55 Pasos — Restaurant in A Coruña

Review of 55 Pasos. June 2025. Stepping into 55 Pasos is entering into the rustic home of Nataly Rodríguez, your hostess and Balázs Menyhard your chef. The room is a pocket sized kitchen in a pint sized room full of books, dotted with souvenirs of their worldly travels and an array of quirky knick-knacks plus rows of empty wine bottles that pay tribute to past guests and treasured moments. Within this cosy, family environment Nataly and Balázs perform their mutual magic. After a very warm welcome from the pair and some getting to know each other, Nataly launched into the day’s offerings with an enthusiastic deep dive into the provenance and preparation of each dish, highlighting their avid dedication to using only the very best local ingredients from personally sourced and savoured specialist farmers and fishermen. As Balázs says, he doesn't cook well, he buys well. (He is being modest, his cooking is masterful!) Once the menu had been expertly explained and discussed by Nataly, Balázs joined us to share his extensive and expansive knowledge of natural wines, especially those from Northern Spain, and made some choice recommendations ( he also says he might like wine more than food, but let's not go there). After some tasting we settled on a delicious white wine from Fogar Do Castriño which was pure and fruity with a hint of oak. The talking point of 55 P is the three hours of indulgence. This is due to the fact that Balázs prepares and cooks EVERYTHING from scratch. The meat, the fish, the vegetables, the sauces and even the mayonnaise is conjured up on the spot. Every dish for every customer. He even grinds the poppy seeds for the desert by hand. Why so laborious? Well, Balázs and Nataly have worked in some of the best and most frantic restaurants in the world, so they’ve felt the pressure of the Michelin Star machine and decided it was not for them, leaving that world for this one. And bravo to them. Good things come to those who wait and that's the way it is. It's a pleasure to watch Balázs do his work in a relaxed, supremely professional style, though some might find the wait tiresome. Your hosts believe that people should slow down, enjoy the wine, savour each dish and the company they keep and perhaps even talk to each other, not stare at their phones. We agree. The anticipation as we watched the chef prepare each plate made the experience of the dish itself all the more delightful. And delightful it certainly was. The oysters with a Japanese dressing, bespoke anchovies on sourdough toast with homemade butter, the divine Cecina, a dried wagyu style beef with a smokey tang from a secret local farmer, the creamiest Burrata lovingly massaged by Balázs's own hands as he shared wine secrets with a customer, a vitello de tonnato to die for, boneless quail with a hybrid caesar salad and all rounded off with a poppy seed-coated eggy bread for postres. Even the bread, sourced from local organic artisanal bakers, was some of the most delicious we have tasted. Phew! No wonder it takes three hours! But oh, was it worth it. For us it was a truly memorable evening and the other dinners, both visitors and loyal local, all seemed equally content arising from a tailored serving of delights each as exceptional as the next. We hope that they also enjoyed some solid conversation and thoughtful consideration of the skill, love and dedication that Nataly and Balázs, have put into 55 Pasos over the past 6 years. We certainly did. Tim & Pauline....

Tras 55 minutos buscando aparcamiento, 55 palabras valieron para tomar esta decisión: hoy cenamos ahí, aunque sea en la terraza. 55 ideas, presagios o conjeturas de lo que nos darían para cenar; 55 veces me confundí.

55 pasos o escalones separan la brigantina plaza de María Pita respecto a este restaurante homónimo. Homónimo no por lo de María Pita, sino por lo de los "55 pasos".

No sé qué opinaría San Pedro, quizás estaría de acuerdo conmigo. No hace falta morir para subir al cielo; "55 pasos" bastan.

Al no tener reserva cenamos en la terraza en donde las posibilidades para comer son muy reducidas. Situación que sabíamos de antemano ya que había sido propiamente comunicada. Después de lo que habíamos oído de este coqueto restaurante del centro de A Coruña, no podíamos irnos sin recorrer esos "55 pasos".

Una cerveza para refrescarnos el gaznate. Por suerte llegamos pronto. La terraza de tres mesas y dos sillas se llena enseguida. Nataly, dueña junto al chef, nos trató prodigiosamente durante toda la jornada. Queríamos vino. - ¿De qué características? - preguntó ella. La respuesta, tintada de pedantería (como quizás toda las redichas y palpitantes conversaciones en las que se habla sobre vino), fue digerida con estampa divina. Ella obró el milagro. Nos trajo una botella de Prádio; un mencía de 2021 D.O. Ribeira Sacra. Brutal.

Siendo Nataly el arcángel, su compañera en la sala se erige como un Ángel de la guarda, siempre atenta con nosotros y protectora. Nos hubiese gustado probar algunos platos más. En la terraza te sientes fuera de la experiencia tan "golosa" que parece estar sucediendo en el interior. Los tiempos de espera son largos, es cierto, pero nada que no te hayan avisado antes. La cocina es abierta. Ves al único chef y propietario trabajar con sosiego y destreza. La prisa no parece que la lleve encima. Un acto de generosidad para con todos aquellos que nos dedicamos a la industria: sin sudar, sin gritar y sin partirte el lomo, también se saca un negocio adelante.

Gozosa oferta gastronómica basada en la temporalidad, el producto y la sencillez. El pan de masa madre de una panadería cercana acentuaba tu apetito. El aroma de la oliva al mojarlo y tragarlo. La cecina de León, del mejor león: un león de ganadería extensiva, un león que no ha corrido en exceso, alimentado con los mejores pastos; un león muy de Castilla. Suave, fresca, joven, tierna, jugosa, sápida. El rillette de pato tan sencillo como se debe. Un buen pato, con su buena grasa, y con complejo de soso. Sabe a lo que es. No lo adornan las especias. Eso sí, su compañía es magnífica. Kimchi casero para añadir esas notas especiadas que sus amantes echaron de menos. La berenjena sabe a Asia. dulce, salada, agria, ácida, amarga y humami es una explosión de sabores en la boca. Por otro lado, balanceados con gusto y sin picante. El Otoro al desnudo. Acompañado de wasabi desnudo. Ahumado con Soja añejada en barrica. Un plato atractivo por su desnudez. Quizás se pueda abrigar un poco más o vender a precio de coste. Terminamos, tiempo después, con las mejores calabazas asadas que he comido nunca. La codorniz a la que acompañaban estaba rica: la pechuga en su punto exacto, la pata, en mi opinión, un punto por debajo del tiempo necesario. El conjunto del plato es suculento. Si no soy un amante de las aves de caza, soy un amante de las demi glace. ¡Qué textura, qué cremosidad, qué placer tan divino!

Una aventura bien orquestada, un recorrido bien sazonado. Celebramos mi cumpleaños. Yo no pagué la nota lo cual hizo de la travesía un transcurso divinizado. Volveremos por la experiencia...

I will put them on my top 10 list in the world - amid Osteria Francescana, Atomix, and so many more notables. Being a New Yorker - I can say with certainty that the service is NOT slow. And thanks to bad critic Jorge and very detailed response by the owner - it told me everything I needed to know. Owners have pride and care for their food and service, and did not put up with people who complain because they can’t have it their way.

Wife and I had a conversation about what I liked on the menu and what I can handle (I was solo and tend to order too much). The first thing I had was the herring and it blew my mind… I have had many many herrings (thanks to visits to Finland) and this was sublime (they went to a Herring festival in Sweden and was inspired). Love the wife and husband duo because you can tell they listen to their clients and love what they do. They just won’t patronize you with stupid requests of what they don’t have but will accommodate your allergens or size of appetite (my eyes are bigger than my stomach so gave me smaller portions). I hope they get a Michelin star....