A Tapas Experience Like No other in Los Zagales, Valladolid

Explore Los Zagales in Valladolid, Spain, a unique tapas restaurant serving creative, award-winning dishes that are almost too fun to eat.

On our last evening in Spain, we got to really indulge and experience something a little different. Our group included both journalists and bloggers who have certainly seen all kinds of things around the world. Still, no one could guess what was coming when we heard that dinner would consist of “slightly different kind of tapas”.

We visited Los Zagales restaurant in Valladolid, which has collected quite a number of awards for its very innovative and unusual tapas. At first glance, they don’t even look like food.

Not only did the tapas at this restaurant look fun and unusual, they also tasted delicious. This is definitely a place worth visiting if you happen to find yourself in this part of Spain!

Los Zagales Restaurant

Los Zagales de Abadia restaurant opened in 1995 and is owned by brothers Antonio and Javier González. The restaurant is located right in the center of Valladolid, on the edge of Plaza Mayor.

Valladolid is a colorful city of around 300,000 people in Northern Spain. It is the capital of the Castile and León autonomous region. The nearest larger cities are Palencia and Burgos, and Valladolid is also part of the Arlanza Wine Route, which we explored during this trip. Madrid is about a two-hour drive from Valladolid.

Los Zagales has a separate cafe, bar area, dining room, and ourdoor patio. There are also private rooms available for groups of different sizes. The interior is decorated in a Castilian style, with massive wooden furniture and ceiling beams, as well as stone walls inspired by medieval architecture.

In addition to its more unusual and award-winning tapas, the restaurant also serves more traditional dishes. There is also a selection of local wines.

The Evening’s Unusual Tapas Menu

We were served all the most unusual tapas from the menu, and every one of them came as a complete surprise. We were expecting failry normal-looking dishes to arrive at the table when suddenly, bright red lollipops appeared in front of us.

The lollipops were actually small dishes containing partridge. The red shell was made from red wine, and even the transparent wrapping underneath the lollipop was edible. The dish was called Kojaz (Chupa-chups de perdiz) and was designed to look like the popular Spanish Kojaz lollipop.

Next, we were served ashtrays containing two cigars and a glass of what looked like cognac. The cigars were edible too, and inside them was sardine tartare. The “ash” was made from black sesame flour, while the drink in the cognac glass was tomato water flavored with basil. The dish was called Puro de Sardina.

After these, we were served rather fun-looking dish called Sensaciones. Although this tapa looked just like cheese, it was actually pork ribs braised in sherry, tangy apple, and foie gras. The dish was served on a mousetrap, and the combination of flavors was perhaps the most surprising of these tapas. It was also my personal favorite.

After the meat dishes, we moved on to grilled seafood with a dish called Aroma. A shot glass was lifted from the top of a bottle, releasing the aromatic smoke inside. We the ate the food served on a stick and drank the tomato broth from the shot glass to cleanse the palate.

The next dish was a mini baguette filled with octopus and garlicky tomato sauce. We ate baguettes with the bags and all, as the transparent bag was made from rice and potato starch. the dish was called Breadbag.

One of Los Zagales’ most famous dishes is called Tigretosdón. It is made to look like the Spanish chocolate treat Tigretón, which is popular among children, but instead of being sweet, this is a savory dish. Inside the bag is a black-colored stuffed bread roll filled with crushed pork skin, blood sausage, caramelized onion, and cream cheese.

The restaurant’s perhaps most famous dish, however, is Obama in the White House. It is brought to the table in a white container shaped like a governement building, which is opened by lifting the roof. The first thing you see inside is something black, which I later learned was potato flakes colored with squid ink.

In addition to the potato flakes, the dish includes creamy mushrooms, filo pastry, and a poached egg cooked in truffle oil.

Obama in the White House was originally created to celebrate Obama’s election as president of the United States. According to the staff, Obama himself has also given his approval to the dish.

The dessert was brought to the table covered under a white chef’s hat, and we were all asked to lift the hats from the plates at the same time. Everyone was quite surprised to find an ear on the plate. It was actually a delicious Key lime pie.

The dessert, called Oído Cozina, has just won the 2026 Provincial Pincho award.

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We are quite big food lovers and often enjoy trying something new. Whenever possible, we like to visit a themed restaurant or a place that serves traditional dishes from the area or something a little out of ordinary.

During this trip to Spain, we also got to taste traditional dishes from the region in the small town of Lerma and in Covarrubias, and even try cooking some of them ourselves at the beautiful Lerma monastery.

For me, as a former teacher in the restaurant and tourism industry, dinner at Los Zagales was a really interesting and fun experience. Most of the restaurants tha have made the biggest impression on me have been fine dining restaurants, but this one easily makes that list too.

For the kids, some of the most fun restaurants have been Kawaii Monster Cafe in Tokyo, Hello Kitty Cafe and Tio’s Tacos here at home in California, as well as Rainforest Cafe in Las Vegas.

What kind of fun or unusual restaurant experiences have you had?

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