The location has been a double-edged sword in the history of Ferrol. Its estuary, the narrowest in Galicia, turned what was then a small fishing village into the great capital of the Spanish navy in the north , which opened the city to people from here and there, to ships and sailors from all over the world.
However, its location – you can't go much further north by road – has worked against it. Ferrol is not a transit city, it is almost always too far to the west or too far north. So close and yet so far. And yet, whoever takes the detour, which, let's face it, isn't that long either, comes across a city that is a surprise: a place with an industrial past and maritime surroundings, of old modernist hotels and neoclassical layout capable of reinventing itself every now and then.
Ferrol is not the obvious destination, but it is full of surprises for those who are willing to look for them. It is the perfect base camp for those who want explore that north coast that resists overcrowding, for those who want to get lost among hidden coves, lighthouses and immense beaches, peek into a medieval past that tastes of legend and some of the best preserved Atlantic forests.
Living room.
GASTRONOMIC TREASURE
And, although many people do not know it, Ferrol is a gastronomic treasure. If we talk about tradition, few counties will find such a well-preserved recipe book of their own. A version of Galician cuisine that moves away from the topic: Welcome to the kingdom of Artabrian cuisine.
Here you will find dishes like octopus a la mugardesa, the shortfin mako, the cedeiresa-style monkfish, the open empanadas that even surprise Galicians from a little further south; proias, patron balls, curruspiñadas, sweet cream, cocadas… pastry specialties that become one more reason to take that freeway exit. And barnacles, of course. And scallops, the real ones, the black ones. And clams of all kinds. Take a walk around the market and be surprised by the quality of the product.
Although if we talk about current restaurants you also have a bit of everything and for all tastes: Sinxelo, O Bacelo, A Barcia Street Tapas, David Freire, Bar El Timón... Y Or Camino do Ingles, the place that you should have on your agenda.
Tiradito of bream.
ON THE RIGHT ROAD
O Camiño do Inglés (the way of English, in Spanish) is a name that deserves an explanation. It is the vital path of Dani López, from Ferrol to the core, although he was born in London. And it is a restaurant that opens its doors a stone's throw from kilometer zero of the english way, the route that pilgrims from the British Isles took to get to Santiago. In the end everything fits.
It is here, in that Ferrol that so often falls outside the guides, and in an old town that smells like the port of all life, where Dani decided that he began his path. So, apart from fashion, shopping areas and tapas streets, he opened his first store here. And the success was such that after a few years he moved to another. The old space, the one that shaped his way of understanding the kitchen, is still his and operates today under the name of Josefa's Bar, a tribute to her grandmother and, at the same time, to those bars from the 80s and 90s in which his generation had its first contact with gastronomy.
O skipper: Danil López
One street up he found a larger space and there began the second stage of his journey. Today, three years later, after a pandemic that has given a lot of time to think, inaugurates a third era, rounder, more personal and more local if possible, which is pure fresh air.
Ferrol product, which means the best of the high estuaries, passed through the indefinable filter of Dani and his team. The table is dominated by one of the dragon balls from the Dragon Ball animation series. One of the menus, the shortest, is called Filispín, a term from Ferrol that means something like 'at full speed'. Full Speed, ordered the British sailors. And the people of the port kept the copla and translated it into their particular language: Filispín.
As I was saying: leave your preconceived ideas at the door and enter wanting to immerse yourself in a gastronomic world that is based on opposites that meet And, against all odds, they fit perfectly. Classic haute cuisine and bar dishes, pop culture of the 90s and the baggage that Dani brought from his time in iconic restaurants of contemporary Galician cuisine such as Casa Marcelo; a very serious winery and an enviable lack of complexes.
Bocarte skewer marinated in salt, duck ham, dried tomato powder and galmesano.
REFORMULATION OF DISHES
And what does all this translate into? well in starters that look towards taverns and reinvent them: a bite of corn, scallop served in its shell and ham that pays homage to the mythical Casa Pena empanada, a nod to the classic O Baleo pizzas that It is reformulated in the form of bacon ssam, pickled garlic, garlic chutney and nasturtium. Do you know what zorza is, the marinated pork loin that is a very popular tapa in Galicia? Dani reinvented it years ago with mackerel and Padrón peppers and today it is a classic that is difficult to remove from the menu, even if it is just a bite on a crispy potato to start the menu.
In this house they have no complexes. And if Alain Passard, one of the great names in French cuisine today, sewed half a chicken to half a duck and cooked them together –his famous Chimera–, Dani and his team make the Rías Altas version by joining a scallop and a monkfish medallion on the plate which are served over a Norway lobster broth and topped with an emulsion of butter and palo cortado. A nod to the French chef, yes, but also to those monkfish and shrimp skewers from the bars of a couple of decades ago. Before we talked about opposites that meet: there you have them.
Pork rinds and scallops from the estuary.
This Camino do Inglés continues turning the New England clam chowder into Ferrolano: a clam broth with potato, bacon and Iberian chorizo topped with clams and cured wild sea bass. Or proposing a roast quail served with what the cook presents as a “tribute to the mushroom”, another one of those essential bars of yesteryear that is presented here raw, fermented, pickled and powdered with a coffee vinaigrette.
Rice pudding, the quintessential dessert in the city, with a gel de cream – a sherry wine – homemade local plum jam, vanilla ice cream, cocoa beans and a chocolate tile. Or a classic Galician ear, a light and crunchy dough, with pomace cream. And the feeling that, along with the menu, a whirlwind of ideas has passed over you, giving shape to a gastronomic journey that may have caught you by surprise, but leaves you wanting more.
Buttered/caramelized rice pudding.
Galician cuisine, yes, but not the Galician cuisine that the topic would invite you to think. Contemporary cuisine, it is true, but with constant nods to the classics, to taverns, to tapas bars. Pantry from Ferrol, from the estuaries, Ártabra and Atlantic, but capable of looking to the other side of the ocean or to Asia, if necessary, without losing an iota of its roots.
and you leave thinking why the hell did you take so long to come to Ferrol and in trying this cuisine. And that's the best thing that can happen to you when you leave a restaurant.