Best Bites in Galicia

Pulpo!

Madrid has a soft spot for Galicia, as it’s a region that many people living in the capital call home. Starting the in 1950’s, Madrid received a boom of Gallegos in search of a better life in the big city. Today there are an estimated 350,000 people born in Galicia living in Madrid. This is perhaps most evident in the city’s food– half of Madrid’s most popular tapas dishes are Galician in origin (lacón, pulpo, pimientos de padrón, mejillones…)  And when you mention Galicia in a traditional Madrid tapas bar, it’s guaranteed that someone’s eyes will light up and they’ll start oozing about how it’s the best place in Spain (especially for the food!). I decided to finally put their opinions to the test, by embarking on a 10-day Galicia road trip with two goals: eat delicious food and drink delicious wine. Spoiler alert: we achieved both!

CHEAT SHEET: THE BEST BITES IN GALICIA

1. Arroz de cocochas con vieras at Restaurante Casa Pinales (Vigo)
2. Croquetas de pulpo at A Moa (Santiago de Compostela)
3. Red wine in Ribeira Sacra
4. Percebes 
5. Pulpo con tetilla at Taberna dos Chata (Cangas)
6. Navajas

RICE WITH HAKE CHEEKS AND SCALLOPS

Authentic Galician rice with scallops– to die for!

I would seriously fly to Vigo for the day and hop in a taxi just to have lunch here again. I never knew that rice dishes were so traditional in Galicia. But as I started researching places to eat, everyone was raving about arroz con bogavante (rice with lobster), arroz con pulpo (rice with octopus) or arroz con vieras (rice with scallops)– I had to see what all the fuss was about.

Some Rice!

I ate at a couple of different “famous” rice restaurants during our trip, but the first place I visited was by far my favorite. Casa Pinales is located in a residential part of Vigo with views of the bay through its large glass windows. It’s the type of place that makes you feel immediately at home. We had preordered the house specialty (most places require you to pre-order the rice when reserving), rice with hake cheeks (cocochas) and scallops (vieras)– and in true Galician style, when it arrived it was enough for at least four people. I enjoyed very bite of this dish until I could seriously eat no more. Dessert was not even an option (rare when on vacation). It was one of those moments that makes me dislike travel because you can’t ask for a takeaway container (not that we left that much… but still!). The rice was perfectly cooked, caramelized in just the right places and the juicy whole scallops and hake cheeks were incredible. I know I’ll be back for this dish– hopefully very soon!

Casa Pinales: Avenida Redondela, 124, Vigo