Great place for tapas! And also for a glass of wine. This is one of the only place I was actually…read moreserved a free tapa with my glass of white wine. The service was very friendly. Read more at www.kimstravelblog.com

It's just one of those places you shouldn't miss while in Santander. Fabulous homemade cooking,…read moregreat stews, beef, fish, veggies and desserts, and a great selection of wines. Fantastic value for money. You'll see mostly local people eating here, from breakfast to dinner. They don't take reservations, so 13:30 for lunch and 20:30 for dinner are advisable times to arrive.

I was expecting way more than what I got at Bodegas Fuentes De, especially considering 1 hour in…read morethe queue and the excitement I hear from several girls in line that knew about if from TikTok. My disappointment was super big after getting a lukewarm supposedly Cantabrian soup that tasted like water and salt and the ugliest croquetas with zero bechamel I have ever had. It seems to be very popular with locals and maybe I got the worst of the menu (I was going to get some of those portions but they were too big and they didnt do half portion for the ones I want). It was a waste of my time and bad food. Also the service was not great and took forever for me to pay as I was being constantly ignored at my table.

Crowded and bustling bodega in a good way. Old style place; not much front but top notch Cantabrian…read morespecialties. The chuleta de vaca was a giant delicious chop of rare beef. The cheese selection was great, especially the Picon. Delicious giant tomatoes, as well. It's always busy and you probably will have to wait in line. Don't hesitate to do so, it's worth it. The waitstaff is harried and busy can be a little bit grumpy sometimes, but they're really nice. It's just that they're really really overworked. Take some time and enjoy this lovely bit of Santander.

Our favorite dining experience in Santander! We ordered 4 dishes and everything was delicious! We…read morehad a multi course meal the night before and this food blew that meal away! They did not have a menu in English, so we just looked at pics on Yelp to see what looked good (and this worked great!) The grilled squid was amazing!!

Great food and service!! Seafood is fantastic, just like the service!!…read moreGo, you will be happy you did!!

This was a major pleasant surprise for us. We just had great snacks and drinks, but someone said,…read morenow is the time for real food. The local reviews were great, so we wandered in search of La Mulata (it's named after a kind of crab). It is quite far from the main waterfront and it is in an unlikely spot inside a collection of stores. When you enter, you think that you are just in a seafood market as there are chairs and the bounty of Santander is right there for you to see. But then you are escorted to the back and there is this wonderful private spot with white table clothes. We had no idea what to expect as this is a truly local spot, there weren't any English menus as far as the eye could see. Still, we were put in the good hands of the place and she rattled off a host of things and we just nodded and said yes. Boy, are we glad that we did. The prices are incredibly reasonable (like the rest of Santander compared with the tourist prices of say San Sebastian), but the quality is incredible. This place prides itself on great fish and plenty of it. We started with a great appetizer of shrimp and then we had some terrific stew that was so rich and wonderful. The best thing was the whole seabass though. We each had a portion and they were delicious and flavorful. So if you are in Santander and have an appetite this is the perfect place.

Located in the "old town" section of Santander, there is no shortage of quality competition on this…read moreblock. The restaurants here each have a splendid reputation for their fare. What sets La Lola apart then, is friendliness to newcomers. My wife and I are clearly not from Santander. (Folks can recognize we're from the States even from behind!) That said, a casual stroll along this street starting around 8pm showed us where people were welcome to start their evening a bit early, and where customers were not welcome before 9. We had already been "shooed away" from several restaurants when we came across La Lola. One of the waiters was outside, chatting amicably. He said they wouldn't start serving until 9, but would be glad to provide us with a place to sit and some nice refreshments... Right around nine, he came to our table and escorted us inside to the dining area. (By then, the outside patio was full to overflowing - while in the nearby restaurants, people were just starting to show up.) From that moment on, we were made to feel like they were there only for us. The food was terrific. We started with a house salad with tuna, then my steak was grilled to perfection - it was juicy and tender, with just the right amount of grilled onions. My wife's meatballs were little masterpieces of flavor... absolutely delicious! For dessert, my wife gobbled up the chocolate mousse (delicious!) and I had the house specialty, homemade cheesecake. Wow! Really, WOW! A nice touch after dessert - I'd asked for a "Cuban" coffee, explaining that I wanted it strong enough to stand a spoon in. He decided to go one better, and add a shot of Cuban rum to it. Well done! We felt cared for, we were very well fed, and really - if we were staying longer, would come back to this place again and again. It's how they made us FEEL that mattered.

Lucky for anyone who loves a good glass of wine and pintxos (and who doesn't?!), Santander has a…read morevery lively pintxos bar scene. Around 8pm, people start to trickle into the bars to have a glass of wine before dinner. Bodega Cigaleña is one of the most memorable of the pintxos bar - first and foremost, the sign at the door declares it is a "museo del vino". As soon as you enter, you very much feel that you are walking through someone's wine collection. Vintages of Rioja that go back as far as the 1920s decorate the shelves and the slate gives the feeling that you are in a cellar. The decor and the way that the bar zig-zags (it is not one long bar) gives the impression of coziness, privacy as you snag your own little nook, and a non-pretentious atmosphere to enjoy wine. Old people and young people alike choose to hang out here. As for the selection of wine, there is tons of it! Each denominación de origen (Spain's terminology for wine appellations) that surrounds Cantabria was well-represented and whether you wanted a red, white, or rose, there were plenty of choices priced under 3 euro. Silly me, I set a goal of wanting to taste every wine on the list; in reality, I tasted three on my two visits here. The bartender seems to have the power to read minds and always knew when me or one of the other clients was ready to try something new. And then there are the pintxos, which are of just of good a quality as the wine served. The tortilla was perfect and made the "Galician way" - just a little bit raw and softer in the middle. After a glass of wine on an empty stomach, the tortilla was all the more satisfying (and prevented me from becoming very drunk). The anchovy pintxo is just three anchovies served over a slice of bread; not overly impressive, but I think that the lack of flavor and texture of the bread was probably to blame. Bodega Cigaleña was definitely one of the most memorable "food and wine" portions of the trip to Santander. The wine, the food, the service - everything is of very high quality.

They have a selection of inexpensive, high quality wine and a selection of expensive high quality…read morewine. The place is small, bit as it is not as popular anymore, there was no issue finding room. It is not a place I would suggest for finding sates, but it is a nice place for wine and snacks.

I'm visiting my daughter who lives in Santander. This was the end of my stay, so the two of us…read moredecided to go out for a nice dinner. This is a fantastic location with great views, but I recommend staying away from the restaurant side. Before our meal, the server walked around with an enormous tray of warm bread and said, "We start with bread here. Would you like some?" We had bread plates in front of us, and we accepted. The meal was delicious. When she brought the bill, it was hidden inside a closed book, and she also stood waiting for payment with the card payment machine in hand. I usually look over my bill, but due to it being higher end and inside the book, with her standing ready for payment, I would've felt awkward, so I paid. I later realized why they did that: once I saw my bill, I discovered we'd been charged for the chunks of bread (€5 each), and for an additional glass of wine. I've been to high end and very high end restaurants around the world, and I've never seen this before at such an establishment.

Our stop here, was pretty special, our tour group picked for us this restaurant for lunch at…read moreSantander. It is located near Queen Victoria Blvd. The location is right on the beach. Was a beautiful view on this beautiful day! They have 2 restrooms, one in the dining room and one in the tavern (one person each). But the staff, saw the women group lining up, came by to let me know, there's more in the tavern side. Our food: Cesar Salad. Was so good! It also came Fresh Hake from Santander, served with tomato sauce, but instead olive oil. (I was given lots of oil on my plate, but the lady - well known world traveler - decided to exchange with mine Hake. We got the Local Cantebrian Dessert. See photos.