I loved this teeny tiny little cafe/bar/tapas place. They still do what you'd expect every bar in…read moreSpain to do: serve a small plate (tapas) with every drink. So your Euro doesn't only buy you a small beer or wine but also a small plate of chorizo, some cheese or fried potatoes. They have good coffee for a Euro (cortado) and some cocktails (the classics) too. Very friendly service and a modern, clean interior should have people queueing out the door.

As good as it gets for raw oysters within a 3-mile radius! Coming from Boston, we have oysters ALL…read morethe time but these delicious bivalves made my heart flutter. We shared a few of every variation of oyster they had that day: Cantabra, Gillardeau, Hihna and Tia Maraa. If you're lucky enough to have the Gillardeau available the day you're there, order these. They're meaty, sweet and just perrrrrfect. The local Cantabra ones were quite a surprise. They were unique in that they were super salty in a different way but if you're like me, you need to order at least 1 as it would be a total shame not to try the local version when you're there. The Hihna and Tia Maraa varieties came in as a close second to the Gillardeau - Large, sweet and slightly briny. Highly recommended! Now for the dark horse - The smoked cod (bacalao ahumado) was amazing and NOT to be missed. These flavorful pieces of heaven were accompanied with a mustard and a horseradish cream sauce with a bottle of red pepper flakes. The combo of the sauces, pepper and the cod was divine and elevated it to the next echelon. We wished we still had room to order another smoked fish and at this point regretted that we stuffed ourselves with so many pinchos before ending up here ha! Overall, worth the trip and worth the splurge!

Great place to get a small taste of Santander…read more I came here on the way to another restaurant to get some oysters and a couple of drinks. Well . . . we really came here to get drinks on the way to the other restaurant, but the oysters were a great addition. This place is not as crowded as some of the other places on Calle Pena, which worked well for us because the service was very prompt. Also, this makes the dining experience quite nice, quiet get together. Plus, the waiters/bartenders were really chatty and friendly. As someone from the states, I was really surprised to see that La Mar carried Tabasco sauce as a condiment for the oysters. I do not think that I saw a single bottle of Tabasco at any other point during my trip. The oysters were super cheap and super fresh. Also, the bar carries Tanqueray Rangpur, which is my FAVORITE gin and I was ecstatic to see it because I cannot find it anyway in the NYC.

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.

If you are in Santander, La Radio definitely should be a place on your to-do list. Since a lot of…read morelocals hang out here, you know that the food and cocktails will be top notch. The taverna has an amazing selection of tapas for a decent price. If you get only one thing, you should go with the rabas (fried clam strips) because they are out of this world. Overall the service is pretty nice and efficient. If the place is crowded, you might have to be a little outspoken to get the attention of a waiter or a bartender.

An authentic Spanish local place to eat and particulary to have 'raciones' (plates of food to…read moreshare). I would recommend especially their 'rabas' (fried squid). This one is a typical delicacy from the region and difficult to get good ones and well cooked. Not only these ones are great but also extremely good value. You get an enormous plate to share for just 10 euros (normally these are quite expensive, this is the only place I know where they are so good and at such good value) I would also suggest to try something that you probably have never tried - pigs' ears. I know, it may not sound so apetising, but they are actually delicious! You can see what they are on the 3rd pic I posted. They are served with a spicy red sauce that compliments it perfectly. As you can see, it is another big plate. Another good point is that while you are having a drink or having some 'raciones' you can also eat the food that is served on the counters (for free :). You can get a glass of seafood cream (delicious!), crisps, bread with potato and mayo based salad and tuna on it (you can also see this on the pictures), etc. You actually can have lunch with all these things that are served. The atmosphere is from a typical local place, where the locals meet regularly. However, anyone can fit here, and it is a friendly and casual place to meet with friends for a drink or to eat, or just go on your own and sample some of their food. In any case, whether you are going with people or on your own, this should be a place in your list if you want to 'taste' the real thing ;)