Tags
a coruna, food tours, galicia, galicia getaway, spain, the kilomeaters, travel, trips
My first day trip with Anna and Jorge The KilomEATers was to A Coruña, a lovely coastal town about 45 minutes (by car) north of Santiago de Compostela. We started off by visiting the central market, which is renowned for its fish and seafood. After that we drove over to the second “old centre” by the port, and thus began an amazing culinary adventure.
Our first stop was Taberna Arallo, very recently opened in the Plaza Mayor, and run by the same group in charge of Michelin starred Alborada. To me the décor and general ambiance felt a bit “prefab cool”, complete with the now de rigueur long communal table and open kitchen, and smooth jazz Spotify on the sound system. Luckily we were there at opening time (no reservations taken) and got a spot at the end of the table that felt a bit more “private”.
Here we sampled just three dishes (we were saving ourselves as we knew we had at least two other places to go). The volandeiras in hot & sour sauce were spectacular, and the “nigiri” croquetas topped with salted hake were also very good. But the “flamenking” filled with zorza and potato, while tasty, came with a rather pointless sweet chilli sauce. In general it was a pleasant, if pricey, experience.
Next up was Pulpeira de Melide for their renowned pulpo a feira with potatoes boiled in the same water as the octopus. I thought it was delicious, though Anna and Jorge both insisted they’d had better pulpo there on previous occasions.
Last but not least was a visit to Boca Negra. I’d heard good things about this place and, upon arrival, we were greeted by chef and owner Pablo Pizarro who arranged a special tasting menu for us. The food and service here were excellent – definitely a “must” when you are in Coruña.
- Saam: pancetta with mussel, sriracha, shiitake, tartare sauce
- Cauliflower foam with green curry and mussels
- Dumpling of zambariñas a la Gallega
- Jurel (horse mackerel) in palo cortado
- Bonito tartare with spicy ají sauce
- Secreto Ibérico empanada with curry, spicy housemade ketchup on the side
- Marinated and grilled chicken thighs with peanuts, cilantro, chilli, pineapple
- Dessert: Gin & tonic strawberry ice cream with pink peppercorn
A Coruña struck me as a city of contrasts. Great natural beauty and wonderful turn of the (20th) century architecture at times clashing with patches of modernist wasteland. Though overall it’s an attractive place and well worth visiting. I was grateful to have my two very knowledgeable friends as guides, which definitely helped me get the most of my few hours in town.
Notice that I don’t call these “free tapas” (as they are so fond of calling them in Granada). But they are complimentary, included in the price of your drink, which like in Granada, are usually more expensive than in Sevilla. I paid up to 2.80€ for a caña in Santiago, which of course is outrageous. A typical caña in Sevilla is 1.20€, though you don’t get a “free” tapa with it. To be honest, I prefer to just pay for what I want to eat without elevated drink prices.
It seemed I’d been planning this trip for years, or at least ever since my friend Anna 
We had pulpo a feira (natch) and pimientos de padrón (ALL of them fiery hot), both of which I’d tried before, many times. But then we moved on to a couple of new dishes for me: zorza (think “prueba de chorizo” – pork mixed with garlic, smoked pimentón, oregano) and raxo (marinated pork sautéed with garlic). Both were super rich and super delicious. Anna ordered some local wine served in bowls, Galician style, which later fusioned into an Italian custom of dipping bread into the red wine. I loved this spot and went back to it later on my own.
That evening Anna also helped with organising my week (we both LOVE lists) and we came up with a good variety of things for me to do, both on my own and with them as my trusty guides (including two day trips) which really made things easier for me. In fact, I would have been lost without them. Can’t stress enough how insider knowledge like this enhances a visit, so do get in touch with 
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This always cracks me up, and also leaves me wondering why there aren’t more electrical fires here. And this isn’t even the most extreme case I’ve seen – I just liked the shadow play on the wall.
In 1990 I moved to an apartment in Bristol, England that had what I called my “Spanish kitchen”. It also had a view of a “Spanish roof” from my bedroom window. It was a Spanish kitchen to me because the tiles were terracotta, and the Spanish roof, that looked like this photo, was on a nearby building (not sure why because this isn’t a typical roof style for Bristol). Both those things kept me dreaming about moving to my new home, and then I got a job at a tapas bar there! I was convinced I was on the right path, so even when I was asked to stay in Bristol and manage the bar… I just had to go. I was reminded of my Bristol “Spanish roof” during my 
When I first heard a few months ago that Turismo España had declared that the third Thursday in June was to become known as World Tapas Day, an international celebration of tapas, I was so excited. I started thinking about activities I could either create or help promote and waited to hear more. And waited. And then waited some more. But it turned out that there was 
Came across this just by chance the other day – Km0, or the very centre of Sevilla. And it’s just around the corner from my house. You might remember how I also found the 
Ever since I took my first summer holiday in over twenty years (when I ended up taking 