The story of Boga: who Iker and Eli are, in the centre of Figueres
Boga began when two people and two kitchens came together: Iker from the world of the Basque pintxo, Eli after years working front of house in restaurants around the area. They opened their own place together on Baixada Mercer.
The chef
Iker Carrillo, a life spent at the stove
Iker Carrillo Moro trained at the Escuela Superior de Hostelería de Bizkaia and has more than 26 years behind him in the trade. Most of that time was spent in some of the best-known kitchens and pintxo bars in Bizkaia, where he learned to put produce, tradition and creativity on the same plate.
Experience FROM BILBAO TO BIG KITCHENS
Kitchens that leave a mark
Over his career Iker has led kitchen teams inside one of the largest hospitality groups in Bizkaia and worked on the opening of restaurants such as Amaren and Aitaren. He also ran the kitchens at Víctor Montes, awarded Tres Eguzkilores, ranked among the 25 best pintxo bars in Euskal Herria and holder of a Solete Repsol.
Awards MINIATURE COOKING
A career built on pintxos
At La Olla de la Plaza Nueva, Iker took nine awards at Bilbao pintxo championships. He was crowned champion of Bizkaia and reached the final of several competitions across Euskal Herria. In 2023 he made the final of the Euskal Herria Pintxo Championship with “Todo al rojo”. A year later he was a finalist at the Bizkaia Pintxo Championship with “Falso erizo de mar”. He also won a Bilbao contest built around Idiazábal cheese. That run took him to the final of the Concurso Nacional de Pinchos y Tapas in Valladolid as well, an event kept for some of the finest miniature-cooking chefs in Spain.
Boga A NEW CHAPTER
Boga, tradition seen his own way
At Boga, Iker runs the kitchen and signs off on cooking that ties his Basque roots to the Mediterranean side of Figueres. His dishes start from the produce, from flavours people recognise and from everything he picked up over more than two decades between kitchens and bars. Honest, unfussy cooking, but open to invention: Basque tradition, Catalan influences and the pintxo as part of who he is. At Boga he leads the kitchen and creates the dishes that bring Basque and Catalan cooking together.
Front of house
Eli, running the dining room and looking after guests
Eli has spent years working front of house in restaurants around the area. When she met Iker, the two of them decided to set up Boga between them: the kitchen for him, the dining room and looking after guests for her.
“We look after every table so you feel at home, from the bar to the last plate in the dining room.”
Come and meet Iker and Eli
Book a table at Boga Gastrotaberna and try the cooking Iker makes, with the dining room Eli runs.
Book a table