Santiago de Compostela may be best known as a city of architectural excess in the name of Catholic grandeur. But just as key to what makes it such a fine destination for any sort of pilgrimage is the humble foodie action happening on the ground of this historic town.
My Galician Graze continues with a browse along the hundreds of stall of Santiago’s Mercado de Abastos.
Second in visitor numbers only to the city’s famed Cathedral, the market is one of Santiago’s most frequented sites. Despite this, Abastos doesn’t have a touristy feel at all. Sure, you can buy trinkets and keepsakes (some of them quite tasteful and many of them very tasty) but more so it’s a place for local folks to buy their daily groceries (or sell their own homegrown products) as well as a choice cut of meat, fresh fish and seafood and all sorts of other locally sourced and produced food and drink.
Need to pick up some of the region’s prized percebes for a party or a cut of much sought after Rubia Gallega beef? Or maybe you just want to buy a wedge of cheese or a few fresh veggies or eggs lay hours earlier? Abastos is the place for you.
Not my first time to Santiago or my first time at the Mercado, I nonetheless was keen to make time for a morning stroll through the market on any empty stomach when my plans to visit Galicia began to take shape.
As my tour of Galicia was chiefly one for dining out and I was staying in a kitchen-less hotel room, I didn’t do much actual shopping. I did however manage to snag a delicious and intriguing slice of almond and mussel empanada (at the market stall with the “Qué Divino!” signage) and to stock up on some tinned fish from the Catrineta Conserveira de Compostela boutique across the way from the market.
Later on during my trip, market bar Abastos 2.0 proved an ideal setting for a wind down drink paired with a jazz soundtrack as dusk set in on evening.
Find the Mercado de Abastos at Rúa das Ameas, 15704 Santiago de Compostela. For more about the market go to mercadodeabastosdesantiago.com.
Stay tuned for more posts about my Graze Across Galicia.
