ArteSana Gastrobar, Santiago
When we left our hotel in Santiago de Compostela early in the afternoon, we were looking to grab some simple food to get us through the day. Having a dinner reservation in a nice restaurant, we didn’t want to eat too much. We were also hoping to find something outside the old town.
We noticed a well rated place on Google Maps right around the block from our hotel. After walking there, and with some older gentlemen sitting outside, at first it looked like your typical lunch café in Spain. The inside was much more modern, though, and we were presented with a daily menu.
We were a little disappointed because what we had in mind was more like grabbing a couple of tapas and moving on. But the waitress serving us spoke good English, and she started explaining the menu and recommending some dishes, so we decided to stay. That turned out to be a very good decision.
For our starters, we ordered a Salmorejo and Salpicon de Fabas. With both, we didn’t know quite know what they were, and our expectations were not high. That changed with our first spoonfuls. Both of them were excellent, and both of them perfect summer dishes. We learned that a Salmorejo is similar to Gazpacho, but with some key differences. Salmorejo is a thicker, creamier soup that has bread and garlic as core ingredients, in addition to tomatoes. Sherry vinegar is also a common ingredient. This version we had at ArteSana was quite acidic, but in a very good way. It was full of flavor, but also very refreshing.
Same thing with Salpicon de Fabas, essentially a bean salad. It had the perfect balance of being fresh, acidic, slightly spicy with fresh peppers, and creamy, with its thick sauce.
Between the two we were very happy, but the mains were also good. I had Cordero o Forno, oven baked lamb chops. It was good quality meat, and the sauce begged for some bread to dip into it. My wife had the Bacalao con Guisantes, codfish with peas, which we are very familiar with from Portugal.
Finally, I had the Egg Flan as desert (was great), while my wife took the healthy route with fresh cherries.
If you are staying in Santiago, and looking for a place to have lunch, or if you happen to be passing by around lunchtime, please do yourselves a favor and stop by here, it’s well worth it.