Our group of 24 (plus our tour manager and coach bus driver) sat on the upper floor for dinner…read more We were served family style of fresh baked bread, crispy pork belly, croquettes, pimentos de padron, a tomato salad (thinly sliced) drizzled with balsamic vinegar, grated cheese and olive oil, and lamb shank with potatoes. We were served with copious amounts of red and white wine. Dessert too, but I didn't take a photo and don't recall what it was. Overall, a great dinner with friends. I cannot comment on the price because it was part of our tour package.

The wines we had were all less than exciting but the service, food and ambiance more than made up…read morefor it. There wasn't an English menu so we pointed and hoped for the best. The first dish that came out was a butternut squash soup with a poached egg and truffle oil. Solid and tasty. The waitress didn't speak any English but she went the extra mile. I pulled up Google translate and she explained the wines we tasted via the app. Huge kudos. The next up was a large entree style Cuttle fish and risotto. The risotto was very nice, but the Cuttle fish was a bit to fishy and overpowered the dish; as usual Marie ate based on what I preferred and I was able to polish off the risotto (and she ate the cuttlefish) without offending the staff. An unexpected bonus was how well it paired with my wine. If I lived here I wouldn't come back for the food, but the drinks could certainly draw me in. Last but not least they handled an impromptu tasting seamlessly (nod to Google Translate without whom none of this would be possible), so don't be afraid to ask.

There's a lot of good wine available in Spain and at very reasonable prices both inside a…read morerestaurant and out. During our recent trip to the Iberian Peninsula, Gayle and I enjoyed finding a wine shop, chatting with store staff, and buying a few bottles for later hotel relaxation. Vinos Castro is located on the Camino de Santiago (aka the Way of St. James) and within a block from the Cathedral of Santo Domingo de la Calzada and a nice Parador. We were actually staying at the other Parador in Town (Bernardo Fresneda), but its all an easy walk. Did I mention that this is the Rioja region? That means lots of good reds in the general categories of young (Joven), older (Crianza), and Reserva. We picked out a nice Reserva for about $18 and added a nice White and Rose for good measure. The guy working the counter knew his wine well, even though our Spanish and his English weren't perfect. Gayle loved the conversation (at her self-described fluency of a bright 4 year old - lots of present tense). And when we were done, it was all boxed up nicely for travel and just hanging out.