Favorite Restaurants Along the Camino del Norte and Camino Primitivo
On the Camino, one often resorts to pilgrim’s menu… the inexpensive, three-course meal composed of simple yet nourishing food that many pilgrims have come to rely on. But I always encourage fellow pilgrims to enhance their Camino experience by exploring the food of the Iberian peninsula beyond the typical pilgrim’s menu. And this is exactly what I did in my latest Camino on the Northern and Primitivo route. These two routes are not only blessed with gorgeous views but go through regions very well known for their food… The Spanish Basque country, Cantabria, Asturias and finally Galicia. Below is a list of some of the places I had the opportunity to dine at and which I recommend checking out.
SAN SEBASTIAN
Casa Vergara 1948 – A pintxos bar specializing in cod… enough said!
BILBAO
Patri – a gastro bar by Martin Berasategui, the chef with most Michelin stars in all of Spain.
Zeruan – a traditional restaurant in the heart of the old town.
Lurrina Restuarante – Bar and restaurant recommended by a friend from Bilbao, this restaurant recently was awarded the prize for the most creative pintxo in all of Bilbao!
Mercado de la Ribeira – A food hall located in the largest covered market in Europe, right on the banks of the Nervion river.
COMILLAS
El Pirata
LLANES
El Cuerra – a traditional Asturian restaurant with amazing fish!
Pastelaria Vega - Amazing meringues that have the right level of sweetness without being to cloying.
RIBADESELLA
Arbidel – A Michelin starred restaurant considered to be the best value among all the Michelin restaurants in Spain!
VILLAVICIOSA – Spain’s apple capital!
Lena Sidreria Gastronómica – A bit more upscale than your typical sidreria (the equivalent of a beer hall but for cider) with an incredibly creative menu. One of the highlights was pulpo a la pedreira, octopus breaded in panko and flash-fried and served with prawns.
GIJON
Sidreria Casa Fernando – an unpretentious cider hall right by the port with amazing seafood!
OVIEDO
Tierra Astur – Brace yourself for hearty portions of food. I particularly liked the onions stuffed with tuna and the torto (a flatbread meade with corn flour) with seafood
El Ferreiro. Rustic environment where I had the best tarta de la abuela – a dessert made by layering cookies, pastry cream, and chocolate ganache.
LUGO
Meson del Alberto – Restaurant and Taperia. More refined renditions of traditional Galician fare such as empanada Gallega and pulpo. One of my favorite is their creamy rice with shrimp and seafood.
Restaurante Campos – Restaurant and Taperia.
Bar Restaurante Anda – The upstairs restaurants offers a more refined experience of traditional Galician dishes.
MELIDE
Garnacha – My favorite pulperia in the octopus capital of Spain!
O Tobo do Lobo – Had some amazing scallops with diced jamon ibérico and panko bread crumbs.
SANTIAGO
San Clemente – A traditional Spanish restaurant with white tablecloth service where many locals gather for long lunches with the family on weekends. I recently had an amazing octopus carpacio that was simply sublime!
A Horta do Obradoiro - More modern rendition of Galician dishes
Casa Marcelo – Asian-Galician fusion menu in a more modern environment.
A Taberna do Bispo – Simply my favorite tapas bar in town!
Maria Castaña – A rustic Galician restaurant in the heart of the historic center of Santiago.
NEGREIRA
Casa O Barqueiro – One of my favorite seafood restaurant in all of Spain. Worth taking a trip out of Santiago for it!
