Bought my Roscón from Don Manuel and was floored by the flavor and quality. The nata was light,…read moreflavorful, and overly sweet. The best surprise came in the middle when instead of the Jesus, there was small magnet of the famous tile of Bilbao. Incredible! Can't wait to buy another next year.

Excellent pastries. Large selection. Great flavor. Well, except the bunuelos, which were greasy…read morefrom being fried at too low of a temperature. . There's take away or seating on the right. I'm feeling gracious at giving four stars, though. The service is not good. The people who work there are nice. They helped me pick stuff out and were nice about my attempts at speaking Spanish. But the set up is as inefficient as possible. After picking out my items to have a seat, the items took forever to get to me. Why??? Are they doing through a metal detector? It was difficult to tell if the person who takes the pastries to the table is really doing something or just wasting my time. I do know that whenever I went to pay, the server had always disappeared -- a real feat in such a small space.

Really cute little bakery. The pastries were fresh and delicious. The coffee was good too, but…read moreit's pretty hard to find a bad cup of coffee in Spain.

This is a delicious ice cream sundae, smoothie, and candy bar right on the main sea-view street of…read moreSantander shopping. There is a large outside area that has shade to sit under and lots of seating inside. This is kind of a old-time ice cream shoppe. The great thing about this place, beside the extensive menu of absolutely delectable treats (you will want to indulge, so be prepared), they take cards and there is also wifi that you can ask the password for. Their fruit smoothies are with seasonal fruit, so you know they are high quality. I ordered the kiwi one. It was kind of like a slushy. I was so happy for this place because I had not obtained any Euros yet and I really needed some water. Anyhow, everyone was very nice to this non-Spanish-speaking gal, and we managed to communicate. Their menu has pictures. :) Delicioso.

Great place for a quick chocolate snack! All of the items here are really nice and the fruits…read morecomplement the chocolate really nice too. There is also a small shop at the side where you can buy some chocolate biscuits to bring home if you want! The only complaint is that there are few milk chocolate options compared to dark chocolate options. But really, you can't go wrong coming here at all!

A friend who lives in the city took me here today after we had a really big lunch. THe plan was to…read moreget a coffee but when I saw those cakes, especially that red velvet one, I just had to try it. Glad I did but wished afterwards that I hadn't. It was a really big piece and tasted like strawberry ice cream. In other words, it was delicious! The place seems to be a bakery at one end and at the other was fruit that seemed to be used to make smoothies. Lots of tables and booths but the place was crowded. There was a really nice feel to the place and with a damn fine cup of coffee and free wifi as well; it's a place worth returning to.

La Gallofa is a chain of bakeries/ pastry shops in Cantabria. From the locations I've been to, all…read morehave a very upscale look to them - this certainly isn't your little hole-in-the-wall panaderia or bakery. When I'm in "beach bum" mode, I typically like to buy a fresh loaf of bread from a bakery, buy some sliced charcuterie or embutidos and a little bit of cheese from a butcher shop, and make my own sandwich to take on the beach for lunch. I came to La Gallofa in search of a small baguette for my sandwich. I was impressed (and also very tempted) by the large selection of freshly baked bread, which included ciabatta, pan gallego, and whole wheat loaves, but managed not to give into temptation. There are also beautifully decorated pastries, as well as some classic hojaldres [1] and palmeritas (some dipped in chocolate!) pastries as well. Judging by the number of people purchasing hojaldres, I'd guess that these are what the bakery does best. If you don't have a sweet tooth (shame on you!), there are also empanadillas and quiche slices available. The bread was perfect for my sandwich with jamon serrano. I loved the light, airy consistency with uneven bubbles and crusty exterior. From location to location, La Gallofa excels in offering baked goods of consistent quality. [1] A popular, flaky pastry.

"The Worlds need Nata" - indeed it does…read more Chain of coffe and pastry shops, here in it's Bilbao incarnation. Products are without fault and the 'pasteis de nata' are really quite good there. Staff were really friendly too.

With a delicious dinner done, it was time for dessert and when I spotted Amorino, it was to be…read moregelato. A short queue but handled quickly, they have a dozen or so flavors of gelato and espresso brewed to order. The one gent behind the counter was friendly and spoke English clearly enough to be able to help us tourists get our sweets. I chose the Pistachio, which for a small was a very good portion. Smooth, creamy and with a few pistachios mixed through. Delicious. When he asked if I would also like a macaron with it, how could I say no? The caramel macaron was perfect with the gelato.