Exceedingly mediocre Galician restaurant catered to tourists…read more
Although I stayed in Santiago a mere weekend, I enjoyed delectable Galician cuisine in the quaint establishments around town. Not here. Eating our way around Spain, my friend and I were thrilled to try a highly-rated restaurant our first night in Santiago. Instead, we found disappointment.
We were seated in the basement since there was private event on the ground floor. The décor is Galician (read: medieval). Stone walls and wood furniture, plus sparse lighting, transports you to a tavern millennium back. The vivacious ambiance warmed the crisp evening. Around us, groups of pilgrims celebrated the end of a long trip. Our waiter greeted us with a hefty tourist menu that proffered endless dishes in multiple languages. We ordered lightly, having partook a five-course tasting lunch.
= Food =
Galician king scallop (€4.80): Baked scallops au gratin with breadcrumbs and white wine sauce. Supposedly. Meager scallops coupled with meager flavoring makes for a dish so ordinary it is resistant to critique. Was the scallop fresh and juicy? No idea. Was the sauce balanced and complementary? Who knows. We did not finish this shadow of a proper baked scallop.
Grilled razor shells (€15): Navajas cooked with white wine, paired with lemon. We were both obsessed with razor clams (known as navallas or navajas). These clams were juicy, with a moderately chewy consistency. Regrettably the faint fishiness and the gunky guts detracted our enjoyment. The lemon slice helped somewhat.
Padrón peppers: These small green peppers are one of my favorite dishes in Spain. The coalition of the sweet green flesh, the bitter white filaments, the picante seeds, and the light dust of salt, is irresistible. The peppers were good, but extraordinarily over-salted. The Spanish tend to salt more than Americans, but never had I needed to swab the salt off before eating each of these.
Panna cotta: average.
Flan: good consistency and egg flavor. Could use stronger caramel and lower baking temperature for a smoother texture, but otherwise adequate.
Mousse crumble: not sure exactly what this dish was, as it was mis-delivered (in place of the panna cotta). Once we informed our waiter of the mistake, he quickly brought us the panna cotta and let us keep this mousse. It was a heavy for my taste.
= Verdict =
This restaurant was likely popularized by the NYT feature nine years ago. Spirited ambiance and large menus make this restaurant a good spot for big groups. But falls short for foodies looking to savor good Galician cuisine.