--- title: "Where to eat in Santiago, by occasion" description: "Big group, first date, something to celebrate or a rucksack off the Camino: which Santiago restaurant fits each plan, with the street and what it costs." url: https://santiago.es/en/where-to-eat/by-occasion locale: en generated: 2026-11-03T04:40:21.180Z --- # Where to eat in Santiago, by occasion Where to eat Eating with six friends is not the same as a first date. Here is the right table for each plan, with the street and the reason why. ![Mesa gallega con pulpo, empanada y tarta de Santiago vista desde arriba, grabado dorado](https://santiago.es/img/illus/mesa.jpg) [© santiago.es · Ilustración](https://santiago.es) By [Cesar Rodriguez](https://santiago.es/en/author) «Where shall we eat?» has a different answer depending on who is coming to the table. This guide is not a ranking of the best restaurants in Santiago — that is [the selection of thirty](https://santiago.es/en/where-to-eat/best-restaurants) — but a sorting by situation: the place that actually suits the plan you have in hand. Prices are indicative and change; treat them as an order of magnitude, not a quote. ## For a big group **O Dezaseis**, on Rúa de San Pedro — the street the Camino Francés walks in on — works well with large tables: traditional Galician cooking, a set menu at €11.50-12 and the feel of an old eating house that does not get flustered by six or seven people. It is the one on this page that most repays booking ahead, because the big tables go first. ## A first date **O Curro da Parra**, on Rúa Travesa, is the right size not to feel watched, with a menu that has some invention without being intimidating — around €40-45 a head. If you would rather have daylight and an inner courtyard, **María Castaña**, on Rúa da Raíña, is the kinder choice on a sunny day, with raciones at €8-18. ## Something to celebrate Santiago has two Michelin stars and both earn the occasion: **Casa Marcelo**, on Rúa das Hortas next to the Obradoiro, with a tasting menu at roughly €135; and **A Tafona**, chef Lucía Freitas's restaurant on Rúa da Virxe da Cerca, with produce bought the same morning at the Mercado de Abastos and its «Limiar» menu from about €125. Both need booking well in advance. ## Eating fast before a train If you are tight for time on the way to the Intermodal station, the Ensanche — the nineteenth-century grid south of the old town — has set lunches done in 30 to 40 minutes and no need to book. It is not the city's gastronomic experience, but it does the job: ask for the *menú del día* in any bar around Rúa do Hórreo or Rosalía de Castro. ## With the rucksack straight off the Camino If you have just reached the Obradoiro and only want to sit down and eat without ceremony, the taverns of **Rúa do Franco** and **Rúa da Raíña** are made for exactly that. **O Gato Negro**, on the Raíña, has been serving octopus and Ribeiro in a white cup since 1922 and takes no bookings — you queue, rucksack on if need be — and for many pilgrims it is the first place to sit down after months of walking. ## Shellfish, no holding back **El Pasaje**, at Rúa do Franco 54, is a classic Franco-street marisquería with its own seawater tank: octopus á feira, cod al pilpil and fresh shellfish from the display, with a portion at roughly €15-17 and fish and meat on the carte climbing much higher. This is the one for proper shellfish rather than the tourist plate on the corner. ## Coffee with some history **Café Casino**, on Rúa do Vilar, opened as a members' recreation society in 1873 and still has the air of a period salon — the place to stop mid-morning with the sense of being somewhere that has watched generations of Compostelans go by. It closes on Tuesdays. ## With a dog O Sendeiro and Abastos 2.0 both take dogs — the second one if you say so when you book. All the detail is in [our guide to Santiago with a dog](https://santiago.es/en/with-a-dog). ## Frequently asked questions **Where do I take a big group to eat in Santiago?** O Dezaseis, on Rúa de San Pedro, is the most practical option: traditional Galician cooking and a room that copes with tables of six or seven. Book ahead, because the large tables go first. **What is the best restaurant in Santiago for a special occasion?** The city's two Michelin-starred restaurants: Casa Marcelo (tasting menu ≈ €135) and A Tafona (≈ €125). Both need booking well in advance, especially at weekends. **Where do I eat if I have just finished the Camino and still have my rucksack?** Any tavern on Rúa do Franco or Rúa da Raíña. O Gato Negro, open since 1922 and taking no bookings, is the classic place to sit down on the day you arrive. **Are there restaurants in Santiago that allow dogs?** Yes. O Sendeiro and Abastos 2.0 (tell them when you book) are two confirmed options. There is more detail in the guide to Santiago with a dog. ## Keep reading **[Where to eat in Santiago](https://santiago.es/en/where-to-eat)** — Eating — The full guide: the dishes, the tapas streets and what a set lunch really costs. — Read the guide **[The best restaurants in Santiago](https://santiago.es/en/where-to-eat/best-restaurants)** — Selection — Thirty tables worth sitting at, from standing bars to two Michelin stars. — Read the guide **[The best pulperías in Santiago](https://santiago.es/en/where-to-eat/best-pulperias)** — Octopus — Where to eat proper pulpo á feira, and what a portion costs in each place. — Read the guide