Café Iruña is a Pamplona institution that has been serving customers for more than 100 years. This city center café first opened its doors in 1888 and was a popular haunt of the Nobel Prize-winning American writer Ernest Hemingway. Visit Café Iruña for tapas, drinks and meals and for a glimpse of the Pamplona of yesteryear.
Whether you dine inside or out on the terrace look at the beautiful art deco interior that appears frozen in time. There are Arabesque pillars stretching up to an ornate ceiling, vast polished mirrors, vintage lamps and a black and white tiled floor.
Enjoy a drink at the bar next to the bronze statue of Hemingway. Many visitors take a selfie next to the life-size work of art. This part of the café is known as El Rincon de Hemingway which is translated as “Hemingway’s corner” and it also features photographs of the era when the writer frequented the place.
Study the menu and order a meal or if you just want some snacks try a few tapas dishes. Alternatively, order some pinchos from the pinchos bar. These are small tapas-like snacks skewered onto a piece of bread. They are served throughout the Basque region of which Pamplona is a part. Among the items on the menu are mini veal burgers and goat cheese toast with caramelized onions.
Café Iruña is located on the Plaza del Castillo, a vast pedestrianized square in the heart of Pamplona surrounded by shops, cafés and buildings from the 18th and 19th centuries. This part of the city is well served by local buses and taxis and the plaza has its own underground garage where you can park for a fee. If you're traveling by car and the parking garage is full there are other car parks in the vicinity.
Leave the café to discover other attractions within a short walking distance. They include Pamplona Cathedral and the Plaza de Toros, the city’s early 20th-century bullring. This is the end point of the annual Running of the Bulls race during the San Fermin festival in July.
