Santiago de Compostela is the final destination of the Camino de Santiago. It is also one of the best places in Spain to enjoy the authentic cuisine of galicia. If you’re planning your visit and do not know what to eat in Santiago de Compostela, you leave some of the typical dishes from galicia you need. After traveling miles to the galician capital, what most want is to sit down to enjoy authentic food and quality. And here’s why you never lack.
If you come to Santiago de Compostela and you want to explore the city without carrying your luggage, you can leave your backpack or bag in our left-luggage in the historic center. So you can move with total freedom and to sit quietly in any restaurant or market to enjoy the gastronomy of galicia.
Discover the gastronomy of galicia authentic during your visit to Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela is one of the capital’s gastronomic most important of Spain. The servings are generous, the food is great, and nobody will leave hungry. Galician cuisine is based on three fundamental pillars that make every meal is a unique experience.
Appellations of Origin galician
Galicia includes products with a seal of quality recognized internationally. Albariño, cheese Arzúa-Ulloa, galician veal, mussels from Galicia or Padrón peppers are just a few examples of this. These products with Designation of Origin guaranteed authenticity, and the highest quality.
The confluence of the product of the coast and inland
One of the great advantages of Santiago de Compostela is its strategic location. It is less than 30 miles from the Atlantic ocean and surrounded by mountains and valleys of the interior. That’s why, in this area you can find both fresh seafood of the day, such as meats, galician, cheeses, or vegetables from the garden. This combination of products makes the menus gallegos are so varied and with the product of proximity.
Tradition of feeding pilgrims (hospitality, historic)
Galicia takes centuries welcomed pilgrims every year on the Camino de Santiago. It is one of the cities with more hospitality, and that’s reflected in its cuisine. It is very typical to share a table with other pilgrims, serve generous portions, and take care of the visitor. Here we eat quietly, enjoying, talking…All of this is part of the DNA of the restaurants from compostela. And here you’re not going to go hungry.
Typical dishes from galicia you have to prove yes or yes
If this is your first time in Santiago de Compostela, or simply want to try out some of the best dishes of galician cuisine, we leave you here the dishes must-haves that you need to ask in any restaurant.
Pulpo a feira (octopus á galega)
The octopus a feira is probably the most emblematic dish of Galicia. The octopus is served on a wooden board, cut into slices more or less thick, with paprika spicy and sweet, salt and a good splash of olive oil. The key is in the cooking: it has to be tender on the inside, but with that touch of crisp on the outside.
Where to try the best pulpo a feira
- Market: The pulpeiras traditional market you serve it freshly made, and you can find rations of good size for 12-15€.
- A Taberna do Bispo (Rúa do Franco): it is located in one of the city’s most touristic of the city, and you can have rations for 14 € approximately.
- Casa Marcelo: if you’re looking for a fine dining restaurant, this is the perfect option. Have rations around 18-22 €.
We recommend that you ask the octopus “ben’s past,” if you like it more done, “or” ao point” if you prefer to make more tender. And come always with a good Ribeiro or an Albariño is cold.
Scallops, bay scallops and volandeiras
The scallops are the symbol of the Camino de Santiago. You can find them prepared in different forms: au gratin with onion, grilled with garlic, or even raw if they are very fresh. The bay scallops are smaller than sea scallops, but they are just as good. The volandeiras are even smaller, and tasty. Each one has a unique texture and flavor, but all are delicious. So I do not know which to choose, ask for a plate of each.
Where to try the best scallops
- Curro da Parra (zona Ensanche): you can find scallops in the oven for 16 €.
- Market: you have the option of buying them raw if you want to do in your home or to order them to the plate. You have a lot of jobs on the market to choose from.
- Horta dObradoiro: you can find bay scallops to the plate 14 €.
Barnacles: the delicacy wild Atlantic
Barnacles are one of those products that either you love them or you hate them. Are collected in the rocks most dangerous of the galician coast, this is why they are usually so expensive. They taste very marino, intense, and its texture is different. Typically, they are eaten boiled with water and sea salt. The key is eating them freshly cooked and hot. You have to try at least once in life.
Where to try barnacles fresh
- Market: are the barnacles freshest of Santiago, and at a good price.
- Abastos 2.0: the cook in the time and you serve them directly on the bar.
- Restaurant Planter: have a product of very good quality and good price.
Empanada gallega (galician: much more than a snack
The empanada gallega is another of the great classics of Santiago de Compostela. It can be of tuna, cod, meat, scallops, octopus… every family has their traditional recipe. The dough has to be thin but fluffy and the filling has to be generous. In Galicia you can never go hungry. If you’re going to do a tour of the area surrounding Santiago, you can buy a pie in whole or in part in any of the restaurants and bakeries of the city.
Where to buy the best empanadas:
- Obradoiro Empanadas Artesanais: with different flavors and even gluten free items. The price is usually between 16-20 €.
- Bakery Mora (traditional, from 1910): this local leads since 1910, making pies, and here you can find the most traditional among 12-15€.
- Market: there are several stalls with artisan empanadas great and different flavors from 10 €.
The pilgrim menu, authentic restaurant with a Michelin star
One of the things I like most about James is that you can eat incredibly well-whatever your budget. You can find it from the menu of the pilgrim (10-12 € full menu) to haute cuisine restaurants awarded with Michelin stars. What is interesting is that between these two extremes there are a lot of options in the middle. But you have to know how to choose well.
Average budget (10-30€ per person)
The pilgrim’s menu is the best option. Many restaurants in the historic old town have full menus for 10-12 € that include starter, main, dessert and a drink. Question what drives the menu before you sit down, because some menus are more touristic and more authentic. Normally, the good the pilgrim’s menu include caldo gallego, octopus, hake or pork tenderloin with Padrón peppers.
Budget high (40-50€ per person)
In Santiago de Compostela there are several restaurants of haute cuisine and Michelin Star. Casa Marcelo, with his cuisine, or the Restaurant Culler de Pau (to the outskirts of the city) are examples of this. You can enjoy dishes prepared with products from traditional and contemporary technique of great chefs gallegos. If you want to celebrate something special or give you a whim dining, these restaurants have tasting menus.
The Market: far more than a market, the cathedral of the product galician
This market is considered to be the culinary heart of the city. You can find a great variety of stations with the best products gallegos: fresh fish from the Atlantic, live shellfish of the day, meat galician, artisan cheeses, fresh vegetables, homemade sausages… The market is open Monday to Saturday from 8:00 to 14:00 pm (closed Sundays). The best days to visit are Thursday, Friday and Saturday, as they have more variety of products.
Options for different budgets
The Market adapts to all pockets. If you are on a tighter budget, you can buy directly in posts and cook them yourself at home. It is the most economical way to try the products gallegos. If you prefer to eat there, the stalls of Abastos 2.0, have more economic options with rations for 8-10 €: octopus, scallops, grilled, barnacles…
Try these dishes you will come out cheaper than at any restaurant in the historic district. You can ask for half a portion if you want to try a bit of everything or a ration as a whole. If you want seafood choices more exclusive as spider crabs, lobsters or barnacles of the first category, the price is about 20-50 € depending on the product and the quantity you choose.
Historic Old Town - Area Cathedral
The historic area around the Cathedral is where you will find the widest range of restaurants in Santiago. Here you’ll find everything from traditional pubs to fine dining restaurants, going through the typical tourist sites that are best to avoid.
Rúa do Franco is the most famous street to eat in Santiago, but also the most touristy. In this street you will find the pilgrim’s menu on all sides, but the quality varies a lot. The parallel streets as the Rúa da Raíña or Rúa do Vilar tend to have more options with a quiet and authentic. Here the prices are similar, but the atmosphere is less of a burden and it’s easier to find site without a reservation.
Do not fill up only with the first thing you see. Santiago has a lot to offer and it is a pity to miss it by going easy.
