There's a cute saying about pimientos de padron, "unos pican, otros no". Everyone I've ever spoken to has their own theories on why some of the peppers are super-hot and others are rather mild. Is it the seeds? The color of the flesh inside? There really seems to be no rhyme or reason why certain peppers leave you grasping for your glass of water (or wine, or beer).
We went to O Labrego for tapas; the menu features a lot of very typical Galician dishes and the prices seemed reasonable. But be careful! The prices posted are for eating in the dining room inside; the terrace is more expensive.
We ordered Albarino to drink with the pimientos de padron. Of course, with my luck, the very first pepper I tasted was a firecracker and left my mouth burning! Thankfully, the rest of the peppers I consumed were very mild. The preparation of the peppers is very good: blistered just enough, not too oily, and not too salty. And the bread, oh my goodness; it's the barra gallega from Tuypan [1]. There's nothing as amazing as the crusty exterior and fluffy, bubbly interior of this bread.
Our second visit was more disappointing, though. We were enticed by the percebes, which were on special for 9.95 euro for the day. It was one of those "caveat emptor"/ "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is" cases. The percebes "stems" were all way too short or too long and skinny; the most prized and tasty percebes (and the ones that are most expensive) are those that are probably about an inch in length and not really plump or very skinny. Most of the percebes were inedible due to the short length of the "stem". Dinner became an excuse just to eat more of the bread from Tuypan, which is never a bad thing, but not what we had intended to do.
The service is speedy and attentive, but not overly friendly.
[1] Tuypan is an excellent bakery in Vigo and has some of the best rustic Galician breads around. read more