I love La Despensa!…read more They have an killer special in the evenings: 2.5€ for a drink and an awesome pincho of your choice! The friendly, young woman who works in the evenings knows, and loves to practice English. She knows our orders by heart now! The atmosphere is cool; contemporary art gives the restaurant a nice vibe. Location can't be beat. It's on a corner with ample windows to people watch. Check this place out and you won't regret it! It's our favorite pincho place in Santander.

Lucky for anyone who loves a good glass of wine and pintxos (and who doesn't?!), Santander has a…read morevery lively pintxos bar scene. Around 8pm, people start to trickle into the bars to have a glass of wine before dinner. Bodega Cigaleña is one of the most memorable of the pintxos bar - first and foremost, the sign at the door declares it is a "museo del vino". As soon as you enter, you very much feel that you are walking through someone's wine collection. Vintages of Rioja that go back as far as the 1920s decorate the shelves and the slate gives the feeling that you are in a cellar. The decor and the way that the bar zig-zags (it is not one long bar) gives the impression of coziness, privacy as you snag your own little nook, and a non-pretentious atmosphere to enjoy wine. Old people and young people alike choose to hang out here. As for the selection of wine, there is tons of it! Each denominación de origen (Spain's terminology for wine appellations) that surrounds Cantabria was well-represented and whether you wanted a red, white, or rose, there were plenty of choices priced under 3 euro. Silly me, I set a goal of wanting to taste every wine on the list; in reality, I tasted three on my two visits here. The bartender seems to have the power to read minds and always knew when me or one of the other clients was ready to try something new. And then there are the pintxos, which are of just of good a quality as the wine served. The tortilla was perfect and made the "Galician way" - just a little bit raw and softer in the middle. After a glass of wine on an empty stomach, the tortilla was all the more satisfying (and prevented me from becoming very drunk). The anchovy pintxo is just three anchovies served over a slice of bread; not overly impressive, but I think that the lack of flavor and texture of the bread was probably to blame. Bodega Cigaleña was definitely one of the most memorable "food and wine" portions of the trip to Santander. The wine, the food, the service - everything is of very high quality.

They have a selection of inexpensive, high quality wine and a selection of expensive high quality…read morewine. The place is small, bit as it is not as popular anymore, there was no issue finding room. It is not a place I would suggest for finding sates, but it is a nice place for wine and snacks.

This is a lovely place to eat tapas. The restaurant inside is decorated with lots of wood and is…read morevery busy. I would normally have looked for a table inside but as it was so sunny and warm, we opted to sit out. We had a delicious dry Rose, along with pulpo, prawns, salad and jamon and coffee at the end. It came to €15 per person- great value. This is located just down from silken colisseum and is definitely worth a look if you're in the area. I really enjoyed out relaxing lunch.

Do you enjoy being shouted at for not understanding that they'd finished serving? Do like when…read morewaiters roar after you while throwing their arms up in the air because you brought your drinks outside and you HAVE TO drink them at the the bar? Are you excited at the prospect of trying to speak your best Spanish to a waiter, only to have him roll his eyes and sigh at you? If so, this is the place for you.

Worst meal I've had in Spain. Fish cooked delicately elsewhere is prepared unthoughtfully here. Egg…read moreand flour recipe on the hake was heavy and greasy. Vegetables overcooked. Salad uninspiring. A mistake to come here and the higher than average price tag only added insult to injury. Very disappointed.

I'm visiting my daughter who lives in Santander. This was the end of my stay, so the two of us…read moredecided to go out for a nice dinner. This is a fantastic location with great views, but I recommend staying away from the restaurant side. Before our meal, the server walked around with an enormous tray of warm bread and said, "We start with bread here. Would you like some?" We had bread plates in front of us, and we accepted. The meal was delicious. When she brought the bill, it was hidden inside a closed book, and she also stood waiting for payment with the card payment machine in hand. I usually look over my bill, but due to it being higher end and inside the book, with her standing ready for payment, I would've felt awkward, so I paid. I later realized why they did that: once I saw my bill, I discovered we'd been charged for the chunks of bread (€5 each), and for an additional glass of wine. I've been to high end and very high end restaurants around the world, and I've never seen this before at such an establishment.

Our stop here, was pretty special, our tour group picked for us this restaurant for lunch at…read moreSantander. It is located near Queen Victoria Blvd. The location is right on the beach. Was a beautiful view on this beautiful day! They have 2 restrooms, one in the dining room and one in the tavern (one person each). But the staff, saw the women group lining up, came by to let me know, there's more in the tavern side. Our food: Cesar Salad. Was so good! It also came Fresh Hake from Santander, served with tomato sauce, but instead olive oil. (I was given lots of oil on my plate, but the lady - well known world traveler - decided to exchange with mine Hake. We got the Local Cantebrian Dessert. See photos.

As good as it gets for raw oysters within a 3-mile radius! Coming from Boston, we have oysters ALL…read morethe time but these delicious bivalves made my heart flutter. We shared a few of every variation of oyster they had that day: Cantabra, Gillardeau, Hihna and Tia Maraa. If you're lucky enough to have the Gillardeau available the day you're there, order these. They're meaty, sweet and just perrrrrfect. The local Cantabra ones were quite a surprise. They were unique in that they were super salty in a different way but if you're like me, you need to order at least 1 as it would be a total shame not to try the local version when you're there. The Hihna and Tia Maraa varieties came in as a close second to the Gillardeau - Large, sweet and slightly briny. Highly recommended! Now for the dark horse - The smoked cod (bacalao ahumado) was amazing and NOT to be missed. These flavorful pieces of heaven were accompanied with a mustard and a horseradish cream sauce with a bottle of red pepper flakes. The combo of the sauces, pepper and the cod was divine and elevated it to the next echelon. We wished we still had room to order another smoked fish and at this point regretted that we stuffed ourselves with so many pinchos before ending up here ha! Overall, worth the trip and worth the splurge!

Great place to get a small taste of Santander…read more I came here on the way to another restaurant to get some oysters and a couple of drinks. Well . . . we really came here to get drinks on the way to the other restaurant, but the oysters were a great addition. This place is not as crowded as some of the other places on Calle Pena, which worked well for us because the service was very prompt. Also, this makes the dining experience quite nice, quiet get together. Plus, the waiters/bartenders were really chatty and friendly. As someone from the states, I was really surprised to see that La Mar carried Tabasco sauce as a condiment for the oysters. I do not think that I saw a single bottle of Tabasco at any other point during my trip. The oysters were super cheap and super fresh. Also, the bar carries Tanqueray Rangpur, which is my FAVORITE gin and I was ecstatic to see it because I cannot find it anyway in the NYC.

I loved this teeny tiny little cafe/bar/tapas place. They still do what you'd expect every bar in…read moreSpain to do: serve a small plate (tapas) with every drink. So your Euro doesn't only buy you a small beer or wine but also a small plate of chorizo, some cheese or fried potatoes. They have good coffee for a Euro (cortado) and some cocktails (the classics) too. Very friendly service and a modern, clean interior should have people queueing out the door.

This place was recommended to me by a local friend. By first appearance it has a cool ambiance,…read morecool entrance, almost passed by the place. When I walked inside I sat at the bar and it took forever to get the attention of the staff to get a table. I had questions about the menu and luckily one of the staff members spoke english and helped me pick out something. I came for lunch and they had a 2 course menu choice for 18-19 euros not including a drink (besides water) I got the sushi and the whitefish and potatoes (completely forgot what they called it) . The food was well done. The sushi was very fresh, soy sauce on the saltier side. The second dish was warm baked fish on cold potatoes and vegetables (called Lomo Merluza). The fish had a lot of flavor and the vegetables did not so it was a good medium in between. I also got a brownie and cafe con leche. The brownie was very rich and chocolatey. It had strawberry pieces on top that made my day. I honestly couldn't finish it because it was so rich. The food was filling and tasty but it was not worth the price (total came to 20,15). It wasn't mind blowing spectacular. I recommend but not if you're on a budget and maybe once in a blue moon.

Delicioso! Oh thank you, organic goddes for having this place. I think it was my first actual meal…read morein Spain. They have organic beef, fish that they get fresh every morning from a market, and a really delicious-looking salad that I want to get next time that had quinoa and dried fruit (the energizer salad). Ordering was a little confusing, but that is only because I skipped the lesson on how to ask for a table and be seated in Spanish. Anyway, I managed. It is such a beautiful restaurant with lots of delicious dishes. I ordered some fish and it came with avocado and zucchini, and the water came in a glass bottle. This will be my go-to place for sure when I'm in Santander. It was a bit expensive (for me) - $21 total, but it was worth it.