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.

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.

Wonderful bar and restaurant along the Camino del Norte! Stopped in before the final push to…read moreSantander, and man, was it a treat! Be sure to sit on the patio, have some wine, and rest. Friendly service, too!

Terrific Cantabrian lunch...we didn't have a reservation but we were seated in the bar and the…read morestaff were helpful and friendly. We were started with an amuse bouche of roast beef (beef is their specialty), then followed their recs for an octopus entree and sirloin main. The octopus leg was nicely pan fried and served on a rich vegetable bed. The sirloin was done mostly rare and with a nice bed of sliced potato and red pepper. Wife enjoyed her dulce-de-leche tart and coffee.

El Castillo is located in the heart of Santillana del Mar and just a few doors down from the…read moreParador Gil Blas. The restaurant can be broken up into 3 parts. First there's the barrel tables outside for the smokers and locals only conversation. Just inside is the Bar for drinks and tapas and beyond that is a sit-down dining area. El Castillo is refreshingly unpretentious and even a bit charming blunt service-wise at times. The food was also very good, was served generously, and was a very good value for the money. Gayle and I had the "Menu de Dia" for 14 Euros, which got us 2 Courses, Dessert, Bread and a Bottle of Wine to Share. The Stew and Roasted Lamb were particularly tasty.

The first night here we had a good dinner and went back a couple nights later. It had just turned 8…read moreso the waiter told us we could not eat outside unless we ordered more expensive meals. No problem though he was curt. Half the tables were empty. My wife ordered the salmon and tomato salad. The waiter said they were out, so she ordered an anchovy and tomato salad which ended up a mayonnaise potato salad with a couple anchovies on top, horrible. A couple minutes later the table behind us got the salad she requested. Said it wasn't his fault they just got more. The guy was an A. Walked away with an upset stomach. Service was horrible and at those prices they should be bending over backwards.