Our first taste of Asturias was at a traditional cider house, Sidrería El Tasqueru, about 15 minutes from Gijón. The server didn’t speak English and there was some confusion about ordering at the table or at the bar, but eventually we got it sorted out. Eric got the cecina (cured beef) again (a little fruitier and less smoke on this one) and I had a bowl of morcilla and fries, the amount of which did not translate to the price! We also split a bottle of natural cider which was our first introduction to the long, messy, pouring procedure (escanciado) to ‘aerate’ the cider because it has no carbonation. The process is fascinating, often using a waist-high semi-cylindrical shield set on rollers to protect others from the collateral spray. Ultimately, we found it a little tedious to have to get the server’s attention every few minutes to top us up as it’s frowned upon to pour your own. We were, however, entertained by the 80s-ish music videos playing on YouTube and watching lots of older people and construction workers working through the daily special. Many tables got a bottle of red wine to share. Payment only in cash.
Our dinner at the ARTIEM hotel restaurant – THE GREEN Restaurante Lounge – was fantastic! We started with their house rose cava which was very drinkable. I had the beef tartare prepped table side (should have said less pickles!) and Eric had the rice and pork cheeks which he thought were almost as good as the ones we had in San Sebastian – high praise! The chocolate dessert we split was almost too much… well worth it. Service was friendly as well.
San Telmo Cocktail bar – We stopped in for cocktails on Eric’s birthday and again on our last evening in town.
On our first visit, several tables were marked reserved, but we got one in front of the busy bar area. We each ordered the Old Fashioned ‘ahumado’ and, since we were seated at the bar, we noticed that there were several stages where it was smoked. Our drinks were delivered with olives and popcorn, plus small glasses of water.
To conclude our last evening in Gijon, we stopped into Inferno Gastrobar for a cocktail but their drink options were limited to daiquiris and mojitos. I wasn’t feeling those options, so we left to try our luck again at San Telmo. The same table was available, yay! This time Eric got an espresso martini and I tried the regular (non-smoked) old fashioned. Fantastic cocktails and the gum drops were nice. Wait staff was very friendly on both occasions, highly recommended!
Eric’s 50th birthday dinner was at a Bib Gourmand restaurant, El Recetario de Álex Sampedro. We arrived at 10pm and most people were finishing up their meals; I guess people eat earlier in here! We ordered a few small plates to share: jamon croquettes (very light, with small pieces of meat), duck pasties (lots of flavor, with good sauce), and the beef cheek (delicious, lots of flavor, mashed potato pairing was great). The sparkling rose we wanted was out but the replacement (same price) was very nice – Agusti Torello Mata Kripta Trepat Rosat Brut Reserva Cava. Overall, the service was superb, friendly and efficient (and the only spot in Spain where they refilled our wine glasses). The lighting was the only minor knock, it was surprisingly bright inside for a fine dining place.
We booked a spot at Lugar del Vino for dinner where we had our choice of tables. Eric started with a Vinho Verde (lovely tropical notes, full mouth feel) and I had a glass of cava. We ordered the jamon pan de cristal (sandwich) and a small Asturian cheese plate to split. As before, we liked the blue cheese best and the mild sheep cheese the least. For our second glasses, Eric switched to a rose (big and rich, red berry, nice) and I had a Tinto de Toro. We sat next to the bar and service was friendly. It definitely seems like a locals kind of place.
Our one helado experience in town, Los Dos Hermanos, delivered with a reasonable amount at one scoop for 2,60€ each. Mint chocolate for Eric and pistachio for me – both flavors were tasty. We ate these at the seawall watching the end of the sunset.
Feeling like a more casual vibe for dinner on another night, we chose Arde Lvcvs for burgers. Upon arrival we were directed to the basement which was a few degrees cooler, and where we could watch the Europa Conference League final. (Crystal Palace won.) Eric ordered the Leffe Triple while I got the Leffe dubbel as it was on draft. Our beers arrived with substantial snacks, including popcorn, chicken nuggets, and corn chips! For dinner, Eric ordered the classic El Tesoro Asturiano burger with pulled pork, cheddar, bacon and their signature Jaggermeil sauce and I got the Jalepeño burger with goat cheese, jalapeños and caramelized onions. Both came standard with crispy, salty fries. Yum. We decided to split a Gulden 9000 quad for dessert. Service was prompt and friendly.
Cadejo Wine Bar, a bar specializing in natural wines. This wine bar was a little pricier than other places in town, but our server (Rodrigo) was very helpful and explained things in English for us. He also suggested a few places for our next week in A Coruña. He recommended a Mencia for me, explaining that this grape in particular is much better with a few years on it. This 2021 was aged in neutral oak and then hung out in the bottle for a little longer. Eric had a Portuguese white blend (funky, big acidity, some saline). We both enjoyed the sundried tomato spread with bread sticks as our free tapa.
BAR COS was our second stop after the natural wine bar, where we grabbed a high top table in the alley shared by several other small bars. There was a list of wines by the glass available on the wall so we didn’t have to negotiate based on taste with our waiter. The guy serving us was very friendly and joked with us about our Spanish and English pronunciation. Eric went with a rue’ddddd’a and I had a Tinto de Toro. Our tapa was 10 small fried chicken nuggets, so cute!
We made a dinner reservations for 9pm at La Excusa Perfecta but had our choice of tables when we arrived. Here we sat with a good view of the kitchen and after our food was served, the kitchen was cleaning up and shutting down! To drink we split a bottle of the Brut Natural Reserva cava, Amaltea Loxarel 2022, which was clean and crisp and pondered our choices of dishes. There was no printed menu, so we chose what we wanted through the website and recited it to our waiter. We settled on 4 items: XL Cannelloni with Iberian pork cheeks (23€); the aged Picaña beef rolled with foie and egg yolk cream (8€); 3 Crispy chicken and bok choi gyozas on a seaweed salad (6€); and two mini Chinese breads with cured pork jacket and yolk croquette (6€ each). Everything was unique, delicious and well presented. Our server was also friendly, explaining the dishes as they arrived. Nice experience, we were both surprised it wasn’t busy on a Thursday night.
The outside patio for Vinatería Cervecería Platero was full but we grabbed a table inside no problem. We had good timing because we only stayed for one drink and the rest of the tables filled up during our visit. The wine list was on a board by the bar, so I chose a Tinto de Toro and Eric got a Marietta albariño. Our drinks came with two small hot dog bocadillos. From our spot, we were able to watch the very end of the Djokovic vs Fonseca French Open match.
I was really looking forward to dinner at El Almacén and it was slammed when we arrived; the whole street was packed with people enjoying the weather. Feeling a bit nervous they even had our reservation, we eventually got our table in the back, but the lady serving us seemed annoyed / generally unhelpful for our visit. I showed her a photo of the wine list to order from, but she waved it off and just rattled off a few options instead. I ended up with a Ribera del Duero tempranillo and Eric got a Mana Verdejo. We opted for two mains: the lasagna de pitu de caleya (free-range chicken) was excellent, salty with a nice vinegar bite. The beef cheeks with Pedro Ximenez was good but a little one note. The potato(?) puree that covered half the dish had no flavor at all. It was very warm inside and even though we had a reservation, our table was right next to the bathroom. Our waitress never came back to check on us, so we sat with empty wine glasses for half the meal. I had to go to the bar to get the check. We would not recommend this place for dinner.
