Café Bar Ruta Xacobea — Restaurant in Padrón

Husband and wife owned spot which is extremely special. Great wine list, Galician gin (very nice), and good beer selection- including Punk IPA, which we didn’t try but I trust to be good based upon the rest of the establishment’s high standards.

Food menu looked similar to those seen throughout Galicia, but some of the corners offered a sparkle: pork loin with goat cheese on toast with sauce, a page devoted to preserved fish? Intriguing.

These proved to be masterful assemblages of flavor and texture experience. The Galician cheese plate was a pantheon of local styles, all delicious. And then the burgers came: beautifully simple and complex at once, with sesame buns that didn’t dwarf the patties as so often happens in this region (although who can complain when the bread is so good!).

The owner, who is also server, chef, and cook, was quiet and unassuming, but was easily fluent in English and German as well as Galician and Spanish. His polite and dedicated attention warmed us to him, which in turn opened him up as well, and helped to dispel any shyness on either side of the dinner transaction. We were won over to his cause, and if I am ever in Padron again I will eat and drink my full once more at Ruta Xacobea.

Highest...

Fantastic wine bar, a wee gem on the Camino. Had waited til Padrón to get the peppers and wasn’t disappointed, huge portion and they were delicious. Ordered a small cheese board and again top class and plenty to go around. Couple of glasses of Rioja and what more could you ask for? Wine list seemed extensive. This guy obviously knows his...

No volveré. El servicio muy lento y con errores en la comanda que ha supuesto más tiempo de espera aún. No han traído el pan, incluido en el menú hasta que hemos terminado de comer, con lo que me he tenido que comer a pelo una tabla de quesos pobre y un tanto seca. Siendo vegetariano he pedido si al plato de huevos con patatas y jamón se le puede cambiar el jamón por un huevo más (cosa con la que nunca he tenido ningún problema), a lo que el camarero me ha respondido "¿¿tres huevos en lugar de dos?? Uffff... No sé... En cocina admiten que se eliminen cosas, pero no admiten cambios". Y efectivamente así ha sido. Y luego la comida era escasa y no demasiado bien cocinada (las patatas estaban sosas y los huevos chorreando aceite). Los pimientos del padrón no estaban mal, eso si.

En definitiva bastantes fallos muy mejorables, que aunque luego han intentado solventar con amabilidad, se podrían haber evitado poniendo un...