Pintxos Before a Night Out in Santander: Where to Start the Evening

In Santander, Spain, the night usually starts at the bar: pintxos and rabas in Puertochico (Hernán Cortés, Peña Herbosa), around Plaza de Cañadío or by Plaza Porticada, before clubs open at 23:30 to midnight.

This is not a food guide. It is the first part of a night out: where to eat standing up, close to the place you are heading next. Each area below comes with its nearest club.

Order the rabas

If you only try one thing, make it rabas: strips of squid, battered and fried, cut lengthways rather than in rings like calamari. They are the classic Cantabrian bar snack and you will find them almost everywhere, usually with a beer or a glass of wine and a lemon wedge.

Puertochico and Peña Herbosa

Santander's tourist office says many people start the night in Puertochico and move on to Hernán Cortés or Peña Herbosa, streets for snacks or a full meal. On Peña Herbosa, Vermutería Solórzano has been serving since the 1940s: its barrel-aged vermouth comes cold, without ice or lemon, with rabas and caracolillos (small sea snails). On the same street, La Mar pairs oysters with sparkling wine. On Hernán Cortés, Bar del Puerto has been open since 1939; it is now closer to a restaurant, so book if you want to sit down.

Next stop: Kudéta, at Calle Ataúlfo Argenta 45, opens at midnight Thursday to Saturday, and Sala Rocambole is at Hernán Cortés 35, on the same street.

Mixed: commercial, urban, electrolatino, house · Puertochico, SantanderSee Kudéta Santander →

Plaza de Cañadío

Cañadío is the meeting point: a square with terraces and bars on every side. Cañadío, the bar-restaurant on Calle Gómez Oreña, serves rabas at all its bars. A few doors down, La Conveniente has been open for around 120 years, first as a bulk wine cellar; order the tuna empanadillas or the peppers with ventresca. In the afternoons, terraces like Taberna Cachalote fill up with vermouth and tapas.

Next stop: Sala Niágara at Calle San Simón 14, right next to the square, for a gig or a DJ; Malaspina on Pasaje Jesús Revaque Garea; Samoa and Ramé on Calle Moctezuma; and Pandora on López Dóriga, all within walking distance.

Río de la Pila

Río de la Pila is the street the tourist office calls a favourite haunt of the younger crowd, with modern and alternative bars. It is also home to Bodega del Riojano, at number 5: a wine store that became a restaurant in the 1940s, famous for its painted barrel ends, the so-called Museo Redondo. It is a sit-down place, so book. After dinner, stay on the street for drinks or walk down to Cañadío.

Daoíz y Velarde: Bodega Cigaleña

At Daoíz y Velarde 19, Bodega Cigaleña looks like a wine museum, with bottles covering walls and ceiling, and its bar serves raciones and pintxos. It is in the Michelin Guide at the €€ level. Check its hours before you go: the sources we found do not agree on which days it closes.

Arrabal, Calle del Medio and Paseo de Pereda

Next to Plaza Porticada, the tourist office points to Arrabal and Calle del Medio, with plenty of bars for snacks, and the area around the Mercado del Este. From there Melao, the Latin club at Calle Guevara 12, is next door. On the seafront, Casa Lita at Paseo de Pereda 37, opposite the Real Club Marítimo, is known for the sheer number of pintxos on its bar.

From the bar to the club

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