget its wide variety of sandwiches and pintxos, the fast food of Euskal Herria.

After an intense day in which we enjoyed all the attractions that the city displays at Christmas (ice rink, the Florida nativity scene and various events), we approached the Kutxi to get strength and continue touring every corner of its historic center. At this moment, choosing between all the restaurants that we find on both sides of the Kutxi can be difficult and a bit overwhelming. If you find yourself in this situation, here is our recommendation: Restaurante el Siete .

Although the prices, quality and appearance of the daily menus found in Cuchillería Street are very similar, there are small details that make the difference.

Location: Located in the main artery of the Medieval Almendra, in Cuchillería Street (Aiztogile in Basque), the restaurant el Siete provides us with everything we need to enjoy Basque gastronomy without having to leave our route, our itinerary. In addition to being one of the most beautiful corners of Vitoria Gasteiz, the Old Town is also the place where we find the largest number of tourist attractions. Examples are the Old Cathedral, the Escoriaza Esquivel Palace, the BiBat Museum, the route of the murals, the house of the cordon, the Artium Museum (located very close) and many more.

Dining room: El Siete restaurant has 2 different dining rooms, on the one hand the dining room itself, small / cozy, and on the other hand the space normally occupied by the bar, next to the bar. In our case, we ate in the latter, at the tables located in the bar area, a space in which it may seem somewhat violent to eat (entry / exit of people, kuadrillas poteando, people waiting …) but, thanks to the good separation between tables and bar, allows us to eat quietly. We leave you a picture of the bar of the restaurant el Siete taken from our table at a time without people (something very rare), so you can see the distance between the two spaces.

Celiacs: Having menus for celiacs is always a pleasant surprise, and all but 2 dishes on the menu were marked as suitable for celiacs. A joy. More and more people suffer from this disease and thanks to this type of proposals, facilitate access to kuadrillas / families with celiac members.

Reservations: El Siete restaurant is always full, even on weekdays. For this reason, we recommend booking in advance. Although it is possible to get in without a reservation, you are not always lucky. At lunchtime, the bar is like the waiting room of the dentist’s office, and that, the management and service they offer are impressive. They have everything under control, but people keep coming in. Demand exceeds supply.

Service: After trying the service of the restaurant El Siete on a hectic day, we only have good words to define it. To highlight its speed. The dishes flew, the service is very fast, so fast that it is scary. Efficient and practical, nothing negative to say.

Our experience: We leave for the last the best, our experience in the restaurant el Siete detallada with details. After an intense day in the streets of Vitoria Gasteiz, after more than 200 photos and a few videos, we went into the Kutxi to enjoy the incredible atmosphere offered by the “youngest” street of the city. After comparing the menus of the day offered by several restaurants in the area, we opted for the restaurant El Siete. We had not made a reservation, but it did not seem to be very crowded. At the end of the bar, next to the bathrooms, as if it were the nerve center of NASA, we found a very nice girl (and very patient) who controlled the coming and going of all the tables, she was the one who, after asking us the number of diners, told us the estimated waiting time (20 minutes). We decided to make time at the bar, like the rest, it looked like the doctor’s waiting room, fortunately they were waiting for tables as if there was no tomorrow. The beer and the kalimotxo that we had ordered were not enough to make it through the wait, with the shout of the name of our reservation, the wait was finally over. In the end it was 30 minutes. Along with the cutlery, glasses and other utensils, as if it were just another piece of cutlery, they brought us a small starter, in this case, a small plate of Iberian pork products. Given its size, it disappeared in the blink of an eye, which was appreciated. After taking a look at the menu, 5 starters, 5 main courses and desserts, our choice ended up being the following (for 2 people):

Not even 2 minutes passed from the moment we had indicated our choice when the dishes were already on the table, amazing. 100% efficiency. The portions, more than acceptable, neither too generous nor too scarce, were enough to satisfy our stomachs comfortably. All the dishes were very tasty, to highlight, the black rice with txipirones and the baked cod, both very good. To repeat. The only negative point is the after-dinner drink, the coffees or drinks that are taken, have to be made at the bar, standing, leaving room for the next group of people who are waiting to eat. Ugly detail. Otherwise, it was a pleasure.

Leaving the restaurant El Siete with a smile on your face is customary, a habit. An experience that does not hurt anyone and that we recommend you to try. Eating at this restaurant in the center of Gasteiztarra is a success, we are waiting for your opinions!