Café de Altamira

Great place, great people, great food.
Situated in the Alamira hotel (which looked nice, didn’t stay here) this somewhat modern looking restaurant is on the edge of old town by the market. How I got here is half the story; intended to go to Occuro da Parra but without reservations we had no shot. The owner, rather than just turn us away, personally walked us to his 2^nd restaurant (this place) and personally made sure we got a table and a complimentary drink (incredible hospitality!!). The food was pretty darn good too, had the galician beef (which didn’t look like much when it came out, but it tasted great — very juicy) and a fish special (cannot recall what kind, but fantastic, the cut was the tail which gave it some thickness). The owner went above and beyond, instructing his staff to give us a small craft of house made liquor which gave a nice buzz to say the least (after a bottle of wine).

One of the culinary highlights on my last visit to Santiago. Went for lunch and tried, between me and my boyfriend, the dishes from the daily menu — 2 starters, 2 mains, plus dessert. And this was definitely a very good choice, as everything seemed to be very fresh — they are located just across a public market, after all — and well prepared.
The seasonality of their menu is paired perfectly with modern, inspired flavours, but it also respects those things that time established and perfected: good cheeses, a beautiful wine menu and, for me one of the most crucial details, good, freshly baked bread, that they slice in your view.
And the space itself is gorgeous, ample and contemporary, with a bold use of proportion and color. There’s also the convoluted, yet extremely comfortable, furniture. Truly nice architecture and interiors work, enhanced by the jazzy music. The staff is knowledgeable about the food and has an easygoing, elegant way of making you feel welcome.
My only reservation about the whole experience was the portion size: some dishes were very generous while others were quite small, and this wasn’t from a tapas menu. We were sharing everything so that wasn’t a problem at the time.
Very good value overall and I hope that it’s still around next time I’m in Santiago.

La verdad es que fuimos con un wonderbox, así que no podemos dar detalles sobre los precios de la carta. Ahora bien, el servicio y la comida fueron realmente espectaculares. Tan cuidados como la decoración del local. No recuerdo lo que incluía el pack del wonderbox pero nos sirvieron un menú degustación exquisito. Las porciones eran justas de tamaño, pero finalmente fuimos incapaces de terminarnos todo lo que nos ofrecieron. Tuvieron el detalle de incluir las bebidas extras que pedimos a cambio de una buena crítica en internet, así que aquí está.