Where to eat in Andorra, from a stone borda to a Michelin star

Andorra is known for shopping and skiing, and food tends to come a distant third. I think that’s a mistake. It’s a small high-mountain country with a clearly defined cuisine of its own and a handful of restaurants now playing in a different league. Here’s how I’d choose, without relying on lists nobody puts their name to.

What do people eat in Andorra?

Mountain food, seasonal and often cooked over a wood fire. The tourist board presents it as a tradition going back centuries, rooted in what the valleys produced, ruled by the seasons and long geared to self-sufficiency, with French and Catalan influences. On the table you’ll find escudella, trinxat, Andorran-style cannelloni, game, trout, wild mushrooms, cured sausages from the winter pig slaughter and quince allioli for the meat. I go through it dish by dish in Andorran food.

Bordas, the most Andorran place to eat

Ask me for one type of restaurant and I’ll say borda. These were mountain buildings standing apart from the main farmhouse, used to store grain, livestock and tools. Today many are restaurants, and Andorra Turisme sums up what they share, local produce, meat cooked over a wood fire, mushrooms in season and charcuterie such as secallona, donja and bringuera. The tourist board places them mostly in rural Andorra, and particularly in Canillo, Encamp and Ordino. How to pick a good one is in borda restaurants in Andorra.

What are the best restaurants in Andorra?

There’s no official ranking, and I won’t invent one. What does exist are distinctions with names attached. Andorra Turisme picks six food ambassadors. Jordi Grau cooks at Ibaya in Soldeu, which holds a Michelin star, a useful fact if you’re booked into a ski hotel there. Rodrigo Martínez runs Beç in Escaldes-Engordany, recommended by the Michelin Guide. Marcel Besolí leads Celler d’en Toni in Andorra la Vella, founded by his family in 1966 and also Michelin-recommended. Carles Flinch is the heart of Can Manel in the capital, with more than 30 years spent defending the classic recipe book. José Antonio Guillermo has run Odetti Bistro since 2019, and the sixth ambassador isn’t a chef at all but Gerard Martínez of Ramaders d’Andorra, who markets the country’s beef.

The other clue is the government’s «Traditional Andorran Cuisine» label, given to restaurants cooking recipes from the country’s culinary heritage with local produce. It’s held by the restaurants of the L’Isard, Abba Ordino Babot and Termes Carlemany hotels, and by Minim’s, Can Manel and Borda de l’Avi. For anyone after genuine local cooking, it’s the best guide I know of.

Where to eat, area by area

Andorra la Vella has the widest choice, especially in the old town and along Avinguda Meritxell, which I cover in restaurants in Andorra la Vella. Escaldes adds Vivand and the restaurants inside Illa Carlemany. In Canillo, the tourist board mentions plenty of bordas serving local food and places doing international dishes; in Encamp, everything from fast food to traditional bordas; and in Ordino, bordas and restaurants spread across its villages. In winter, each resort has its own slope-side dining. And if the weather turns, the third floor of the Pyrénées department store in Andorra la Vella gathers a crêperie, a restaurant, a terrace and a grill buffet under one roof, which is no bad fallback on a wet afternoon.

How to eat cheaply

I’ll be careful here, because no official source publishes set-menu prices and I won’t quote hearsay. What I can tell you is where you’ll spend less. The tourist board lists 47 picnic areas across the country, and with a supermarket shop that’s the cheapest meal going and, in summer, one of the loveliest. Shopping centres have chains, tapas and cafés. Illa Carlemany has Burger King, Foster’s Hollywood, Dehesa Santa María, a bistro and Starbucks.

Dates to arrive hungry

Andorra Taste, the high-mountain gastronomy gathering, held its fifth edition from 16 to 20 September 2026, with talks at the Prat del Roure in Escaldes and a public programme on Carrer dels Veedors. The tourist board also lists the Ruta de la Tapa in May, Sabors d’estiu in July and August, La Massana Fogons in October and the Ordino food fair and Andorra a Taula in November, though without exact days. In January, the Escudella de Sant Antoni is one of the popular festivals the tourist board suggests for tasting local cooking out in the street.