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!).
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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