The north of Spain and specifically Cantabria deserves its reputation to be one of the best places to eat. Another powerful reason why Santander is a cruise city.

Whether meat or fish, it’s the quality of the excellent raw ingredients that count. The meat comes with a seal of a Protected Geographical Certificate and with the sea products, fresher would be impossible to find. Shellfish is extremely popular and on every menu in Cantabria, and the preserved anchovies come with a Controlled Quality seal.

In terms of pastries and sweets, Cantabria offers real local delicacies: quesadas, sobaos and puff pastries of all sorts. Their extraordinary flavour is due to the quality of the milk and butter, although the best thing with puddings would be to check on the specialties of the house. Orujo is another Cantabrian gastronomic speciality that no visitor should fail to try.

And of course, we should highlight Cantabrian wines, which are gaining a greater reputation thanks to their improving quality, and don’t forget the ciders and beers.

Nor should we rule out another type or gastronomic variant such as the pincho, a preparation in which creativity and the small work of art that contains this tasty proposal is worthy of admiration… and to try, of course.

Now that you know what you can order for lunch or dinner, the only thing missing is the “where”. There’s an extensive selection, but we’re giving you some clues to guarantee your choice is right. We’ve chosen some from Santander, in the vicinity of the shopping and leisure area of the city. For example, el Luzmela (calle Hernán Cortés, 8) y Casa Ajero (calle Daoiz y Velarde, 18) are comfortable bars and restaurants where you’ll find fine Cantabrian cuisine and then take a walk around the centre.

Still in Santander, there are other great restaurants called La Santanderina (calle Rubio, 10), El Castellano (calle Burgos, 32) and Old Nord (calle Francisco Tomás y Valiente), a real joy for the all senses. And to take home good food, it is a must to visit the Los Timoteos (calle del Medio, 19) and Quesoba Cheese-Bar (calle Hernán Cortés, 5).

Outside the capital, there are places highly recommended: La taberna del Buddha (Camargo), cafetería Vista Bahía (Astillero), the Adelma cafe-restaurant (Santander-Bilbao Highway), in Hoznayo, Creperie La Mar (Suesa) and Casa Enrique (Solares)