I fell hard for this small stone city stuck in time, with a bar and restaurant scene fed by some of the best seafood Spain has to offer. It’s a rare thing to say but Santiago de Compostela exceeded my expectations in every way.
I arrived in Galicia pretty pumped to eat my way across the state. This region is famous across Spain for its seafood. From the icy Atlantic Ocean they harvest goose barnacles, scallops, oysters, mussels, prawns, and all types of fish. A lot of it gets shipped across the country, but some of the best (and cheapest) remains here at the source.
Good seafood doesn’t need much. Freshness and a sprinkle of salt can be seasoning enough. Santiago de Compostela’s restaurants offer an appealing mix between allowing the hero product to shine simply or adding a creative chef’s touch while paying homage to tradition.
I find tapas traditions vary from city to city, region to region in Spain, and in Santiago de Compostela we received a free tapa with each drink – which meant we got to taste so much more in our three days there. Here’s where to eat and a list of the best restaurants and tapas bars in Santiago de Compostela.
Abastos 2.0
My favourite thing about Abastos 2.0 might be that the menu lists the food miles of the seafood (all 100 kilometres or less on our visit, in case you’re wondering). It’s a showcase of local produce, pointing to the different villages where each prawn or scallop has come from. Abastos 2.0 is connected to the huge daily market, a place where fresh Galician seafood is stacked high each day. The chefs have their pick of the best, and they know how to treat it right.
Seafood is the star here and the ever-changing menu offers a mix of subtle and more creative dishes. The scallop, oysters and clams were served barely touched, while the xarda (horse mackerel) was dressed up in a refreshing, zesty ceviche-like dish. A glow-up that took the cheaper fish from second-thought to stand-out of the night. We also loved the octopus, which arrived with a fantastic char flavour from the grill.
During our November visit, we could only reserve the restaurant – but it looks like there is a market bar and terrace open other times of the year.
Address: Praza de Abastos, Rúa das Ameas, 13 -18, 15703 Santiago de Compostela
What to order: grilled octopus and whatever seafood your heart desires
Reservations: Essential
O Testo
After a number of days in Galicia eating at more traditional spots, we wanted something a little bit different and our local host recommended O Testo. This spot reminded me of some of my favourite modern taverns in Lisbon. It’s the sort of chic-yet-casual place that pays tribute to the heart and soul of Galician cuisine while having fun, putting some modern spins on dishes, and still keeping things affordable.
I’m a sucker for anything anchovy, so we started with a fantastic potato and jamon croquette and an anchovy toast. The XO mussels were fun but our highlight was again the xarda done here with an Asian spin. O Testo calls itself a market bar, and how could you not feel inspired after a visit to the daily mercado, so I’d expect things to change throughout the seasons.
Address: Rua de Abril Ares, 4, 15704 Santiago de Compostela
What to order: anchovy toast and xarda
Reservations: Recommended. If you can’t get in here, try A Maceta, the sister restaurant.
DeLito
A good friend mentioned he ate a delicious Galician Rubia steak in Lisbon once. A breed of cattle from the region known for its fatty marbling. Queue a day-long mission to find a steakhouse serving rubia gallega, a surprisingly difficult challenge in a city with chuleton steaks hanging in almost every window in a region famous for its beef. I almost wished he hadn’t said anything as we found spot after spot offering Galician beef but from a different race.
We ended up at DeLito, a great restaurant I found pumping at lunchtime (perhaps thanks to a great value lunch deal around €18). We eyed up the huge fridge filled with cuts of ageing beef and returned at dinner time for a steak feast. The super friendly grill chef came down to show us the cut, ask us how we wanted the chuleton rubia gallega and then later served it with potato wedges and pimentos padrón. A great dinner! It was worth the hunt.
Address: Rúa de San Pedro, 26, 15703 Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña, Spain
What to order: chuleton rubia gallega
Reservations: Recommended.
Mercado de Abastos de Santiago
On a Friday morning we popped into the Praza de Abastos market, an unmissable place in Santiago de Compostela for anyone interested in food, fresh produce or local life. While wandering the isles of seafood, the sign “abrimos ostras” caught our eye. A lovely producer offered three types of oysters grown near Ilhas Arousa, all around €2 a pop. She suggested we take them around the corner where a little wine bar would serve us a fresh and zesty albariño to pair with them. Since we’d made ourselves comfortable, we grabbed some steamed zamburiñas (scallops) too.
The market itself is insane – the sort of place I dream about having in my neighbourhood. The stone structure, which dates back to 1937, has eight long halls and a central courtyard. There seemed to be two halls just for fresh seafood, one or two for meat, others had a mix of cheesemongers, baked goods and fresh produce. The final hall houses a number of small restaurants with tables – we heard Salvaxe is a great stall to eat more creative local food in Santiago de Compostela.
Address: Rúa das Ameas, s/n, 15704 Santiago de Compostela
Xachegou
In Portugal I love to eat in tascas – the cheap and cheerful dining rooms that fuel the locals. So I asked our host where she likes to eat, and Xachegou came up as a no-frills local place where the regulars will look at you like “what are you doing here?”. Perfect.
This pub with food keeps things simple, with a small, smoky kitchen and generous menu. We went for the zorza, a traditional Galician dish of chopped pork marinated with garlic, salt and paprika. We’d seen it on menus everywhere, and this seemed like a good spot to order. It came on a bed of fries with sliced cheese on top. Comforting, delicious. Sit back, sip the €2.80-a-glass wines and watch the locals fill the bar.
Address: Rúa da Algalia de Abaixo, 27, 15704 Santiago de Compostela
What to order: zorza, sandwiches and Galician comfort food
Reservations: Not needed
NuMaru Korean
The last cuisine I expected to eat in the north of Spain was Korean food. After years living away from Australia I’ve become a bit accustomed to disappointing Asian restaurants but the reviews were superb so we gave it a shot. As we sat down to lunch, this spot was filled with mostly people of Korean or Asian descent. A good sign! And the food, it was magnificent.
At lunch the €16 deal included soup and little snacks, a main of your choice, drink and dessert. This spot filled a place in my heart that had been missing for some time. That said, I don’t recommend eating spicy food and drinking a beer before being locked in exam conditions for two hours. Still, zero regrets.
Address: Avenida do Mestre Mateo 19 OR Rúa de Vista Alegre 58, Santiago de Compostela
What to order: lunch menu, bibimbap, duruchigi spicy pork, any Korean favourites
Reservations: Possible. If you don’t make one, go early for lunch – it packed out.
Bonus: Bar Estrella, Pontevedra
I can’t say enough good things about this little traditional Galician restaurant in Pontevedra. I have an eagle-eye for finding good spots on Google Maps (that comes from experience and years of obsession) and this might be the best gem yet. It was our first lunch in Galicia, and to be honest it set the bar so high. We never tasted scallops as sweet and succulent or octopus as smooth and fresh again across the trip. One to repeat.
Address: Rúa Figueroa, 1, 36002 Pontevedra, Spain
What to order: scallops, pulpo á feira
Reservations: We popped in and hour ahead and made one
Best bars with free tapas in Santiago de Compostela
Bar Tita – classic bar
Our first stop in Santiago de Compostela was Bar Tita for the legendary tortilla. I absolutely adore the way they do it up here – tortilla de Betanzos. This local variation on the Spanish classic is made without onion – just potatoes, egg, salt, olive oil – and it will always be barely set, still gooey inside. At Bar Tita you’ll receive a fairly generous free slice of really good tortilla with your drink.
Address: Rúa do Franco, 48, 15702 Santiago de Compostela
Nómade Santiago – natural wines
Since dinner is so late in Spain, there’s always time for a cheeky pre-dinner wine. And in Santiago de Compostela you seem to get a free tapa at any bar (and most restaurants), so we dropped into this trendy, kind of touristy spot. Nómade has a huge selection of really good, natural Galician wines by the glass. Despite the slightly salty (yet efficient) young waiter, we returned here twice as the mussels escabeche – made in-house with fresh mussels from the local market – were so good they had to be repeated.
Tip: You can book very chic private rooms above this wine bar at the Hostal Nomade Santiago.
Address: Rúa do Franco, 48, 15702 Santiago de Compostela
Nariño – tortilla
The other top spot for tortilla in Santiago de Compostela is Nariño. Slightly out of the historic downtown, this large neighbourhood cafe-bar is the sort of place you drop into for breakfast, lunch or dinner. We had a racion of tortilla here for breakfast, along with a slab of pan con tomate y jamon, but other patrons all received a little tapa of free tortilla even with a coffee.
Address: Rúa dos Pelamios, 14, 15705 Santiago de Compostela
Xénese – wine
Xénese is another chic wine bar I found in Santiago de Compostela with an amazing selection of local and European wines by the glass, plus a handful of tasty local snacks. With our first wine we received a little plate with a small portion of traditional Galician pie and local olives. It was so good we ordered a small pie stuffed with zorza and cheese with the next wine.
Address: Tránsito da Mercé, 6, 15703 Santiago de Compostela
Xuntanza – craft beer
One night we hopped to two craft beer spots in Santiago de Compostela before dinner. The first was Xuntanza, which had a decent selection of craft beers and gave us a choice of tapas – from arepas to tostas to mini pizza. The outdoor terrace was surprisingly beautiful on a November evening – made better by my IPA by Onda.
Address: Rúa de Xelmírez, 28, 15704 Santiago de Compostela
O Bandullo do Lambón – craft beer
The second craft beer spot felt slightly more serious with more taps on the go, including a lot of Basqueland beers on tap, and a handful of fridges stocked with more unusual and exciting picks. Each drink here arrived with a mini cheeseboard loaded with a handful of different cheese, olives and crackers.
A Gramola – music
This is the story of how we accidentally joined a Celtic protest band while on vacation in Galicia. The piercing tones of a gaita (local bagpipe) rang out from A Gramola, enticing us into this bar where a band of almost a dozen locals were playing Celtic tavern music. Yes, Galicia has Celtic roots, which in modern times I think comes through most strongly in its traditional music. My partner Jorge told them we spoke Portuguese, so we were handed a songbook and became part of the troupe, standing there with a beer in hand singing in Galician – which is closer to Portuguese than Castillian Spanish.
There were two bagpipers, drummers, guitarists, and even a lady playing two scallop shells. While we didn’t get a free tapa at A Gramola, one beer turned into three as we became part of this folk group (that became our trip highlight). While they were there that night to celebrate an anniversary of the Nunca Máis movement (which formed to demand more government action after an oil tanker spill caused an environmental catastrophe off the Galican coast in 2002), apparently A Gramola often has live music so definitely swing by after dinner.
Best specialty coffee cafés in Santiago de Compostela
Ratiños
It might be a small city but Santiago de Compostela has a handful of specialty coffee shops. Ratiños was the first to open, and it now has two locations. We poked our heads into the original in the centre, but the tiny space was jam-packed so we stopped at the second, larger and more relaxed spot on Rúa de San Pedro. It has free Wi–Fi and tables where you can cowork.
Address: Praza de Entrepraciñas, 4 (original location), Rúa de San Pedro, 21 (second location)
Mori Coffee Shop
Maybe the nicest waitstaff we met in all of Galicia was at Mori. The barista here was super sweet and she poured a fantastic coffee, from beans roasted onsite. We also shared some breakfast, since I can’t skip the chance to eat tomato and jamon toasts. Upstairs there’s the possibility of coworking.
Address: Rúa Nova, 32, 15704 Santiago de Compostela
Where to stay in Santiago de Compostela
We stayed just north of the historic centre, close to Nariño (a café-bar mentioned above). Santiago de Compostela is a small, very walkable city so I suggest anywhere within a stone’s throw of the centre – such as the 4-star San Francisco Hotel Monumento (set in a historic monastery), 3-star Hotel San Miguel or 2-star Hotel Plaza Obradoiro.
My dream stay would be the Parador de Santiago, a regal historic hotel that overlooks the cathedral (and has parking), but my budget means I’d book the Hostal Nomade Santiago, which offers very chic private rooms above my favourite wine bar (mentioned above).
Anywhere else in Santiago de Compostela that I should eat at on my next visit? Leave me a comment!
