d’Berto Restaurante, O Grove, Galicia – A Second Visit

Sunday, October 11, 2015

When I brought Mr. Vacation to Galicia for the first time in October 2015, our primary objective was to attend the annual Festa do Mariscos in O Grove. But, really, one simply cannot go to O Grove and not go to d’Berto Restaurante. Or at least I don’t recommend it.

So, on our first Sunday in Galicia, we visited the seafood Mecca that is d’Berto Restaurante. Just the day before we attended the Festa do Mariscos during the day and enjoyed some incredible fresh navajas (razor clams) at La Queserí Tasting Room later that night. As wonderful as the seafood on Saturday was, it really just whet our appetites for even more shellfish.

This was my second visit to d’Berto, but my husband’s first.  We were once again accompanied by José of Turismo Verde de Galicia and his lovely wife, Montse. On this visit, it was a busy Sunday lunchtime crowd (around 2 in the afternoon), compared to our previous visit just a few months earlier in May of 2015. Since that meal was so wonderful, I basically wanted to repeat it so my husband could experience it for himself.

The case was full of beautiful fish and shellfish!

Albariño – Terras de Lantaño.

As in most places in Galicia where shellfish is the specialty, we began with white Albariño wine.  The Rías Baixas wine region, located in the southwestern part of Galicia, is comprised of 5 sub regions. O Grove sits right in one of them, the Val do Salnés, which is known as the actual birthplace of the Albariño grape. As such, it stands to reason that the wines grown right here pair so perfectly with the foods of the region, in particular, the shellfish.

The last time we visited d’Berto, back in May of 2015, they did a tasting menu for us. This time we ordered off the menu but wanted to be sure to sample many of the same items, since they were so spectacular. We began with a couple of amuses; seafood empanada and mejillones en escabeche (mussels marinated in a vinegary sauce).

Empanada de marisco y pescado (shellfish and fish empanada) to begin.  FYI, empanadas are meant to be eaten with your hands.

The second amuse was this tangy bowl of mejillones en escabeche (mussels marinated in a vinegary sauce).

We ordered a parade of shellfish to be shared family style, as we did during my first visit to this award winning restaurant. Everything was just as spectacular as it was during the first visit, and this time the zamburiñas (variegated scallops) were available! Berto, the owner, makes it a point to obtain the absolute best product for the restaurant, which is prepared very simply by the kitchen (run by his sister, Marisol) in order to let the superior product shine. Service in the dining room was as friendly and efficient as it was during our first visit.

Ostras fritas, fried oysters, just barely kissed by the frying oil.

Tiny whole fried shrimp, so packed with flavor!

Berberechos (cockles) cooked a su punto (just right). These were my favorite until … (see next photo) …

Zamburiñas! What a treat! Small scallops are sold in restaurants all over Galicia as “zamburiñas“, but these are the REAL deal. Note the black shells. These were sublime.

Navajas (Razor Clams) for the second day in a row. We would have them again the following day at Yayo Daporta. I’m willing to state that one could have Galician navajas every day and not tire of them, especially when they are as perfect as these!

Cigalas (Langoustine) were just as sweet and rich as the last time. And just like before, that delicious char from the grill made for some time spent chupandonos los dedos – licking our fingers!

Dessert! We enjoyed a nice selection of desserts, including this seasonal castaña (chestnut) cake with caramel sauce and traditional filloas con miel (Galician crepes stuffed with custard and drizzled with honey). All served with café con leche and a small cookie. Unfortunately, this blogger neglected to capture a photo of Mr. Vacation’s delicious plate of cannoli.

Luckily, I didn’t neglect to get a photo with the lovely Montse (on the right). She and José are such delightful company. They are ever so patient with Mr. Vacation and I, especially considering all that goes along with our limited Spanish: lots of translation, explanation, (mis)communication, a few mistakes (on our part, not theirs) but most of all, lots of laughs! We are so glad we got to spend another wonderful afternoon revisiting this fabulous feast with them and to be able to spend more time together in their beautiful homeland, Galicia.

 

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d’Berto Restaurante
Avenida Teniente Domínguez, 84, O Grove, Galicia, Spain
+34 986 773 447
Website: www.dberto.com
Facebook: dBerto Restaurante

If you haven’t seen my previous blog post about d’Berto Restaurante (from May 2015), I encourage you to take a peek.  I mean, who doesn’t want to see more delicious shellfish?!

For more information on the Rías Baixas wine region you can visit:
www.riasbaixaswines.com
For more information on the Val do Salnés subregion you can visit:
http://www.rutadelvinoriasbaixas.com/en/area/val-do-salnes
http://www.osalnes.com/en/

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La Queserí Tasting Room – O Grove, Galicia

Date of Visit: Saturday, October 10, 2015

O Grove, Galicia celebrates the Festa do Mariscos (Shellfish Festival) every year for the first two weeks in October (this was the 52nd annual). We were fortunate enough to be able to rent an apartment just a block away from the main hub of activity in the town square, Praza do Corgo.  Mr. Vacation and I made the journey from A Coruña to O Grove on this Saturday afternoon and got settled into the apartment with plenty of time to enjoy a bit of the festival before our 10:00 p.m. dinner reservations at La Queserí Tasting Room. We were dining with José of Turismo Verde de Galicia and his lovely wife Montse, who live in O Grove. La Queserí Tasting Room is located a mere 5 minutes away from the Praza do Corgo, so it was a quick trip from the festival to dinner.

Here, Gonzalo explains how the cheese cave is organized.      Photo by @Turvegal

La Queserí Tasting Room first came to my attention via social media in the months leading up to our October 2015 trip to Galicia.  Following their Facebook page, I had the impression it was just a cute little restaurant where one could stop by for some wine and cheese in the afternoon. I was wrong! It turns out to be a cute little private dining restaurant located in a cheese cave! Proprietors Gonzalo Germade and his wife Diana have turned the lower level of their home into a cheese cave / dining room that is available by pre-reservation only, for a maximum of 10 people. The comfortable dining room actually adjoins the temperature and humidity controlled cheese cave, which is separated by a glass door.

 

Just look at these beautiful cheese specimens! They are monitored, rotated, and taken care of on a daily basis by Gonzalo in their temperature and humidity controlled cave as they ripen. Note the bamboo mats below each wheel, for moisture control.

To kick things off, we toasted our first meal together in Galicia with a nice bottle of Xión Albariño from the local Rías Baixas wine region. I’m blogging a little bit out of order here, so this was actually the first dinner (of many!) the four of us had together.  As such, we all clinked glasses in a “Welcome to Galicia” toast over a big beautiful seafood empanada that we dove right into. (Note: photo credit on the close-up of the empanada on the right goes to José @Turvegal – he’s got a way with food photos!)

When toasting at an event in Galicia, it is tradition to say “de hoxe nun ano” (‘de hoy en un año’ in Spanish or ‘a year from today’ in English) to express the hope that the celebration can be repeated the following year.  I’m happy to say that we have been able to repeat many lovely dining experiences with our gallego friends since first learning this toast.

Our menu for the evening was prearranged about a week in advance. Because of the name of the restaurant I was most focused on the cheese, but it turns out La Queserí Tasting Room also specializes in the local seafood. Gonzalo regularly visits O Grove’s lonxa (fish market) to source the best and freshest seafood.  I continue to follow Gonzalo and La Queserí on social media (Facebook) and it is a non-stop parade of the incredible mariscos he purchases at the lonxa to prepare for their guests.

Next came a plate of these gorgeous, fresh, delicate navajas (razor clams). Wow!  Photo credit again here to José @Turvegal.  Yet another example of how a very simple preparation allows a first class product, such as these flavorful and tender clams, to shine. We always enjoy this Galician delicacy, and this was one the best example we’ve tasted, before or since.

 

 

For me, the cheese course was the main event. The photo below on the right (by José @Turvegal) shows the cheese plate “before”, while mine (left) is more of a “during” representation. I will just fess up and say that I dug right in and then remembered to snap a pic. Gonzalo is extremely knowledgeable about all of the cheese in his cellar and explained the origin and age of each of the six unique cheeses, along with some tasting notes to help us to become familiar with those that were completely new to us.  He was nice enough to write down the names and origins of each of the cheeses … and when I find that list again, dear reader, I’ll be sure to update the blog.  But for now, let me assure you each of the cheeses on this thoughtfully composed board was delicious.  The Spanish blue cheese (see photo on right, lower right cheese with grape on top), a Calabres from the neighboring province of Asturias, was my favorite.  Funky in the best way possible, I surely ate more than my fair share of it.

Edit: Descriptions of the cheeses are now listed below.  Please refer to the photo on the right, beginning with the tall cheese in the top left corner:

Brillat-Savarin (Burgundy – France) – French triple cream cheese made of pasteurized cow’s milk aged for 1-2 months.
Selles sur Cher (Loire – France) – French raw milk goat cheese with a light wood charcoal on the rind, aged for 1 month.
Langres (Champagne – France) – French raw cow’s milk washed rind aged for 2 months.
Calabres Reserva (Asturias – Spain) – Spanish raw cow’s milk blue cheese aged natural caves at 1000 meters of altitude in the Picos de Europa – a mountainous area of Asturias (the province next to Galicia).
Cantal “Vieux” (Auvergne – France) – French cow’s milk brushed rind cheese cured for 24 months. It is very rare to see this variation of Cantal outside of France; it has a strong taste and can last up to 18 months without spoiling if handled properly.
Guía (Gran Canaria Island – Spain) – Spanish raw sheep’s milk soft cheese aged for 8 months.

Check out the delicious bread that came along with the cheese selection: Our first taste of Made In Fofán squash & poppy seed bread (left) and traditional pan de leña bread (right).

The main course!  Naturally, we knew we were going to have some sort of seafood as the main entrée, but while planning the menu the week before there was an option for Gallego beef.  I had been seeing a lot written about the high quality of beef in Galicia, but hadn’t yet had the chance to sample any myself.  We opted for one plate with Gallego beef, served as a hamburger with French fries.  The other three plates were sargo al horno, baked white seabream, fresh from the market, over potatoes.  Our mains were accompanied by a Spanish red from Pagos de Araiz (from Navarra).

 For dessert, we finished with satisfying cheese and membrillo (quince paste) filled empanadillas.

The walls were decorated with wine and cheese … we felt right at home.

Did I mention that in Galicia, dinner goes late?  Very late!  It was 1:30 a.m. by the time we wrapped up this memorable meal, after much animated conversation with our dining companions and Gonzalo, our engaging host.

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During our visit in the fall of last year the dining room was the only space available for a maximum of 10 people, as mentioned above.  In the summer, two additional tables are set up outside, so guests can also be accommodated al fresco for lunch or dinner.

La Queserí Tasting Room
Gonzalo Germade Alfonso
Lugar de Meloxo 65A, O Grove, Galicia
+34 647 215 263
Facebook: La Queserí Tasting Room

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Yayo Daporta Restaurante – Cambados, Galicia

Monday, October 12th, 2015

Cambados is a charming little coastal town located in the province of Pontevedra, Galicia.  It is home to the iconic, picturesque cemetery and ruins of Santa Mariña De Dozo. 

Ruins of the church of Santa Mariña de Dozo located in Cambados.

Cemetery of Santa Mariña de Dozo.

Cambados is now also known as home of the Michelin star restaurant run by Yayo Daporta and his sister, Esther.  Yayo opened the restaurant in 2005 and earned a Michelin star in 2008.  Just a few weeks before our visit in early October 2015, Esther, who also runs the front of house, won a prize for best sommelier in Galicia.  The restaurant is situated in a venerable building on a quiet pedestrian street in the historic center of Cambados.

The charming street where the restaurant is located – Rúa Hospital.

Welcome to Yayo Daporta Restaurante.

We were accompanied at lunch by our friends José of Turismo Verde de Galicia and his wife Montse.  There were a couple of different tasting menus available to choose from, so we had quite a bit of conversation at the table in selecting which menu we would go with.  In addition to the standard tasting menu (pictured below), there was also an extensive menu celebrating the restaurant’s 10th anniversary.  In the end we opted for the regular tasting menu.  It had more than enough variety to satisfy all of us!

The table opted for the traditional tasting menu.

Elegant and simple table setting.

The wine cellar was impressive; a glass encased room visible from the dining area with individual tasting notes hanging from tags around the necks of each wine bottle.  Given their location in the Rias Baixas region, local Albariño wines feature prominently with Galician wines making up around 80% of all bottles in the cellar.  The wines selected by Esther paired perfectly with our meal.  The first bottle (left) featured label art by the well-known cartoonist from O Grove, Gogue.

The restaurant considers itself to be “updated” Galician cuisine.  They start with the best products from the market and apply modern techniques to the traditional ingredients.  We find this as a theme among the higher end restaurants that we have visited in Galicia.  Given their location right on the coast, there’s an emphasis on the freshest seafood here too.

Mouse de coliflor, berberechos y reducción de café. ~ Cockle on cauliflower mousse and coffee reduction.  Beautiful presentation and wonderfully flavorful.

Tartar de navajas y emulsion de su jugo. ~ Razor clam tartar with an emulsion of oil and the clam’s own juice, with parsley.  Served on natural stone, this one in a lovely heart shape.  This was one of my favorite dishes of the day. Sweet and tender razor clams are something to seek out when visiting Galicia.

 

Huevo de corral a baja temperatura con menestra de verduras de estación.  ~  Sous vide farm egg with stew of seasonal vegetables and crujiente (crunchy bits) of jamón ibérico.  I really enjoyed this combination of fresh veg,  runny yolk and wonderful Iberian ham!

Xurel asado a la brasa con el jugo de su asado y migas de pan de maíz.  ~  Grilled mackerel with jus from the grill and cornbread crumbs. The skin on top of the fish is actually a ‘fake’, made with the fish’s own broth. Inventive and flavorful.  Our dining companion shared with us that this dish tasted like his childhood, having eaten grilled mackerel caught by his fisherman father many times.

Merluza de bajura rebozada con panko y mayonesa de chile jalapeño.  ~  Panko crusted coastal hake with jalapeño chile mayo and Iberian ham oil.

Cabrito asado con suflé de patata al tomillo y jugo de su asado. ~  Grilled goat with thyme potato soufflé and pan jus. This was deboned and slow roasted then grilled, so a little bit of crispy on the outside and oh, so tender on the inside.  the main portion rolled in dried fruits & nuts.

Delicious all chocolate dessert – chocolate ice cream, cookie, mousse and even chocolate pop rocks.

Dessert for 4!  Light little tastes were perfect after the heavier dishes.  Coffee service (not pictured) was lovely as well.

Chef Yayo with yours truly.  (Note my Montse Betanzos necklace!)

Yayo Daporta Restaurante is part of Grupo Nove, a collective of Galician chefs created in 2003 to promote the “new Galician kitchen”, first emphasizing quality Galician products and honoring tradition and innovation at the same time.  In 2015 Grupo Nove published a book, Nove e a Nove Cociña Galega, Cociñeiros, Paisaxes e Productos, featuring all of the various chefs in the group.  Each is profiled in the context of the landscapes, products, and producers that are meaningful to them, personally.  How wonderful that copies of the book were available for sale at the restaurant, and even more wonderful that our dear friend José presented one to me as a gift!  (Grazas, meu!)

In the book, Chef Yayo is featured on a batea (a large wooden raft that floats in the waters of Galician inlets where shellfish are cultivated) [the landscape], with fresh oysters [the product] that are cultivated by his own father [the producer].  He was nice enough to come out from behind the stoves to greet us and sign my book.

Chef Yayo signing his page in my copy of “Nove e a Nova Cociña Galega – Cociñeiros, Paisaxes e Productos”

After such a lovely meal, we were ready to set off for the charming aldea of Fofán (you can read about that here!).

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Yayo Daporta Restaurante
Rúa Hospital, 7
Cambados, Galicia, Spain
+34 986 526 062
http://www.yayodaporta.com/en
Email: restaurante@yayodaporta.com
Facebook:  Yayo Daporta

 

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