This is not hake: it is a little piece of heaven in A Coruña
TO CORUNA
Dawn _(Paseo Marítimo Alcalde; Francisco Vázquez, 25; tel. 981 92 92 01; €€€€-€€€€€) _
Contemporary kitchen. L he essences of the local and the most up-to-date and meditated go hand in hand in this restaurant.
The cuisine of Ivan Dominguez in Alborada It is a sustained work around the defining elements of Galician Atlantic cuisine.
Purity, essentiality and a radical commitment to conceptual cleanliness define a brave, determined work, capable of exploring the local pantry to the most humble products, and that is unlike any other. Rice with nettles and nettles ; grilled lobster with sea fennel; cured scallop with roots and beach herbs.
Even side items like the bread or the excellent appetizer butter come from local producers.
Interior of the Alborada restaurant
Arallo Tavern _(María Pita Square, 3; tel. 609 24 76 51; €€) _
Contemporary kitchen. The most roguish, informal and traveling version of the creativity of Ivan Dominguez and his team , in the Plaza de María Pita.
At some point someone defined this place as “la taberna del no”: there are no tables, no reservations, no desserts and no coffee.
And yet, we could speak of a "yes tavern": that does know how to merge with meaning and, he does know how to select from here and there, contributing his personal imprint.
This is the bet Christian Santiago Breijo at the controls, under the supervision of Iván Domínguez, that he is capable of putting together a proposal that is unlike any other in Galicia.
Any of the dishes that go through his grill should not be missing in any order.
Veira Tree _(San Andrés, 109; tel. 981 07 89 14; €€€€-€€€€€) _
Contemporary, technical and carefree cuisine, in a small charming place in the center.
Two tasting menus that offer a journey through the cuisine of louis veira and his team. The local product – hake, razor clam, Norway lobster ...– rules in a heterodox offer of up-to-date Galician cuisine without complexes.
In it, Veira's background –trained, among others, at El Celler de Can Roca– and a solid team, led by Iria Espinosa , is evident in each elaboration, where academic influences and other cuisines coexist without friction.
The hake with Galician cabbage broth is one of its essentials.
beautiful you!
BiDo _(Marcial del Adalid, 2; tel. 881 92 28 47; €€€€) _
Contemporary kitchen. Juan Crujeiras is already a classic of the most current Galician gastronomy.
After years at the helm of A Estación (Cambre), first together with Miguel Silvaronda and then with Beatriz Sotelo, Juan Crujeiras Last year he made the leap to the center of A Coruña with a place tailored to his cuisine, consolidated over the years, in which the local product is reviewed through friendly dishes, without edges.
His unconditional fans will find here what they enjoyed for so many years in his previous project, in a current environment and with an urban location that fits like a glove. Attention to the excellent wine service.
Black mouth _(Water Irrigation, 35; tel. 881 89 54 64; €€) _
Current kitchen. Unbeatable location, lively atmosphere and a traveler proposal without prejudice.
With three years of experience, that of Bocanegra and his chef, Paul Pizarro It is a story of nonconformity.
From a contemporary tavern to a restaurant in which, along with an offer linked to that first stage (with mythical dishes such as the squid sandwich or stewed cheek tacos), more substantial proposals begin to appear: the scallops with pig's trotters stew or the red mullet with its rice or tuna with its broth and pickles, are examples of where this aspect points, frequently suggested in the 'off menu'.
The Share menu, with seven dishes at the center of the table, is ideal for discovering its cuisine.
Bocanegra awaits you at Rúa Riego de Agua
Hokuto _(Artillery Field, 5; tel. 981 90 11 30; €€€€) _
Signature cuisine. The Japanese and Galician gastronomic traditions were called to meet. And they have done it in this Coruña tavern.
There is a lot of Japanese technique here, of its respect for the product and its delicacy in the elaborations and also of flavors of memory, memories of traditional stews and local preparations.
From this union of two culinary cultures focused on the sea, dishes such as the scorpionfish caldeirada usuzukuri are born; tuna sashimi with tomato and other preparations in the same line that appear on the menu depending on the market.
It is worth getting carried away by their niguiris: xurela with tomato; flame-fed mullet; ameixón (thin shell) with bacon…
Paul Gallego _(Capitán Troncoso, 4, ground floor; tel. 981 20 88 88; €€€ ) _
Galician cuisine. Two decades after its opening, this small restaurant is still a safe bet when it comes to product kitchen.
Heir to a historical gastronomic saga, Pablo Gallego has been in the trade for 30 years. The sediment is noticeable in an academic proposal with slight updates, in which the Coruña sea is the undisputed king.
Pleasant local, collected and discreet, a step away from the Maria Pita Square . They are famous for their hake neck, their crayfish carpaccio, their lobster and spider crab salpicón or the monkfish and crayfish liver cake.
Their cocochas are, without a doubt, among the best in Galicia.
Pulpeira de Melide _(Plaza de España, 16; tel. 981 15 21 97; €€) _
Hugely successful grocery store that hides more than one surprise on its suggestion boards.
Gorka Rodriguez is the fifth generation of a family of pulpeiros. After training in Noma, Mugaritz or El Celler de Can Roca, He returned to the family business a few years ago to win the title of Galician Chef of the Year in 2015 and combine the most classic offer of a traditional grocery store with proposals of the day in which he hints at a kitchen with a bit more ambition.
You have to order the octopus, with its potatoes aside; the Betanzos-style omelette and, if they appear on the blackboard, the seasoned or battered oysters.
BARIZO
Ace Herons (Puerto Barizo, 40; Malpica; tel. 981 72 17 65; €€€-€€€€)
Updated Galician cuisine with sea views.
Fernando Agrezar and his team work with the best products from neighboring markets. Yours is a solid kitchen, yes. in effect, with traditional roots , which does not renounce an evolution, in which fish and shellfish are treated with discreet elegance.
From marinades or empanadas –some of the best in Galicia– to dishes such as turbot with peas and bacon, stews of the day or mackerel in salt with creamy celery-ball cachelos.
It has a four-bedroom accommodation with views of the cliffs.
The views of this restaurant accompany dishes from the sea that are cared for but without sensationalism
DUMBRIA
Landua (Lugar de Santa Uxía, s/n; tel. 667 61 74 79, 671 63 03 65; €€€ CLOSED FOR THE MOMENT- stay tuned to your social networks for the reopening)
Galician cuisine. This little restaurant is one of those secrets that the Costa da Morte reveals from time to time.
The House of Santa Uxia is a rural accommodation in a village on the edge of a reservoir, in the least visited area of the Death Coast . That is why its up-to-date cuisine has merit, without excesses but solvent, with common sense and a contemporary vocation.
Local product, updated recipes and innovative winks in elaborations that take on all their meaning in this environment between mountains and coast, regardless of fashions and tourist flows. Cocochas, peas and tendons; cuttlefish, codium and wild chard; stewed free range rooster cannelloni
Reservation essential, as they work with a unique tasting menu.
FERROL
O Camino Do Inglés _(San Francisco, 17; tel. 981 35 20 90; €€€) _
Contemporary kitchen. O Camiño is a changing cuisine, market and current , which nods to the local pantry from a novel perspective.
This small restaurant (a change of location is planned in the coming months) next to the church of San Francisco places Ferrol on the contemporary Galician gastronomic map , through attractive, fresh proposals, subject to what the market provides every day.
Low prices for a product cuisine with enormous personality, in which the Asian technique wraps the ingredients in many dishes, while others review classic recipes without prejudice. Raw jack mackerel with potatoes and peppers, hake with cauliflower and garlic meunière.
The suggestions with raw fish and Japanese cut technique stand out: Galician sea bream, marinated sanmartiño, sea bass with beetroot …
CENSUS
Chef Rivera _(Park Link, 14; tel. 981 81 04 13; €€€-€€€€) _
Galician cuisine. Four decades of experience make this house a classic that continues to a great level.
After working for several years in England and France, José Antonio Rivera, chef Rivera, returned to Register in 1976 to launch, together with his wife, what is today one of the great temples of Galician cuisine.
Few work the lamprey like here and their hunting proposals combine tradition with a more academic vision.
All this, together with the solvency in the elaboration of typical stews, make the restaurant a reference that does not go out of style.
Very well selected winery. Look out for the impressive collection of Port wines.
RIBEIRA
gastromania _(North, 22; Palmeira; tel. 687 74 63 02; €€€) _
Galician cuisine. A radically local offer that could be defined as “contemporary cuisine from the estuary”.
This small place in Palmeira is nourished by the neighboring Ribeira fish market , one of the most important in Spain, and the seafaring culture that permeates the environment.
Traditional stews revisited and humble fish vindicated in all their gastronomic potential, they coexist here with more current recipes, in which the chef hints at his training in great Galician restaurants and the rest of Spain.
One of the references of contemporary cuisine in the southern part of the province.
You have to ask Nacho Rodríguez, the cook, about the fish of the day.
SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA
A Horta Do Obradoiro _ (Hortas, 16; tel. 881 03 13 75; €€€) _
Eloy Cancela and Kike Piñeiro offer their particular vision of the local gastronomic tradition in this house .
A stone's throw from the Cathedral, in a house with a pleasant garden, Eloy and Kike run a small and charming restaurant in which the product of the sea rules and in whose menu two differentiated lines coexist: on the one hand, more classic, refined and updated recipes; on the other, a series of dishes with recognizable Galician roots but passed through the personal filter that these chefs propose daily.
Their ray caldeirada is, without a doubt, one of the best in the city.
The house with a garden in which to enjoy the best caldeirada de Raya de Compostela
To Tafona _(Virgen de la Valla, 7; tel. 981 56 23 14; €€€€) _
Contemporary, technical and precious cuisine in the courtyard of an old house from the beginning of the 20th century.
A Tafona has just come out of a reconversion process that, after eight years, changes its appearance to maintain its essence.
Lately ** Lucía Freitas ** was already in charge of the kitchen alone, and now it is the space that finishes adapting to what this chef from Compostela was looking for.
Technical cuisine, millimetric, with impeccably constructed dishes and very careful aesthetics. The kitchen has gained meters after this reform . Now the room is more comfortable and all this is reflected in menus with a Galician character and a contemporary vocation.
Desserts are always at a very high level.
Supplies 2.0 _(Plaza de Abastos,; Booths, 13-18; tel. 654 01 59 37; €€€) _
Galician cuisine. Single table inside and a few more on the terrace to enjoy a simple meal and products with contemporary touches.
Eight years ago Mark and Iago they dared with a space in the Santiago Market Square : Barely 20 square meters between the kitchen and the dining room where they serve market cuisine in the strictest sense.
Today they have another place opposite that complements the offer, based on Galician products, mainly from the sea, treated with simplicity and a freshness that is also seen in the environment.
His elaborations with knives are already an essential.
Water and Salt _ (Fountain of Santo Antonio, 8; tel. 680 59 81 10; €€€) _
Contemporary kitchen. With barely a year and a half of experience, Auga e Sal is already a benchmark in Compostela cuisine.
Starting from an unusual gastronomic culture in someone in their mid-thirties, Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon Utrera he selects with almost obsessive care the raw material of a restaurant in which the local goes hand in hand with the most academic international cookbook, jumping from royales to caldeiradas with success.
This pretty restaurant at the gates of the historic city is a little rarity, able to drink from here and there successfully to design a menu outside of trends.
His winery has reasonable prices and very well selected references.
A mix of trends that is natural and delicious
Altamira Coffee _(Ameas, 9; tel. 981 55 85 92; €€) _
Contemporary kitchen. Tavern atmosphere updated and proposals at the center of the table.
The most casual kitchen of Alén Tarrio, who also runs the nearby Curro da Parra, finds accommodation in front of the market. Casual atmosphere and a very good selection of wines by Alex Oubiña.
From the stoves come elaborations that range from typical tapas (like an excellent salad), to good rice dishes, traditional root recipes and some of the best vegetable dishes in the city.
Menu of the day in front of the beautiful Plaza de San Agustín at a really competitive price.
Altamira Coffee Hake
House Marcellus _(Hortas, 1; tel. 981 55 85 80; €€€-€€€€) _
self-defined as Japo-Galician tavern, It is more than that, a heterodox place for gourmets without prejudice.
Can it be an ambitious restaurant with a shared table, high stools or no tablecloths? Casa Marcelo proves that it is. And it is not strange, since Marcelo Weaver, one of the creators of the idea of a New Galician Cuisine, he has been able to convert a restaurant with an academic concept into a place outside of conventionalisms, with a philosophy that goes from traditional dishes to Japan or Peru with an excellent product as a common thread.
Ear and prawn dim sum, fried scorpion fish with chili pilpil. Attention to the essentials that are still on the menu, such as the potato leek with yolk and bacon or the whole fried scorpion fish with red chili pilpil.
Meek _(Avda. de Vilagarcía de Arousa, 21 tel. 881 95 96 57 €€€) _
Contemporary kitchen. With a solid career, Alberto Lareo is one of the most interesting chefs on the Galician scene.
After passing through the school of Marcelo Tejedor, Jacques Maximin or Eneko Atxa, among others, Alberto Lareo He returned to Compostela five years ago to propose a solid and personal vision of the Galician product.
His is a kitchen that flees from excesses and unnecessary gestures, discreet and capable of wrapping the main product in each dish with impeccable stocks and broths. Nothing is left over and everything fits into a concept capable of reformulating traditional flavors from the Galician taste memory without stridency.
It has a letter, tasting menu and an attractive menu of the day.
Or Curro Da Parra _(Travesa, 20; tel. 981 55 60 59; €€€) _
Contemporary kitchen. Small place in the historic center with tapas bar and restaurant.
At street level, the restaurant has a narrow tapería. Upstairs, a dining room with few tables, in which Alen Tarrio (also in charge of Pazo de Altamira) suggests a more gastronomic version of his recipe book.
After passing through, among others, ** Casa Marcelo (Santiago) and Paco Morales (Bocairent) **, he officiates a revised Galician cuisine to which he contributes elements of Mediterranean roots or of an academic nature.
Lobster from the estuary with beans from the country; bonito tuna with asparagus and English anchovy cream, fig tartare with foie gras and O Cebreiro cheese.
Pay attention to their off menu, in which the daily fish from the neighboring food market dominate.
€ Less than €10
€€ Up to €20
€€€ Up to €50
€€€€ More than 50 €
*You can find the 2018 Gastronomic and Wine Guide in a digital version for your devices, at Manzana , Zinium Y google play .