Eating in Santander

Eating in Santander

The capital of Cantabria is the municipality that has more inhabitants in this Autonomic Community, and it offers a great selection of maritime gastronomy. Try the local dishes that we suggest below, as well as the famous products you can eat in Santander. The bar and restaurant offer here is huge, reason why you will be able to have lunch and dinner in a different place every day.

You will always find great fish to eat in Santander. As a starter, it is a good idea to try some rabas (calamari), which are specially good if they are the magano or peludín type, or some anchovies from Santoña, each time more demanded and also more expensive. The typical dishes from Santander are the cocido montañés, the fish soups, the marmita de bonito or the bonito with onion, the manganos or chipirones (small calamari) in its ink with white rice, anchovies, grilled sardines, hake or monkfish…

There’s also good meat, specially if it is from tudanca cow, a local breed from the Cantabrian mountains. Another dish that became popular a long time ago is the sirloin wirh Tresviso cheese, with D.O.P. Picón-Bejés-Tresviso. Talking about the cheese from Cantabria, don’t forget the Quesucos de Liébana, the Queso Nata de Cantabria, both with D.O.P., or the Las Garmillas (a fresh cheese from Burgos). As a dessert, as this region is full of cows, try the leche frita or the rice pudding, flan and natillas. If you’d like some sweets, we recommend the famous Sobaos Pasiegos (with I.G.P.).

sobaos santander
solomillo queso
guiso pescaso santander

Cañadio, located in the square with the same name, has two other restaurants in Madrid. Here you will be able to enjoy an incredible traditional cuisine. Good ingredients and well elaborated pinchos. You will have to eat standing up, but the pinchos are worth it. The bonito meatballs are delicious.

If you want to eat tapas, Rampalay offers more than 30 varieties of pinchos, all of the delicious. The vermouth and the anchovies in Solorzano; portions, tostas and great ham in Las hijas de Florencio; and great tapas in Casa Lita. This last place has a nice presentation, original food and a great chicken curry pincho.

comer santander casa lita
Casa Lita
comer santander restaurante hijas florencio
Las Hijas de Florencio

It won’t be hard to find nice places with a good cuisine in Santander. Here we’ll talk about some of them. In Deluz, the restaurant occupies the different rooms of an exclusive cottage of English influence in the residential region of El Sardinero. International cuisine, good ingredients and ecological meats. It has a nice garden that is good for the celebrations of weddings or other events. Their peach gazpacho with basil ice cream is amazing.

In the center of the city, the Bodeja del Riojano, which started in 1940, has always been a reference place, constantly visited by many artists that left their mark by decoration the wine barrels, turning the restaurant into an authentic contemporary art museum. Traditional food, simple and made with good ingredients. They have a great pastel de cabracho and they also offer some pinchos.

El Machi, very complete, with delicious breakfasts and pinchos at the vermouth time, meals, maritime rice, drink times, dinners… It is a maritime tavern with blue and white colors, where everything is always delicious. The fish is the king of the menu.

The region of Puerto Chico is a place where many restaurants are at. The Bar del Puerto is a place where you will find a huge offer of fish and quality seafood. In El Serbal, which won a Michelin star in 2003, makes delicious food based on Cantabrian products, apart from having a broad selection of wine with a luxury wine tasting. El Marucho, very popular and specialized in seafood and La Mulata, a restaurant with many other sea products, are also great options. In Bodega Fuente Dé you will be able to enjoy homemade food at a good price, cocido montañés menus, lebaniego and cheese from the Picos de Europa.

The Cantabrian capital has a good reputation because of its bakeries and ice cream stores, such as Confitería Máximo Gómez and the artisan ice cream store Capri, which keeps producing ice creams with the original recipe of its Italian founder.

comer santander restaurante machi
Restaurante El Machi
comer santander restaurante serbal
Restaurante El Serbal

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