When traveling near or far, it is always wise to ask locals where they eat. We were first heard about La Sartén from a local friend, Fran (of FranFret Guitars), and were really pleased to finally be able to visit during our most recent trip to Galicia in October, 2017.
La Sartén is a classic Galician restaurant in the old town of La Coruña that is known for quality Galician seafood, beautiful traditional preparations, and warm service from the friendly polished staff. Located just up from Plaza María Pita, it is one of several quality restaurants located along the Plaza de España, along with other well regarded establishments such as Miga, and A Pulpería de Melide.
After being warmly welcomed upon entering the restaurant, we were shown to a nice table in the dining room and quickly got to looking over the wine menu. From a nicely representative list of Galician wines, we selected a Ribeiro from Casal de Armán. Their Finca Misenhora is a limited edition of only 3415 bottles made of mostly Treixadura with about 5% each Godello, and Albariño grapes. Clean, crisp, yet soft in the mouth, this lovely white went extremely well with the seafood we selected from the menu.
Perusing La Sartén’s ample menu which features a wide variety of preparations of local Galician shellfish, seafood, salads, and rice dishes:
A delicious taste of pastel de marsico (savory seafood pudding) in puff pastry from the kitchen
In the mood for classic Galician fare, zamburiñas (variegated scallops) seemed like the logical place to start. These small scallops, cooked very simply with a slight hint of tart citrus and crispy crumbles of jamón ibérico, were so delicious. Scallops, particularly these small ones, are almost always served in Galicia with their delicious half-moons of roe still attached.
Zamburiñas a la plancha con zumo de cítricos y polvo de jamón ibérico – Grilled variegated scallops with citrus juice and Iberian ham crumbles
La Sartén serves a fine quality Galician bread that is perfect for sopping up all of the flavorful oil on the plate. There’s even a specific word for sopping up: sopetear!
We savored every morsel of this stellar salpicón de bogavonte y centolla (cold lobster and crab salad). Pictured below is just half of the dish, there were two portions of this light and refreshing salad loaded with tender chunks of flavorful lobster and spider crab, decorated with grated hard-boiled egg.
Nuestro salpicón de bogavonte y centolla – house cold lobster and crab salad
With several different octopus options on the menu, we opted for the pulpo a la plancha con cama de patatas cocidas y cebolla (grilled octopus on a bed of boiled potatoes and onion). Octopus tentacles, cut longways and griddled on a flat top, were perfectly tender with a lovely char from the griddle. The boiled Galician potatoes, delicious in their simplicity, were merely drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with paprika. Red onions are not necessarily traditional, but the sweetness they added to this dish was inspired. This was another plate that you definitely want to sopetear with that wonderful Galician bread!
Pulpo a la plancha con cama de patatas cocidas y cebolla – grilled octopus on a bed of boiled potatoes and onion
For dessert we took the advice of our friendly waiter and ordered the tarta de queso fria con galletas y moras (cold cheesecake with cookie crust and blackberries). Also drizzled with caramel sauce, this dessert made in house was light, creamy, and delicious.
Tarta de queso fria con galletas y moras – cold cheesecake with cookie crust and blackberries
After thoroughly enjoying another afternoon of fine Galician wine and exceptional quality seafood, we will be sure to ask local friends for more recommendations in future visits to A Coruña!
Date of Visit: October 19, 2017
Restaurante La Sartén de Coruña
Plaza de España, 11, 15001 A Coruña (map)
+34 981 919 313
Website: www.restaurantelasarten.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/lasartenc
English spoken: YES
My Life On Vacation Everyday 
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