La Barruca de Calderón — Restaurant in Santander

Have you ever seen the movie "Chef"? Yeah, well it left me wanting a "sandwich cubano" in the worst sort of way, and so we went looking!

This place has a great vibe - lots of color, good music (but not TOO loud), a great and friendly waitstaff, a knowledgeable bartender, and a decent menu. Despite it being the height of the lunch rush, they were able to find us a table for two. BONUS: it was by the window, and close to the bar.

The mojito they served up was perhaps the best I've had since... I really can't remember when. At the risk of sounding like a lush, I'd say this place is worth finding if only for the quality of their mojitos. As for the "Sandwich Cubano"? I wish I'd taken a photo. I also wish the kitchen staff had had a real Cubano, even once in their lives. This was more like a club sandwich... big, on really good bread with cheese melted on it, but deli-sliced York ham? A fried egg? (Don't get me wrong - there are a number of sandwiches here in Spain that I enjoy with the York ham and fried egg... but not if it represents itself as a "cubano.") Not at all. There wasn't any mustard. Not even a pickle! The saving grace, if I may say, was the lechón. Whoever prepared that lomo really knew what they were doing.

My wife ordered the Ensalada Mar y Campo, which was very, very good. Lots of protein goodies and crisp greens and other veggies. But her half-order of Tequeños (supposed to be served with mermelada de guayaba), came out with... nothing. The waitress said they were out, and offered a garlic aioli instead. I know my wife's sweet tooth - she wouldn't have ordered those if she'd known they were out of the sweet stuff... and really, our waiter should have told her when she placed the order. Fortunately they found a tomato jelly as a substitute, but if you ever lust after mermelada de guayaba and they give you anything else? It just falls... short.

Needless to say, I won't be going there for a "cubano" again. However, I will be back - for something where the lechón is the star of the show, and of course, for another of...

Found this spot on Google and decided to try it, even though we'd had burgers the night before in San Sebastian. Not exactly what we planned for Santander, but the photos looked tempting. Arrived early, so it wasn’t packed—took a bit of a gamble, and it paid off.

The English menu had a solid selection of dishes that all sounded appealing. We went for a variety, and every dish was spot on. Portions were generous, and the taste was absolutely 5-star. Everyone in the group raved about their burgers and chicken tenders —seriously one of the best we've had.

The vibe might be livelier at peak hours, but we enjoyed the bachata music. Cocktails looked enticing and reasonably priced, though we didn’t try them this time. The staff weren't fluent in English, but they made an effort, which we appreciated.

Highlights: definitely recommend the Le Labo, Chatarrera and The Mexicana burgers along with the Pollo Broaster. All in all, a great experience that totally exceeded expectations. Highly...

We arrived for dinner without reservation and they accepted us. We had very good hamburger (I had the Mexican btw very very good!). It was my daughter's 18th birthday and we asked if it was allowed to light few candles of our own, but with big surprise the whole stuff came out suddenly singing 'compleanno feliz' with atmosphere lights, music and scene smoke. It was very funny and the staff was very very nice with us. We were just passing through for tourism and we hardly will have the chance to return, but we are very thankfull to all the team and I'm happy to leave a good...