From the historic vermouth bars of Peña Herbosa to Michelin-starred restaurants, this culinary route helps explain why Santander has stopped being merely a summer destination and has become a bona fide culinary reference in its own right. Here you dine facing the Cantabrian Sea, but also with an eye on the product, the season, and tradition.
Rabas, Vermouth, and the Bar
In Santander, the bars still hold something sacred. The aperitif here is not improvised, and the rabas – fried Cantabrian-style calamari – work almost like a local language. The street Peña Herbosa concentrates a large part of Santander’s gastronomic life and is the perfect starting point to understand its culinary customs.
To begin, the Vermutería Solórzano (Peña Herbosa, 17), one of those places where time seems to have paused between vermouths, gildas and endless conversation. It is worth ordering the Santoña anchovies and the rabas, considered among the best in the city.
A few steps away appears Bodega Fuente Dé (Peña Herbosa, 5), possibly one of Santander’s most authentic taverns. Always full, always noisy, and always inviting, it’s the place to go to understand the most traditional mountain cuisine with stews, Cantabrian cheeses, artisanal anchovies and portions meant for sharing without hurry.
For nibbles, Casa Lita (P.º de Pereda, 37) remains a mandatory stop opposite the bay. Its endless bar of pinchos –the seafood, tortilla and tuna ones are essential– perfectly sums up the Santander spirit: informality, product, and sea views.
Also the emblematic Bodega del Riojano (Río de la Pila, 5). You eat among barrels signed by personalities who have passed through the city and it keeps intact the spirit of traditional Cantabrian cuisine. Don’t leave without trying its famous tortilla with callos, as well as the tuna meatballs or Cantabrian fishes. Its wine shop is another of the venue’s great draws.
And if we speak of tortillas, at Diluvio (Ataulfo Argenta Músico, 14) they take it a step further with their famous fillings, whose pincho costs barely 3 euros. Among the most acclaimed are the version with cream of Grana Padano and guanciale, the garlic shrimp one, or the txistorra with piparra, true flavor bombs that live up to the venue’s fame.
