With one of the most important ports on the Galician coast, Vigo is prominent in the gastronomy of Galicia. If you want to know what to eat in Vigo, we recommend a stroll through the Market, where you can discover the star products of local recipes. In terms of fish, sardines, monkfish, hake and turbot are all typical, and can be baked or grilled or prepared in classic caldeiradas (stews). For seafood: crabs, lobsters, mussels (with D.O.P.), or the very famous river barnacles, which you can order at the local establishments.
As for tapas, you’ll find empanada, octopus a feira (in the Galician style), and oysters. Don’t forget the Queso de Tetilla, with D.O., acclaimed even outside of Galician borders. Wash down all of this with a Rías Baixas wine, like the Albariño, or have a copa of the famous Galician coffee licor.
If you’re going to visit Vigo, pay attention to the gastronomic festivals: Fiesta de la Cocina Marinera, during five days in the second half of July coinciding with the festivals of the Barrio de Bouzas; Fiesta de la Sardina de A Guía (Oak grove of Carballeira, neighborhood of Teis), during the first or second week in August; Fiesta del Mejillón, in September at the Parque de Castrelos; and the Fiesta del Marico, also in September, at the port of Vigo.
Galician bread is regarded highly, so take the opportunity to try all of the different types: corn, rye, Cea, barra or bolla, etc… And to finish your visit, leave Vigo as it deserves, with a good queimada (a hot Galician beverage made by burning pomace brandy with lemon and sugar), and recite the conxuro (spell) created in the city in 1967, participating in the famous ritual that is said to scare off spirits and witches.