I agree.
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I agree 100% with these cancellation policies, people will make reservations at multiple places and then donât even bother to cancel. Restaurants are having a hard enough time as it is.
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Wonderful visit, so far, even is there was some rain.
Will report on this morningsâ visit to the Mercado de Abastos in Santiago, as well as LUME dinner last night. (Hint: Do not recall seeing my partner so enthralled, ever, by a restaurant in Spain! )
Second nightâs dinner was to placate my partner who does not eat shellfish. ASADOR GONZABA proved to be an excellent choice. The restaurant is located just slightly outside the âold town,â but would be easy enough walk from most any hotel. We took a taxi (6 euro) due to the persistent rain.
ASADOR GONZABA is a classic âgrill restaurant,â an asador.
I believe we were the only tourists there and the welcome was very warm, as weâve come to expect by now in Spain.
Lots of brickâvaulted ceilings; wrought iron, capacious wine âcellarâ as you enter, and many well curated bottles of single malts and gins.
Most fellow guests when we were there seemed to be locals, many arriving in groups. We were the first ones there at about 9pm but by 10:30 the place was almost complete.
Here, again, I am limited by my appetite; I wanted to sample so many things but had to pare down.
Complimentary first course was a coarse pate of âvaca,â served with the carta de musica of Sardinian origin that I had sampled at SACHA; the pate was good and the flat bread was, too, but not close to the version at SACHA in Madrid.
As of yet, most of the photos from that night have not loaded, so I have to present here only what I have so far:
My first course:
Volandeiras: scallops complete with variegated shell and roe. (20 euro)
Iâd not had these before and what a revelation! Why are these not sold in the US? I also did some reading and learned that volandeiras are the less exalted cousin is another type of scallop, zamburinas, which are not in season now.
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Yes, youâre right about the volandeiras being less exalted than the zamburiñas, but I like both!
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I am eager to add more meals: ASADOR GONZABA in Santiago de Compostela; LUME, also in Santiago (that last-minute change from A TAFONA to to Lucia Frietasâ more casual restaurant proved to be a stroke of genius!
and CULLER DE PAU in OâGrove, close to our second of three bases this week.
But my iPhone pics are not moving to my laptop (this has happened before and they may take three days or more to appear; is there a non-complicated method that allows me to hasten this transfer?)
So I will wait to resume this report once the pics appear.
We spent three nights in Santiago before renting a car at the train station (Sixt) and taking the easy drive to the island of La Toxa, adjacent to OâGrove.
We are now happily ensconced in one of those glorious old-line European hostelries where I can imagine that wealthy families would decamp, along with their staff, and settle in for the cool Galiciaan summer. LA GRAN HOTEL LA TOJA. A time capsule in the very best sense of the phrase! Oh, to spend two weeks here in summer! I was even able to swim yesterday!!
Tonight: DâBERTO. Those familiar with Spanish seafood restaurants need no more introduction. The phrase âtemple de mariscosâ is not accorded lightly. Iâve heard it here from Maribel and I heard it again when we checked in and shared our dining plans with the lovely front desk staff. They seemed surprised that Americans had this name on their radar.
But its frustrating not to be able to post photosâŠ
The one take-away I will include here is that as much as you think you know Spain, you might feel as if you are in a different country when you enter Galicia. Not only the language and the foodâŠbut much more. Adds to the fascination. So far the bread, the cheeses, the cakesâŠand so much more, combine to create an eco-system different than other places in Spain that I have visited. And driving is supremely easy!
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Following. Amazing photos, Erica. I havent set foot in Galicia yet, but Iâve been always intrigued. Is there enough to do and see from a first time tourist perspective (question for anyone)
If you are heading east on the coast, thereâs a seafood mecca called Guernica (the restaurant, not town) on the way in Luanco. Worth a pilgrimage.
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Ziggy you need to put Galicia on your list. Of all the regions Iâve visited in Spain, this one has more of its own signature identity that goes beyond language.
We did do the drive east from Santiago to Santander in ONE week, years ago when work was still a limiting time factor.
There is so much out there that is not on many English-language websites. (See how much English info is brought up in a search for DâBerto, where we go tonight)
I do feel almost as if I am in another country now and it is not Portugal, even though we are so close to that country.
With your interest in wine, you might want to move Galicia up on the âfuturesâ list. And it is not a large area and has great roads so very, very easy, even for meat drive around, even at night.
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Hi erica1,
I thought the indoor pool at La Toja was going to be closed, so glad you were able to get in a swim!
Yes, the Gran Hotel de la Toja (stayed there twice) is one of those time capsules, where well-to-do families would come for the summer to âtake the watersâ.
What I love most about living here is the extraordinary differences between one autonomous region and another. This country is extremely heterogeneous.
Each has its own signature identity.
The cuisine of Galicia bares no resemblance to that of AndalucĂa nor to that of Catalunya or to that of the Basque Country (save for the crustaceans and fish of the Cantabrian Sea), nor to that of the Levante, etcâŠ
Some similarities to Asturias, as both are celtic regions with proud celtic festivals, accompanied by gaitas, (bagpipes). A few menu items too: frixuelos in Asturias, filloas in Galicia (crepes) and both produce orujo, but again every region boasts its own wonderful cuisine and drinks.
Plus languages! Galego actually for me has even more similarities to Portuguese than to Spanish.
In Galicia, the wines of the Rias Baixas, Ribeiro, Ribeira Sacra, Monterrei.
Weâve spent two weeks at a time on each visit exploring and still havenât seen it all.
The most extraordinarily beautiful landscape, however, in the late fall, is without a doubt the Ribeira Sacra straddling the provinces of Ourense and Lugo where âheroic viticultureâ on impossibly steep slopes, reigns supreme (much like the Portuguese Douro) and the land bursting with gorgeous fall foliage.
Another cheese that you should try if you see it, San SimĂłn da Costa. I purchased some today at my Hipercor. Cowâs cheese and smoked.
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Maribel, I did buy some San Simon at the market yesterday!
I was surprised that the OUTDOOR pool was open! And it was just warm enough to swim, although I was only of one of two to take advantage.
The GH LA Toja also has the indoor area, also open, despite what they had told me. That requires an extra (nominal) fee, but the pool is small for swimming. (I looked at it from outside)
I was trying to imagine the hotels that remain in the category of those grand old places where city people would decamp for weeks or months in the summer. I could think of only a very few and Iâm not sure if these qualify:
Aiguablava in Costa Brava
Maria Cristina in Donostia (maybe)
SâAgaro in Costa Brava
Son Vida in Mallorca (I only mention this cause my parents met Maria Callas there, no idea if it is even in that category; Christoper Plummer was there and my dad pulled his bad tooth on the beach with only alcohol as a painkiller!) )
Maybe now its the one in DeniaâŠbut that seems more open to tourists from everywhereâŠI think it is a Belmond.
Surely there are some in Biarritz and in Switzerland/Germany but I have no idea about those. Iâm just curious about Spain.
But where else in Spain would fit that category? Itâs now fascinating me.
The service in this hotel is 6-star!!! Oh my, this is the life!!
The staff told me that many âolderâ guests return each year for many weeks.
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These are the hotels that still exist from that time period.
Maria Cristina in the days of Isabel II, when the Royal Court decamped to San SebastiĂĄn to take the waters
Hotel Real above El Sardinero beaches in Santander, ditto, their famous âbaños de olaâ in the Cantabrian Sea.
SâAgaro in the days of the Hollywood stars such as Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner
Hotel Aiguablava
Gran Hotel Balneario in Puente Viesgo, Cantabria
Son Vida, yes
You mean the one in DeiĂĄ, La Residencia, which is a Belmond, established by Richard Branson, who now has a new hotel, the Son Bunyola
The Du Palais in Biarritz
Iâm glad you enjoy the service and happy that I steered you to it, as a journey back into another era.
I first stayed there as a young girl, in 1973. âRobertâ and I went back on our last Galicia trip.
Speaking of other Galician seafood temples, youâve already been to one on your first trip, to NITO in Viveiro on the northern coast, but another in Galicia near the Portuguese border on the RĂo Miño is BITADORNA in A Guarda. Exceptional bogavante (lobster) in this town.
And Loxe Mareiro in Carril for almejas.
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Not chow related, but instead to celtic musicâin addition to Susana Seivane and Carlos Nuñez, add to your celtic music repertoire, Luar na Lubre from A Coruña.
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RosalĂa de Castro was a hugely gifted poet and novelist who wrote in Galego. Some of her poems have been set to music. A really interesting and beautiful cultural counterpoint to the food, wine, weather, architecture, history, landscape, and music of the region.
Some examples:
I spent a week in Galicia in 1983 and never made it back, very unfortunately. What a hauntingly compelling culture like no where else in Spain (or anywhere else), as Erica is so beautifully describing. I am so enjoying these reports, and so longing to return.
Galicia also has two ancient Jewish quarters.
I once made queimada as part of dessert at the end of a dinner party. We turned out the lights. It was really magical. Would have been even better with Galego music.
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Did I mention that, on Maribelâs instructions, I bought a round of ARZUA ULLOA cheese from the market in Santiago. Here we are two days later and that cheese is almost gone!
These cheeses in Galiciaâhow many accolades can I think of?
I also bought, on the advice of the proprietor of a cheese shop I the market, a blue cheese that has won awards as one of the best in Spain. I have not yet opened it; I had a few vacuum packed but they will not make it out of Spain, to be sure. In any case, Iâve been able to bring cheeses home from Spain to the US with no problem in the past few years. The bigger problem is having some left on the date of the departure from Spain.
I am still waiting to resume the food commentaryâŠmost of my photos have not yet migrated from my phone to the MacBook; I had a similar problem last year in Sicily and they did, eventually make it, but many days after I had come and gone from the locations.
In any case, we had three nights in Santiago and a highlight was LUME. I switched from Lucia Freitas âfinerâ restaurant to this more relaxed sibling, in the strip across from the Abastos Market and near ABASTOS 2.0.
In all the meals we have taken together over about 30 years in Spain, I never remember my partner enthusing so much about a restaurant. as he did the other night at LUME.
Counter seating; service as you might imagine if your friend was the server; great classic American music (big plus for my music-aficionado partner)âŠvaried menu ranging from various iterations of hamburgers to simple local shellfishâŠopen kitchen which we could view in full from our seats and watch the team (older Japanese man, Latin American person; one or two othersâŠserved by the most charming young ponytailed womanâŠyou could not make up a more prefect corps if you dreamed it!
I hate to use the word :cool, for one thing, it probably marks me as an alter cocka!! I don;'t know how else to describe LUME. Every dish was exceptional. First courtesy dish was presented in a handmade grey cup; a consommé like no other.
Sublime; I regret that my notes are sparse!
My partnersâ Japanese burger (he ordered this medium well and it was great although I would have loved Medium rare.) That dish alone was enough to sate a normal appetite and was
worth a return to LUME.
I chose from the more classic Galician shellfish options and ordered a half portion of:
Navajas
Berberechos
Before I continued, I think I shocked even the server by tipping the sauce to my mouth and drinking the leftover sauce after the berberechos were gone. That;s how fantastic this was; in another restaurant this could have served as a first course consommé.
We need to depart now for our first dinner in Pontevedra, so will attempt to return soon hopefully, with a few photos!!!
So far, Galicia is the Spain you never knew!!! And the one you need to visit!!
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What is the name of the cheese
a blue cheese that has won awards as one of the best in Spain.
Cabrales is my favorite Spanish blue cheese, and it is from Asturias, which is just east of Galicia and a region that also has Celtic roots.
Iâd love to hear about another Spanish blue and try to find it! I just did a search and came up with one new to me, also from Asturias: Gamoneu.
Your trip sounds so wonderful, and I love reading your reports.
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Yes, which is the blue cheese?
There are so many: Cabrales and Gamoneu from Asturias, or PicĂłn Bejes-Treviso from Cantabria, butâŠ
It may be the queso azul âSavelâ from the Airas Moniz queserĂa in the Ribeira Sacra, because itÂŽs gallego, from Outeiro in the Lugo province.
IÂŽm wondering because itÂŽs sold here in Madrid both at Cultivo and Formaje.
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Maribel the vendor vaccumed it but neglected to add a label. I will post a pic here later and will visit the Pontevedra market soon so see what I can discover!!!
Iâm fairly sure that itâs Savel, as it won the "best cheese award from Salon Gourmets for 2020-2021.
Jersey cows.
And PedroPero can sample it in MĂĄlaga if he goes to Anyway Wine Bar, which we thoroughly enjoyed on our last MĂĄlaga visit in its new, expanded location near Muelle Uno.
Highly recommended for greats cheeses, charcuterie, tartares and of course, wines.
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Anyway looks like a great place to stop in for a bite and some wine 
And itÂŽs extremely well priced!
Reservations recommended?
