The food was insane good. Only had a salad and tomato and anchovies pincho with cheese and the…read moreflavor was out of this world. Bottle of great Cava and dinner only $40 Euro. Wow.

One of the best tapas place that me and my friend stopped by during our 5 days northern Spain road…read moretrip. We tried 4 different tapas and they were all very good. Lots of variety to choose from as well. The waiting staff was very attentive and were willing to try to speak some English for us travelers.

Great wine selection and delicious pintxos. Beautiful ambience and friendly service, too. Love it.read more

Great food, great ambience and great prices highly recommended if you're in Bilbao Spainread more

We didn't understand why this shop had the most expensive tapas but yet the longest lines. After…read moretrying their good food, we know why. Many basque speaking locals frequent the store, which is a good sign too. (You can tell when you hear "eta" in every other sentence - it means "and" in basque) The octopus and snails are really great. The other tapas are great too. They heat up the tapas so that its served at the perfect temperature. Loved it!

Excellent food for a very reasonable price, in a location that's stunning on a sunny day (on the…read morebeach). Elaborate plates with lots of flavor and yes, you will be full even with the smaller degustation menu. Great choice of bread.

My wife and I have no idea how this restaurant has earned a Michelin star. Stuffy service and…read morehorrible tasting food. Do not recommend!

This is a cute, brightly colored red and green restaurant very near where I live, and I chose it…read morebecause it looked open, and it also looked less expensive than El Jardīn. I really just wanted a café con leche but I only had a card and no euros. Entonces, tengo que comprar comida. El menú, that they wrote down for me actually, didn't have many dishes. I let them choose for me. I think they had sopa, carne, and fish, but I'm not sure. I think he chose carne for me. Anyway, they also have wifi and will give you the password if you want. So apparently what I ordered was some meatballs in gravy and fries. I don't really know why everything I seem to order comes with fries in Spain. At the Día Desur, the organic restaurant in Santander, I ordered fish and veggies with guac and it came with fries. This, again, is with fries. Is it because I look and sound American? Do Americans just get fries automatically? I'm not sure. Anyhow, the chef/waiter was really really nice. The bread was not really that great. I was sad because I would have eaten it. The dish was good. It wasn't the healthy thing I would have ordered if I could read (I really need to work on reading food - maybe that is what I will do tonight, look up lots and lots of terms for food. Find some Spanish menus online. Translate them. Google: Ordering in a Spanish restaurant. Yes, I need to do this) but it is delicious. I have heard that whatever restaurant is in Novales is good because if it was not, it would shut down. And I will eat this even though there are no vegetables because I have been going kind of hungry in Spain. Just a bit. But I look very svelte, so yay. I know this is a travesty, though. Because Spain has delicious food. I know it does. And I think that if I can just find some Spaniards to take me out and show me the way, then I'll be so thankful. I want to enter that magical land. It's just that my current host family (whom rocks by the way, omg I love them) is made up of rather busy parents. The café con leche, by the way is a really generous portion. The soup was very good too. I think I may have ordered soup. It came first and was kind of a savory golden broth with the smallest bit of noodles. It was very hot. Very comforting. Then they took it away. I did not know how to ask to keep it. Quiero mantaner por favor (?). I need to learn more Spanish if I am going to survive. I do know some. I crash coursed the language two weeks before I came. But I decided to come very suddenly. Oh, and I am glad I did. I am excited for my self-given homework for tonight. Anyway, I would rate this restaurant (with a bar - there is kind of a partition or second room for the eating area) as semi-casual. It is nice, more than a diner for sure. I wish they would draw the curtains open though - it is a very cloudy day. Oh, and it is mid-May right now, and cold up here in the north sometimes. I just want to tell you that. Café con leche everywhere I go: muy bueno.

Although our time was short at La Pirula, we enjoyed our quick bites of snails and gildas and swigs…read moreof wine. La Pirula is situated in what is considered downtown Santander (actually, I think it's referred to as El Centro) so you'll see folks from all walks of the life dining here or walking past the restaurant. The restaurant has a few tables for dining outside. However, the restaurant is on a somewhat busy street so if car noise isn't your thing, then it might be advisable to eat indoors. Overall, I thought the service was fine. While our waitress wasn't overly friendly, she wasn't rude.

Great local tapas restaurant. We went at 9.00 on a Friday and it was hopping. We were very lucky to…read moreget a table- there's a second room that we didn't spot. My local friend recommended it. It's full of locals so it's the real deal. Most of the staff are friendly and helpful- there was one last serving who wasn't a happy camper. I thought it was is but my local friends joined us at the end of the meal and they found her to be gruff. Anyway the place is very reasonable. The emphasis is on seafood- we had prawns and clams and tuna as well as salad and jamon and bread. The wines were very reasonable and tasty. Their coffee was fantastic. It's very reasonable- Santander is a cheap destination for us Irish- and it cost roughly €20 Per head including wine and coffee. I would recommend La Pirula if you're in Santander for decent affordable local wine and food.