This will be a fairly long post about places to stop for a drink and/or food between Ponferrada and Quiroga/San Clodio.
My football team, Unionistas de Salamanca, were playing two consecutive away games, against Cultural León and Ponferradina, so I thought I’d stay up there and do some walking.
After the game in León, which we drew 1-1, I drove to Ponferrada and started out from there on the Invierno. As I know a lot of people on the route I was invited to stay in a couple of places, and I was extremely well looked after.
The following is just a slightly updated version of places to eat and drink between Ponferrada and Quiroga (where I finished my walking in order to catch the train back to Ponferrada on Saturday morning, and meet up with my friends from Salamanca):
In Toral de Merayo the Coviran supermarket just before the bridge is open for those who intend to spend the night in the Albergue in Villavieja to stock up on some supplies. Bar El Puente next door is also open, and over the bridge you have La Cantina del Señor Lobo. The panadería is still there just up the street, and their empanadas are highly recommended!
There are two bars on the road (a slight detour down from the camino) in Villalibre de la Jurisdicción: Mesa Para 2 and Bar Ruta 98. Both will give you an excellent free pincho.
On the road (a slight detour from the camino) in Priaranza del Bierzo you have Bar Inés, another place with excellent pinchos.
Café Bar Ronda, at the end of the road in Santalla del Bierzo (another slight detour from the camino), is normally open, but if it’s not the lady owner, who lives upstairs, will come down and let you in. They have a nice covered terrace at the back with beautiful views over the Bierzo valley. Sadly, there are no pinchos, but she will make you a bocadillo if you ask.
There’s nothing available in Villavieja or at Cornatel Castle. If you’re staying in Borrenes, with Saturno and Marisol in the Hotel Rural Cornatel Médulas, they will provide meals, but if you just want to stop off before continuing up to Las TMédulas it’s better to contact them beforehand. I was invited to eat there last Monday: an enormous earthenware bowl of Botillo, with the typical side dish of boiled potatoes, cabbage and chickpeas. A real blow out, washed down with some excellent Mencía red wine.
If you can’t eat there, you can always pop down to Restaurante Las Ventas on the main road (a detour of about 1 km), where they serve a decent enough menu del día. It’s easy enough to get back on the camino from there.
In Las Médulas my favourite place is O Camiño Real, just at the start of the village. Excellent Caldo Berciano and, if you’re feeling hungry, try one of Javi’s enormous Cachopos! Depending on the day of the week you can also find other places open for a drink or meal, but Las Médulas can be a bit of a ghost town off season or midweek.
In Puente de Domingo Flórez, if you’re staying in the Casa Rosa Albergue, you have Cafetería Los Arcos just round the corner. They have quite a few plates on offer, including raciones and sandwiches, but their hamburgers are massive, especially the one they call ‘XXL’!
Ther’s a churrería in the Plaza del Toral, and the ever-present Bar El Cruce down on the main road. It’s worth a short walk to Bar Bom Vita, opposite the municipal swimming-pool, and especially Mesón La Colmena, where Susana and Jorge are great hosts. If you’re lucky, you’ll be given a piping hot bowl of garlic soup, and they have a large selection of very reasonably priced raciones. I’ve eaten a couple of times in the Hostal La Torre, but – to be honest – it’s not a particularly exciting menú del día.
In the evening, and especially in late spring/summer, a great place to sit out on the terrace overlooking the river with a beer/wine (or several) is the Bodega Chillout. David and Lucía, who both speak perfect English, will look after you well. They often do gastronomic evenings, with different offerings: anything from Thai curries to Irish stews!
On the way to Sobradelo last Wednesday I got chatting to a retired Englishman. Kim and his wife Hazel have bought an old house in Pumares and are renovating it. Originally from Yorkshire, they moved to Andalucía but – for some inexplicable reason – they found a place in the middle of rural Galicia and moved up there. Being typical ex-pats, they speak just two words of Spanish and no Gallego! Anyway, he says he’ll invite you in for a cup of tea if he comes across you!
In Sobradelo the Centro Social Pontenova is still open, but Lili has left and there are new owners. They still provide some food, but the great menu del día has disappeared. Over the road, in Bar Mar, Manuel is still there, and he’s a marvellous, albeit quite peculiar, pilgrim-friendly host.
Incidentally, there’s a new Boutique Hotel down on the other side of the bridge, next to the Restaurante Mesón Museo, but with prices between 100 and 135 euros for a room, Manuel is not worried about competition!
If you’re lucky you’ll find Bar Martillo open in Éntoma. Some food available.
I always make a point of stopping off in the first bar at the top of O Barco de Valdeorras: a glass of the excellent local wine and a free pincho in Bar San Roque. Once in the town my two favourite restaurants are Casa Galaica and Casa Lameiro, both with very good menús del día. Casa Paradela, if it’s open, is good too. There are no end of bars in the town, but I tend to avoid the more touristy places along El Malecón by the river. In the evening I generally head for the Taberna O Buraco, in the Plazo de Calvo Sotelo, for some great pinchos morunos or chorizo criollo.
If you walk from O Barco on the north side of the river (there’s another thread about crossing the river and passing through Arnado before rejoining the camino at Valencia do Sil), then you have a few places in Villamartín. Hotel A Lastra is on the main road, and they serve up enormous tortillas in the bar. In Villamartín, not too far from the Albergue, you have a few more cafés, amongst which I would recommend Café Bar Santos and Bar Acuarela.
In order to avoid a bit of road walking after Valencia do Sil you have an alternative route into A Rúa (in the same thread I mentioned previously), but if you carry on down the long stretch you come across Panadería Peyma, an excellent place for coffee and cakes (or beer/wine if you prefer). In town there are quite a few bars, and on Sundays and holidays the pulperías set up and serve the octopus.
My new favourite place to eat is O Toño, with a cheap and varied menu del día. If you’re staying in O Pillabán make sure you try out Juan’s delicious Crema de Calabaza!
There’s nothing on the way from A Rúa to Quiroga, although an enterprising lady has set up something in the small village of Os Alvaredos, offering snacks and drinks. You also have the Alvaredo-Hobbs Winery in the village, co-owned by Paul Hobbs and a Spanish partner.
You’ll find some fruit left out for pilgrims by the amazing Sr. Casemiro just before Montefurado. In O Soldón you have the summer-only beach bar by the river, but that’s it until you get to Quiroga.
There are plenty of bars, cafés and restaurants in Quiroga. Many pilgrims head for Chapakuña, close to the municipal Albergue. Under the newly-renovated Hostal Quiper is a good bar, and next door you have the marvellous A Boticá Cafetería: excellent wines and pinchos and they now do a decent menu del día. There’s a lovely garden out back.
My ‘go-to’ place for a meal has always been Casa Aroza. Lupe and Miguel are so friendly and, even though their menu has gone up a bit in price, you will never be disappointed.
On Saturday morning I walked over to San Clodio in the pouring rain to catch my train back to Ponferrada and watch Unionistas de Salamanca get a great draw against the league leaders. In San Clodio the Hotel Restaurante Las Vegas has re-opened, and you also have Café Bar A Cabina, Café Bar Central and Bar River Sil by the railway line, with Café Bar Dickens on the way down to the bridge. After that it’s off towards Monforte de Lemos, with Pensión Pacita only open for food if you decide to stay there (unless you know the father and son, as I do!) and enough places in A Pobra do Brollón after the long climb through Castroncelos. But that’s for my next trip.
Just a couple of things: I didn’t stop in all these bars (I promise!), and you need to check opening hours for some of them, especially on Sundays and Mondays.
A lot of the information in this long post is available in other threads, but I hope it’s of help.
Buen Camino!
My football team, Unionistas de Salamanca, were playing two consecutive away games, against Cultural León and Ponferradina, so I thought I’d stay up there and do some walking.
After the game in León, which we drew 1-1, I drove to Ponferrada and started out from there on the Invierno. As I know a lot of people on the route I was invited to stay in a couple of places, and I was extremely well looked after.
The following is just a slightly updated version of places to eat and drink between Ponferrada and Quiroga (where I finished my walking in order to catch the train back to Ponferrada on Saturday morning, and meet up with my friends from Salamanca):
In Toral de Merayo the Coviran supermarket just before the bridge is open for those who intend to spend the night in the Albergue in Villavieja to stock up on some supplies. Bar El Puente next door is also open, and over the bridge you have La Cantina del Señor Lobo. The panadería is still there just up the street, and their empanadas are highly recommended!
There are two bars on the road (a slight detour down from the camino) in Villalibre de la Jurisdicción: Mesa Para 2 and Bar Ruta 98. Both will give you an excellent free pincho.
On the road (a slight detour from the camino) in Priaranza del Bierzo you have Bar Inés, another place with excellent pinchos.
Café Bar Ronda, at the end of the road in Santalla del Bierzo (another slight detour from the camino), is normally open, but if it’s not the lady owner, who lives upstairs, will come down and let you in. They have a nice covered terrace at the back with beautiful views over the Bierzo valley. Sadly, there are no pinchos, but she will make you a bocadillo if you ask.
There’s nothing available in Villavieja or at Cornatel Castle. If you’re staying in Borrenes, with Saturno and Marisol in the Hotel Rural Cornatel Médulas, they will provide meals, but if you just want to stop off before continuing up to Las TMédulas it’s better to contact them beforehand. I was invited to eat there last Monday: an enormous earthenware bowl of Botillo, with the typical side dish of boiled potatoes, cabbage and chickpeas. A real blow out, washed down with some excellent Mencía red wine.
If you can’t eat there, you can always pop down to Restaurante Las Ventas on the main road (a detour of about 1 km), where they serve a decent enough menu del día. It’s easy enough to get back on the camino from there.
In Las Médulas my favourite place is O Camiño Real, just at the start of the village. Excellent Caldo Berciano and, if you’re feeling hungry, try one of Javi’s enormous Cachopos! Depending on the day of the week you can also find other places open for a drink or meal, but Las Médulas can be a bit of a ghost town off season or midweek.
In Puente de Domingo Flórez, if you’re staying in the Casa Rosa Albergue, you have Cafetería Los Arcos just round the corner. They have quite a few plates on offer, including raciones and sandwiches, but their hamburgers are massive, especially the one they call ‘XXL’!
Ther’s a churrería in the Plaza del Toral, and the ever-present Bar El Cruce down on the main road. It’s worth a short walk to Bar Bom Vita, opposite the municipal swimming-pool, and especially Mesón La Colmena, where Susana and Jorge are great hosts. If you’re lucky, you’ll be given a piping hot bowl of garlic soup, and they have a large selection of very reasonably priced raciones. I’ve eaten a couple of times in the Hostal La Torre, but – to be honest – it’s not a particularly exciting menú del día.
In the evening, and especially in late spring/summer, a great place to sit out on the terrace overlooking the river with a beer/wine (or several) is the Bodega Chillout. David and Lucía, who both speak perfect English, will look after you well. They often do gastronomic evenings, with different offerings: anything from Thai curries to Irish stews!
On the way to Sobradelo last Wednesday I got chatting to a retired Englishman. Kim and his wife Hazel have bought an old house in Pumares and are renovating it. Originally from Yorkshire, they moved to Andalucía but – for some inexplicable reason – they found a place in the middle of rural Galicia and moved up there. Being typical ex-pats, they speak just two words of Spanish and no Gallego! Anyway, he says he’ll invite you in for a cup of tea if he comes across you!
In Sobradelo the Centro Social Pontenova is still open, but Lili has left and there are new owners. They still provide some food, but the great menu del día has disappeared. Over the road, in Bar Mar, Manuel is still there, and he’s a marvellous, albeit quite peculiar, pilgrim-friendly host.
Incidentally, there’s a new Boutique Hotel down on the other side of the bridge, next to the Restaurante Mesón Museo, but with prices between 100 and 135 euros for a room, Manuel is not worried about competition!
If you’re lucky you’ll find Bar Martillo open in Éntoma. Some food available.
I always make a point of stopping off in the first bar at the top of O Barco de Valdeorras: a glass of the excellent local wine and a free pincho in Bar San Roque. Once in the town my two favourite restaurants are Casa Galaica and Casa Lameiro, both with very good menús del día. Casa Paradela, if it’s open, is good too. There are no end of bars in the town, but I tend to avoid the more touristy places along El Malecón by the river. In the evening I generally head for the Taberna O Buraco, in the Plazo de Calvo Sotelo, for some great pinchos morunos or chorizo criollo.
If you walk from O Barco on the north side of the river (there’s another thread about crossing the river and passing through Arnado before rejoining the camino at Valencia do Sil), then you have a few places in Villamartín. Hotel A Lastra is on the main road, and they serve up enormous tortillas in the bar. In Villamartín, not too far from the Albergue, you have a few more cafés, amongst which I would recommend Café Bar Santos and Bar Acuarela.
In order to avoid a bit of road walking after Valencia do Sil you have an alternative route into A Rúa (in the same thread I mentioned previously), but if you carry on down the long stretch you come across Panadería Peyma, an excellent place for coffee and cakes (or beer/wine if you prefer). In town there are quite a few bars, and on Sundays and holidays the pulperías set up and serve the octopus.
My new favourite place to eat is O Toño, with a cheap and varied menu del día. If you’re staying in O Pillabán make sure you try out Juan’s delicious Crema de Calabaza!
There’s nothing on the way from A Rúa to Quiroga, although an enterprising lady has set up something in the small village of Os Alvaredos, offering snacks and drinks. You also have the Alvaredo-Hobbs Winery in the village, co-owned by Paul Hobbs and a Spanish partner.
You’ll find some fruit left out for pilgrims by the amazing Sr. Casemiro just before Montefurado. In O Soldón you have the summer-only beach bar by the river, but that’s it until you get to Quiroga.
There are plenty of bars, cafés and restaurants in Quiroga. Many pilgrims head for Chapakuña, close to the municipal Albergue. Under the newly-renovated Hostal Quiper is a good bar, and next door you have the marvellous A Boticá Cafetería: excellent wines and pinchos and they now do a decent menu del día. There’s a lovely garden out back.
My ‘go-to’ place for a meal has always been Casa Aroza. Lupe and Miguel are so friendly and, even though their menu has gone up a bit in price, you will never be disappointed.
On Saturday morning I walked over to San Clodio in the pouring rain to catch my train back to Ponferrada and watch Unionistas de Salamanca get a great draw against the league leaders. In San Clodio the Hotel Restaurante Las Vegas has re-opened, and you also have Café Bar A Cabina, Café Bar Central and Bar River Sil by the railway line, with Café Bar Dickens on the way down to the bridge. After that it’s off towards Monforte de Lemos, with Pensión Pacita only open for food if you decide to stay there (unless you know the father and son, as I do!) and enough places in A Pobra do Brollón after the long climb through Castroncelos. But that’s for my next trip.
Just a couple of things: I didn’t stop in all these bars (I promise!), and you need to check opening hours for some of them, especially on Sundays and Mondays.
A lot of the information in this long post is available in other threads, but I hope it’s of help.
Buen Camino!
…. 
