10 Of The Best Restaurants To Try In Salamanca, Spain

At Río de la Plata, locals feel as if they were at home; its tiled floor, uncluttered wooden furniture and white tablecloths are reminiscent of a typical Spanish house. For more than 50 years, the owners have been welcoming diners in a family atmosphere and serving them comida de siempre, traditional food that satisfies nostalgic Spanish and curious foreign palates alike. Although its extended menu includes most typical Spanish meat, fish, seafood and vegetarian dishes, Río de la Plata also claims stewed kid with almonds as its speciality.

If your fondness for good cuisine is only equalled by your passion for art and interesting décors, you will get the best of both worlds at La Fonda del Arcediano de Medina. Many small paintings cover the ceiling of this warm-looking restaurant located in a tiny street next to the Gran Vía, Salamanca’s nightlife hub. ‘La Fonda’, as it is called by locals, serves traditional Spanish foods and specializes in meat dishes made from local ingredients. Diners usually recommend its stewed pork jaws and homemade desserts, including yogurt and lemon cake as well as rice pudding.

The stunning Plaza Mayor, Salamanca’s main square, is one of the best-known attractions of the city. A masterpiece of Churrigueresque architecture, a Spanish Baroque style, the Plaza Mayor is also the center of Salamanca’s social life, where students and professionals gather after a long day at work or university. A dinner on the terrace of one of its restaurants is the best way to enjoying the beauty of this dazzling square. Don Mauro is one such establishment where this is possible. A spacious restaurant with azulejos, painted white and blue tiles representing scenes of traditional Iberian daily life, on its walls. Don Mauro serves both regional dishes and avant-garde delights, such as foie gras toast with vanilla and mango cream.

Going to Spain without ir de tapeo requires a very good excuse. Quintessentially Spanish, this habit is about going from bar to bar and having tapas, small portions of typical Spanish foods which enable diners to enjoy a melody of flavors. Although restaurants including a tapas bar are numerous in Salamanca, the Casa de Comidas Montero is often hailed as the highlight of visitors’ tapeo experience. What makes this venue so special is the combination of traditional and innovative foods. The Casa de Comidas Montero’s tapas manage to surprise the most experienced palates. Must-tries include wagyu meat, bull tail and red tuna.

If you are a music lover, having dinner at El Corrillo is a must-do. Both a restaurant and a café, this venue hosts live music concerts regularly, featuring local and foreign artists. Although El Corrillo is open to many different music genres, it is best-known for jazz. Students willing to organize cultural activities such as storytelling or poetry writing are also welcome. El Corrillo’s menu includes traditional as well as more creative dishes like veal tartar steak with Dijon mustard. Late hours are the busiest, when people flock to have a couple of beers or one of the café’s special cocktails.

The top-quality cuisine in Salamanca is brought to you by the chef Víctor Gutiérrez, whose restaurant was awarded a star by Michelin’s Red Guide. Located very close to the Plaza Mayor and Salamanca’s cathedrals, the venue offers a great view of San Esteban’s convent. Víctor Gutiérrez’s experimental cuisine is influenced by the chef’s Peruvian roots and his passion for Asian flavors. Each diner can book one of the three thematic menus available, whose composition is kept secret, and savor a display of truly artistic dishes.

Priding itself on its renewed traditional cuisine, La Dehesa – El Oso y el Madroño specializes in roasted meat dishes. With years of experience in serving high-quality regional food, the venue features an authentic holm oak wood stove that gives a unique and delicious taste to its meat. The roasted piglet is the highlight of its menu. The use of the best local raw materials combined with exceptional know-how means La Dehesa – El Oso y el Madroño has been awarded numerous prizes, such as that of the best carvery of the province.

Despite its attachment to tradition and history, Salamanca is often described, due to its high number of students, as the youngest old city in Spain. If this contrast had to be illustrated by a single place, it would be El Pecado. Located in the historic center of the city, the venue features a wide collection of antiques combined with a bold, contemporary and feminine décor, made of hot pink walls and zebra patterns. Its menu adds creativity to regional classics, and El Pecado’s dishes are prepared with the greatest respect of local products.

A central and peaceful restaurant, La Posada has been serving traditional delights, including the highest-quality cured ham, lentils of La Armuña and French beans with clams, for more than half a century. Its warm, ancient décor feature a huge, old black and white photograph of the city’s bridge and cathedral in the background, and large pieces of tree trunks on the ceiling. The restaurant also has an extended bar where visitors can have coffee, wine and tapas.

A five-star hotel located only five minutes away from the Plaza Mayor, the Alameda Palace is the right place to feel as if you were a member of the Spanish royal family. Its gorgeous, luminous restaurant features golden fabric-covered seats, and matching curtains and walls. The latter are decorated with noble and romantic paintings that could fit just as well in a Spanish castle. The dishes and wines served complete the venue’s refinement and will leave a lasting impression to its visitors.