There are a lot of restaurants and bars in A Coruña, so even with a week we barely scratched the surface. Here is what we tried.
We had been eating a lot of Asturian food, so we decided on an evening of Italian food to change things up. OTTO Trattoria Spritzzeria did not disappoint. We ordered a bottle of a lovely rosé prosecco (Teresa Rizzi extra dry), then a huge Supplì al telefono (pizza meets arancini) arrived for Eric. For his main he got the Mafalde pasta with cianghale ragu (rich and unctuous) and I had the carpaccio with rocket and parmesan. We also did not regret ordering the pan – the crackers were light and crisp, the focaccia was soft and fluffy and the sourdough was delicious. We left absolutely stuffed!
On Sunday, after a long walk along the Paseo Marítimo, we wanted to grab a quick drink before relaxing back at our place. Several places on our list were packed so we opted to sit outside at MALTE Galera for a snack and drink as they had space. Eric had the Cervexa AleAlé EO! Sour with raspberry and lime and I had a Leffe Bruin. Our drinks were served with a small tortilla bite and we also ordered the Quince and Aruza cheese croquettes which were good, if a bit messy and sweet.
Thank goodness we made reservations for dinner at A Taberna de Cunqueiro – staff was turning away group after group! It took a moment to find the right person to seat us at our outdoor reserved table, but once we sat down, service was friendly and efficient. We split a bottle of the Mytilus albariño (zesty lemon, shells, salinity, high acidity) to go with our meal. I ordered the small (media) mussels to start, then the Pulpo with potatoes. Eric had the media Cecina (rich and smooth) and the Tortilla de Betanzos (the media portion was huge!) All the food was delicious but it was too much for us again – even the half portions are generous here.
A couple days later, we had our hotel reach out to Deabejas for dinner reservations. However, when we showed up at 9pm, the restaurant was shuttered with no explanation. We found another place nearby to walk to but on the way back down Rúa Galera, Eric noticed an open table at La Bombilla, a place we had been wanting to try! We jumped on the table and I went inside to sort out food and drinks. You pay as you go here so I grabbed our drinks and tapas myself, then they delivered the larger portions directly to us. Lots of turnover and movement of chairs during the hour we spent there. I got Eric an (on draft!) Estrella 0.0 and I went for a glass of the Ribera del Duoro red. Food-wise we got the padron peppers (delicious, small and tender), the jamon croquette (tasty, strong nutmeg flavor), tortilla (perfect texture, huge tapas portion!) and a jamon bocadillo (ham was creamy and rich). All options came with chunks of hearty bread. So glad we got to try this place!
We normally eat granola with milk for breakfast when we travel but occasionally we splurge on pastries. Eric had eyed the croissants at Amasarte, during one of our many trips to the nearby grocery store, so one morning I got us a pistachio and chocolate filled pastry. Holy moly were these guys sweet! It took me two days to eat mine.
Since a lot of the popular tapas bars are also open mid-day, we decided to try our luck at Jaleo for lunch. We arrived a little before 1pm and were told the kitchen didn’t open until 2pm (sad trombone), but there were a few small tapas to choose from. From the bar we ordered a Jamon bocadillo; shrimp salad, and anchovy with roasted red pepper toasts. Tapas that came out with our first round of drinks were just okay, I think a potato salad on crackers? The snacks were fine, not memorable, but we did enjoy the wines. For my first round I had a Rioja, Clos/Ibai (85% Tempranillo, 15% Garnacha Blanca, Viura y Malvasía, solid tempranillo forward wine) and for my second the 2021 Guímaro red (light bodied, chewy, cherries and violet, black pepper on the finish with a slightly bitter finish; like!) Eric started with a glass of the Mar de Frades Finca Valinas Albarino (crisp, medium acidity, med finish; some saline and mineral, a little lime) and had the Godeval Cepas Vellas (slate, stonefruit, ripped apple; round body with good mouthfeel, good finish) for his second.
We really enjoyed evening drinks at Rodolfus, a small market focused on Galician-sourced products. Leo was a fantastic host, providing helpful background information on both the wines and cheeses that we ordered. We told him white for Eric, red for me and that we like ‘strong’ cheeses and he delivered! I started out with a Alma Das Donas Adega Rumore, a blend of Mencía and Garnacha grapes (rounded, ripe fruits, very light with nice acidity, 12%; some funk and flowers on the nose; delicious!), followed by a 100% mencia, Catro e Cadela (green olive and earthiness on the nose, smooth finish with a hint of bitterness). Generally, I tend to like the mencia grape better when it’s blended with something else. As for Eric, he started with the Do Ferreiro Albariño (nice punch of acidity, white peach and minerality; less fruit with food), then a Montenovo Godello (balanced fruit and mineral, med body and finish; red apple appeared with the cheese). The free tapa of tortilla on bread was very tasty, and we enjoyed our ½ portion cheese plate featuring four different Galician cheeses. The blue was a standout, floral and salty, quite strong. Highly recommend a trip here.
On another evening after work, we stopped into El Pinar before my cooking class nearby. Service was very efficient and the people watching was great. This cafe is one of several located on a small square, where the adults were sitting at tables drinking beer while young kids hung out on bikes, kicked balls around and climbed trees! For Eric’s first round he had an albariño and I settled for the second Ribera del douro on the list after I was told that the Toro was out. Our first tapa was bread and jamon plus a slightly fishy pastry that Eric rejected. We decided to get a godello to sit a little longer, this time served with bread and a mini meat and cheese platter. We noticed quite a few people stopping in for takeaway, so we got Eric a jamon de grenada sandwich to go (excellent!).
Reservations via the hotel front desk worked for a table at La Saporita! We sat just inside and it was busy when we arrived, most of the tables had reservation signs on them so it’s worth booking ahead. Eric tried two white wines, a Treixadura (fruity, a little residual sweetness) and an Albariño. I had a Ribera del Duero red. We started with the arancini (tasty) and shared an Ibérica pizza (very Naples-like, knife and fork necessary, nice crust though) which had tomato, mozzarella, iberican ham, tomato sauce, goat cheese and caramelized onions. Glad we split one pie!
I spotted Bordello Cocktail Izakaya on Google maps near our place so we decided to go for a drink on our last night in A Coruña. I had booked a table for 10pm but there were open spots when we arrived. Our cocktails came with nuts for round one, then potato sticks for round two. Each cocktail also came with a little accompaniment, like a ginger sweet, pine nut cracker and mochi.
Our drinks:
- Piñonazo (ron angostura rum, pine nuts, orange, black tea)
- Ume Bozu (whiskey, plum wine, ginger) – spicy!
- Anko Mochi (pisco, cacao, vanilla, red mung bean)
- Sasanaki (aged rum, amaretto, matcha, lime, egg white)
