Yes! We sat inside and had reservations. There is a large outdoor terrace that may take walk ins.
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Maribel Iâve looked over every receipt and I also took a photo of the cheese, but it has no label. And as of yet, I cannot post most of my phone photos on this site. Ii do recall the cheesemonger telling me that it won a âbest cheeseâ competition in two different, recent years. I had asked him about a strong cheese and this is then one he immediately chose for me⊠Itâs odd because three photos I took on my phone today at the Pontevedra market have already migrated to the computer and, therefore, can be dragged into this report here. But most of the ones I took today, not to mention the ones from ASADOR GONZABA, a week ago, remain somewhere in the ether. This happened last September, in Sicily; they eventually all showed up but it resulted in a choppy and out of order report, which I am trying to avoid right now.
In any case, Pontevedra is charming and a delightful small city in which to meander.
What is surprising me is that I have not come across a shop with a selection of high-end tinned conservas including the ones bearing the name of Cambados, that I saw in many shops in Santiago. I walked up and down the streets, and the market aisles, with no luck.
I wanted to wait until I had photos to accompany my comments but I will touch on last nightâs dinner, at 5 Puertas, one of the only restaurants that seemed somewhat appealing on a Monday night when most of our choices were shuttered.
The main impression I took away from the dinner was the gratingly loud back-and-forth from the table on the floor above us: A group of English-speaking women who revealed more than anyone would want to know about their trip and their lives in general. They were seated on an open balcony right above our table and truly ruined our dinner. Apart from that, service was kind and accommodating; my partner had very good croquettes with mixed seafood and meats followed by a cod, which he pronounced âvery good.â (You see we are making headway when he orders without prompting, fish; I think the astounding dinner at DâBerto in OâGrove was the turning point but again, I will wait until I have photos to accompany the report on what is surely one of Europeâs "Fish temples!).
Back to 5 Puertas in Pontevedra, I took their cannelloni which I will elaborate on if, and when, the photos show up here!
Iâd like to give a nod to the Parador in Pontevedra, a lovely place to stay, very well located within easy walking distance to sights, and just a few steps from the main food market. Staff have impressed us in their willingness to go out of their way to answer questions and offer help. The regal structure began life as the 16th-Century Renaissance residence of a nobleman and later served as an orphanage before coming into its present incarnation.
Sorry about the 5 Puertas crowd that spoiled your dinner.
those tins from âConservas de Cambadosâ⊠We purchase ours at the gourmet/wine shops in Cambados when we stay at the Parador.
Iâm searching for a US vendor who carries Savel and havenât found one yet, sadly!
I did find this interesting article:
Nice article. I subscribe to Foods and Wines of Spain newsletter, and they have very interesting articles. Today there was one about ham tourism in Jabugo, Extremadura and Guijuelo.
I searched The Spanish Table cheese offerings and they donât carry it, alas. La Tienda carries ArzĂșa Ulloa and San SimĂłn but not Savel. Deespaña Brand Foods doesnât carry it.
Iâm stumped.
You could email the queserĂa and ask if they have a US distributor. But I doubt it.
INFO@AIRASMONIZ.COM
About the origen of the name Rua do Franco,
No, it wasnât named in honor of the dictator, el Caudillo 
There are several hypotheses about its origin:
The most common theory, and the one that the tourism board cites, is that the name derived from the presence of numerous French merchants who came to settle on that street in the Middle Ages to tend to the pilgrims.
Another theory: its origin could have come from a 10th century, wealthy pilgrim, Bertanango Franco, the oldest foreigner about whose possible pilgrimage to Santiago there is documentation.
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PHOTOS; ASADOR GONZABA, SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA
Sight greeting diners entering the restaurant; leaves little doubt as to the specialty!!
Dining room:
Amuse of superb pate of beef, with carta de musica-type bread:
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Great Galician bread at ASADOR GONZABA:
Chuleton de Vaca (cow steak) ; cooked a bit too rare for my partner (he ordered it medium well!) and he did not send it back (as he should have.). .95 kilo=61.75 euro.
He also took exception to the amount of gristle in the meat. I think the steak issue is more personal taste and the fact that we are used to steak in the US. We liked the txuletas in the Basque region more than the steak we tried in Galicia but we do not have all that much experience with either. The restaurant does not note the age of the steaks on the menu, as is the case in other meat palaces, including EL CAPRICHO in Jimenez de Jamuz (Leon) and the wonderful LA CASTILLERIA near Vejer (Andalucia) , where Retinto beef is a specialty. I thought that ASADOR GONZABA had quite a few tempting non-beef dishes on their menu (the volandeiras, for one) and I liked the restaurant enough to try others, maybe even the lechazo, served only for two persons as is often the case.
Look at the beautiful flakes of salt served with the steak:
I was too full to make much of a dent in the tomato and onion salad (6 euro) and the potatoes a la brass (we were given the option of ordering two potatoes (4.50 euro) or three); these came with excellent alioli and romesco.
Empty when we arrived, the restaurant was full when we left about 10:30pm. With an superb glass of Mencia, water, excellent fried potatoes, (and a very reasonable cover of 1.20 euro per person,) our bill was 103.15 euro.
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The Asador Gonzaba here in Madrid doesnât list the exact aging of the steaks either. In our experience, this is the exception rather than the rule. El Capricho does, because JosĂ© Gordon is famous (or infamous depending on the gastro critic you follow) for the very long, ultra long, aging of his beef.
The chuleta temples here in Madrid donât usually list the age of each steak on the menu nor do those where weâve dined in the Basque Country and Navarra. One would have to ask.
At the Basque cider house La TxitxarrerĂa in our ÂŽburbs, the price per kilogram is only listed. One would have to inquire about the aging. The price of their txuleta, Rubia Gallega: 85/kilo.
At Casa NicolĂĄs, the competitor to Casa JuliĂĄn, across the river in Tolosa the price is 92.5/kilo.
At Bidea2 in Pamplona, another of those txuleta temples, the aging is from 40-60 days.
Interesting note: another always controversial list came out this week: the â101 best steakhouses in the worldâ.
The winners in Spain, where weâve been lucky to dine:
#2 El Capricho, Jiménez de Jamuz, León
#7 Laia in Hondarribia,
#13 Casa JuliĂĄn, Tolosa,
#15 Los 33, Madrid,
plus #16 Amaren, Bilbao
#18 Lana, Madrid
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Maribel that is fascinating. Los 33? Lana?
How many fantastic restaurants does Madrid countâŠthere are so many that most of us have never heard of!! Do people even realize what a great eating city is Madrid? I think there are people still stuck in the idea that there are âno vegetables in Spain!!â
LUME, SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA
I would be hard pressed to choose a favorite restaurant, especially since we had a paltry (paltry in number, not in quality!!) three dinners in Santiago, but the honors, from both of us, would have to go to LUME.
Thank you, Maribel, for encouraging me to switch at the last moment, something I very rarely do.
LUME is the casual restaurant under the helm of Lucia Freitas.
Itâs on what must be THE restaurant strip of Santiago, across from the Abastos Market and a few steps from ABASTOS 2.0, where we had a wonderful dinner on our first night after arrival in the city from New York. They offer both a tasting menu and a la carte selections. We chose a la carte. This time!
The food scene is very different from what I remember on my last visit about 18 years ago, give or take.
LUME is small, with one or two tiny window tables and one long table where couples sit across from one another, with one of the two facing the open kitchen where we spied chefs who appeared to hail from Japan, Central America, and Spain (this is a conjecture on my part but one of the chefs was certainly Japanese)
Perfect service, from the moment we entered until the moment we left, we were attended to by a pony-tailed young woman who could have snagged a prize for the best server in town, easily.
My partner kept saying how much he loved the restaurant, how he had never been in a âplace like thisâ in Spain. For a minute I could not understand, until I realized that he had never been to Madrid contemporary stalwarts like LAREDO and LA CATAPA, let alone SALA DE DESPIECES, and all the rest of these modern bistronomika product-forward restaurants. He was overjoyed!
We sat at the far end of the long, narrow table, facing each other. There was no doubt that he would order a burger, but which oneâthey had 3 burgers!! He chose well, the Japanese burger, which thrilled him (and me as well, as I took a very large bite when offered âa tasteâ). Excellent!!
Before the burger, we were gifted a cup of rich consommé in a beautiful hand-crafted grey ceramic cup. I think the base was poultry but whatever it was, I could have devoured a few cups, with bread, and called it a night.
The âJapanese Galicia Burgerâ (18 euro) with many toppings (this has won an important burger prize in Spain but I do not know the details)
and a side of Papas Bravas (7.50 euro)
LUME exterior on a rainy night:
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For me, a half order of navajas, in a pil pil sauce (shellfish is offered with a choice of four saucesâgenius idea!). Six stars!!
9.25 euro.
******AND a half order of bererechos (11.75 euro) in a sauce so great that after devouring the clams, I drank every bit of liquid in the bowlâŠthe sauce is a slightly spicy salsa de encurtidos. This was a new name, and a new flavor, to me but I will seek it out whenever and wherever I can find itâŠjust give me another bowl!!
Dessert was something we rarely order, but this one was exceptional!!! To be continuedâŠbefore moving on to Isla de la Toxa and two dinners in OâGrove.
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Great report on LUME! That food looks divine.
Quick question: what was "Nuestra Rabiosa LU?
About the Japan burger,
These are the ingredients, according to Capel:
âcarne de buey gallego, dos coles, blanca y lombarda encurtidas, queso cheddar, sisho verde, y salsas inspiradas en las okonomiyaki (tortillas japonesas), aparte de lascas de katsuobushi (bonito seco, fermentado y ahumado)â.
All on brioche bread from Santiagoâs La BulanxerĂ bakery.
I want that burger!
She entered this burger in a contest last year in the Spanish national competition of burgers and it came in third.
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Iâd like to learn who came in ahead of her!!! We need to try those two as soon as possible!!
At the end of the three days in Santiago, we rented a car at the train station and made the very easy drive to Isla de la Toxa, a last minute addition to the trip, prompted by Maribel. ( We cut two days from Pintevedra and this was a wise decision)
The Grand Hotel La Toxa is a glorious time capsule and I wish we had had two weeks there instead of two nights. We adored this hotel and could see spending a week there in the hotter months. (I inquired, and there remain available rooms, even in August of this year).
From La Toxa, it was an easy drive to two fantastic restaurants that I imagine rank not only near the top of many criticsâ lists in Galicia, but in all of Spain.
The first night we took one of the tasting menus at CULLER DE PAU. That evening will go down in history as the night that my partner pronounced a raw seafood dish to be âdelicious!!â
(Not a person given to elaborate description)
The second night proved to us why ASADOR DâBERTO is recognized as a âtemple of seafood,â among the finest in Spain. Agree with this reviewer or not, but an interesting read:
https://new.opinionatedaboutdining.com/dining-guide/spain/casual
Galicia is an paradise not only for seafood lovers but for gourmands in general, but one does need to do diligent research beforehand. (Or, easier, just take the suggestions of Maribel!!)
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I can hardly wait to hear about your meals at dâBerto and Culler de Pau.
Ok, who came ahead of LucĂa Freitas in the burger competition?
Number one: the double cheese bacon burger from Burger Food Porn in Sevilla
Number two: Eatyjet GastronomĂa NĂłmada in Vitoria, Alava, Basque Country
WHAT? A burger restaurant in Sevilla!!???
Have you by any chance been there?
Still musing about next March trip to Vejer; begin in Sevilla or in Ubeda/Jaen? Spain is so rich by any metric; food is the big draw now for me, but there is so much else!! Every place I visit now I find myself dreaming about âis this the place I could buy a very small home??â I do not think Lanzarote is in the running, but I must say that the cactus alone is worth the tripâŠan odd thing to say but trueâŠ
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Spain is extraordinarily rich in gastronomic pleasures, not even to mention historical-cultural highlights.
So many places to see, so little time.
ASADOR DâBERTOâŠOâGROVE, GALICIA
This restaurant is considered one of the âtemples of seafoodâ in Spain, a designation that also includes GUEYU MAR in Asturias (regrettably I have not yet been) and ELKANO in Getaria (yes, yes!!).
We booked two nights at La Isla de la Toxa (recommend very highly the riverfront GH Eurostars La Toxa hotel) so we would be close to both DâBERTO and CULLER DE PAU, both very different restaurants and both representing the heights of Galician cooking. Itâs been said many times in many venues over many years, but for food lovers, especially lovers of sea creatures, Galicia would hover at the top of my own list in Spain.
ASADOR DâBERTO
This is a good looking but unfussy restaurant on the main road from La Toxa to OâGrove. Very simple to find, with easy parking. Casual dress fine, as is the case in most of Spain.
Simply put, this is a seafood loverâs paradise and here are a few pics of what we enjoyed on a recent evening in May; service was stellar, very friendly and most willing to discuss menu options. (Can I buy an inexpensive condo nearby so I can dine here a few times a week??)
Unassuming exterior on the main road; reveals little of treasures within:
Greeting diners on the bar, seafood empanadaâmust order; filled with lobster, crab, virrey, mero, and vegetables:
Individual portion of seafood empanada; outstanding. This alone would be worth a visit to DâBERTO.
Berberechos!!!
THE dish at DâBERTO, the âfriedâ bogavante; will retain a place in my memory of stellar Spanish seafood dishes; essential!!! The turbot at ELKANO gets all the fame, but for me, this dish was even more delicious.
Partner chose virrey, the much coveted fish of northern Spain; if you see this fish on a carta, do not hesitate: Order it!! (Look for the large eye and the red skin)
Photo showing virrey, clockwise; amuse of caldo Gallego, possibly THE signature dish of the region; wonderful!!! I believe the vegetable is âgrelos,â typical of GaliciaâŠa variety of cabbage.
Quite delicate considering the hearty ingredients; pic shows the caldo upper right; the bogavante at lower right, along with salt and a salsa. Not shown is an excellent brown bread (most breads we tried in this region were exemplary)
The virrey, before preparation:
Tanks in front area of dining room, harbinger of great things to come.
One review siteâs ranking; no quibble with MANNIX (astounding lechazo) but for me, DâBERTO provided an even more incredible experience than ELKANO. (I prefer mariscos to fish). Both deserve a long, long detour!!
Total price with water and one glass of Albarino: 209 euro for two persons. Good value, and worth a very long detour!!!
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Forgot to add photo of astoundingly great cheesecake at DâBERTO:
CULLER DE PAU
OâGrove, Galicia
Example of how lovely were the locals we encountered:
CULLERâs location on Google maps was way off base and we ended up in the middle of a town somewhere in the vicinity.
I stopped to ask a woman how to reach the restaurant. This wonderful person actually put down her gardening tools, got into her car, and led us about 15 minutes, straight to the entrance of the restaurant! Whoever you are, lovely person, I offer you immense thanks.
CULLER DE PAU has two Michelin stars and considerable fame throughout Spain. I am going to fall down here with the descriptions, as I took few notes, preferring to concentrate on the parade of what seemed like dozens of dishes. I should reiterate that I do not usually prefer tasting menus; there is just too much food for me to consume, and it just becomes a jumble in my mind. Thatâs what happened with this dinner.
Every dish was good to fantastic, service sublime, and the vista looking down from our window table over the huertas down to the sea (they grow much of their own food; the restaurant has a Michelin âgreenâ star for this (but do not take my wordâŠnot sure what the green star actually means)
I will post a series of photos, without much description. The restaurant was most flexible about substituting shellfish for meat or veg dishes for my partner. Happily, on this trip he has begun to appreciate seafood, so I am encouraged about shared meals to come!
The Marexada menus, which we chose, were 170 euro per person; an astounding value for the amount and quality of the dishes. Highly recommended!!!
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PONTEVEDRA, GALICIA
We stayed for two nights at the Parador de Pontevedra, a hotel I recommend highly, for its superbly helpful staff, period guest rooms and public areas, and location within easy walking distance to the center areas of this lovely small Galician city.
Our two nightsâ stay spanned a Monday and Tuesday, and Monday was a problem, as every restaurant we were interested in was closed. We had what was probably the least satisfying meal of the trip here on a Monday at RESTAURANTE 5 PUERTAS. The complimentary first course was a delicious slice of veal but after that, the meal went downhill.
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Hi erica,
Did you get to Eirado de Leña or is it coming up?
