Will restaurants offer pilgrim menu

[benkika]

As this Camino is less travelled and the towns attract more seaside tourists then pilgrims, is it worth asking for pilgrim menus along this route?

 

[trecile]

As this Camino is less travelled and the towns attract more seaside tourists then pilgrims, is it worth asking for pilgrim menus along this route?

Yes, there are restaurants and bars that offer a pilgrim menu on the Norte. Not as frequently as on the Camino Francés though.
You could try having your large meal on the early afternoon as the Spaniards do and ask for the menu del día.

 

[Anniesantiago]

You could try having your large meal on the early afternoon as the Spaniards do and ask for the menu del día.

I have often found this to be the best option - cheaper and better food.

 

[mspath]

I have often found this to be the best option - cheaper and better food.

Indeed.
The idea of the menu del dia was established during the time of Franco to offer workers a single hearty daily meal at a very reasonable price. It is generally provided on workdays ie Monday through Friday at lunch time or roughly 2pm to 4pm.

 

[amancio]

Menú del peregrino is usually a few notches below menu del día. Go for menú del día any time, it is the one locals go for every week and come back for more. Anyone who asks for menú del peregrino would not be a repeat customer, so, pretty much, anything goes.

As a Spaniard, I say go del día. Any time!

 

[trecile]

As a Spaniard, I say go del día. Any time!

Not exactly any time, since the menú del día is usually only offered in the afternoon.
But I get your point - the menú del día is preferable to the menú peregrino.

 

[J Willhaus]

I did read this week in the Galician newspaper that the average cost of even the reasonable menu del dia is expected to go up. The war in Ukraine is causing a sunflower cooking oil shortage that is also impacting the cost of olive oil. Additionally there is a transportation strike right now that is causing problems in food shipping, etc. Some companies and stores having to shut down. There is also increases in the costs of grains for both human and animal consumption.

 

[Friend from Barquinha]

Indeed.
The idea of the menu del dia was established during the time of Franco to offer workers a single hearty daily meal at a very reasonable price. It is generally provided on workdays ie Monday through Friday at lunch time or roughly 2pm to 4pm.

Same thing exists in Portugal where a pilgrim menu is much less common, at least south of Porto.

 

[pjacobi]

menú del día often includes a better wine. The upgrade is usually a "crianza" wine which is ages in oak. That's the difference between a 0.98 Euro screw top bottle and a 2 Euro cork bottle.

-Paul

 

[peregrino_tom]

FWIW - I found a lot of the seaside towns on the Norte were touristy enough to have their own kebab/falafel places. A great plate of fresh salad, warm pitta bread and deep fried falafels can do wonders for the pilgrim appetite...

 

[Damien Reynolds]

Indeed.
The idea of the menu del dia was established during the time of Franco to offer workers a single hearty daily meal at a very reasonable price. It is generally provided on workdays ie Monday through Friday at lunch time or roughly 2pm to 4pm.

Omg. Now I know. Love the historical context.

 

[Damien Reynolds]

But wait. Do you still get the fries with the Menu del Dia? I mean the fries are so wrong, but so right…

 

[Friend from Barquinha]

But wait. Do you still get the fries with the Menu del Dia? I mean the fries are so wrong, but so right…

Depends. In Portugal, the rule is "fries with meat; boiled potatoes with fish!"

 

[Camembert]

Yes, there are restaurants and bars that offer a pilgrim menu on the Norte. Not as frequently as on the Camino Francés though.
You could try having your large meal on the early afternoon as the Spaniards do and ask for the menu del día.

El menu del dia is being served during weekdays only as early as @ 13h00 till about 14h30 .
it is served because of an ancient law from the former dictator Franco . Every worker during lunchtime deserves a good 3 course meal for an acceptable price Including one beverage.
when I worked in Barcelona about 15 years ago it costed about 7 to 8 euros Last time I was in Spain two years ago it was around 10 euro’s
Don’t expect a chique restaurant. It is a big place, round Barcelona often at industrial estates with simple tables and chairs and neon light above you but the quality of the food was awesome. And varies day different. Meat, fish , vegetarian at times although vegetarian by then was not very popular among the Spaniards
As a starter a soup , then a main dish and a dessert what sometimes only could be an orange or an apple. Depending on the day of the week.
They adopted el menu del dia in Portugal too . O menu do dia. There it is slightly cheaper than in Spain.

in the weekends you have to choose from the more expensive menu card and mind in Spain many restaurants are full during lunchtime .Spanish familie go out for a meal together with grandfather and grandmother ,children, grandchildren etc. . Hardly to get a table . It is their social quality time to be with all together.
so I had my diner most of the time at night and the restaurants at the beaches of Catalunya were almost deserted.

 

[Friend from Barquinha]

El menu del dia is being served during weekdays only as early as @ 13h00 till about 14h30 .
it is served because of an ancient law from the former dictator Franco . Every worker during lunchtime deserves a good 3 course meal for an acceptable price Including one beverage.
when I worked in Barcelona about 15 years ago it costed about 7 to 8 euros Last time I was in Spain two years ago it was around 10 euro’s
Don’t expect a chique restaurant. It is a big place, round Barcelona often at industrial estates with simple tables and chairs and neon light above you but the quality of the food was awesome. And varies day different. Meat, fish , vegetarian at times although vegetarian by then was not very popular among the Spaniards
As a starter a soup , then a main dish and a dessert what sometimes only could be an orange or an apple. Depending on the day of the week.
They adopted el menu del dia in Portugal too . O menu do dia. There it is slightly cheaper than in Spain.

in the weekends you have to choose from the more expensive menu card and mind in Spain many restaurants are full during lunchtime .Spanish familie go out for a meal together with grandfather and grandmother ,children, grandchildren etc. . Hardly to get a table . It is their social quality time to be with all together.
so I had my diner most of the time at night and the restaurants at the beaches of Catalunya were almost deserted.

This is a really good summary! As A says, it's generally not available on a weekend, or in the evening. But on weekdays, it's an excellent value and often dishes that you wouldn't taste otherwise.

 

[peregrino_tom]

I mean the fries are so wrong, but so right…

Let's face it, if you're walking a winter camino you think about hot fries being shaken out of the fryer basket about every 15 mins

 

[pasiño a pasiño]

After spending many many days on Spanish Caminos, I'm bored of "pilgrims menu" (and dry Bocadillos.....I prepare my own ) and these places with bad manners where they treat you like a number/guiri and not like a person (experienced not only once).
I'm looking for places where the locals have their food and I ask specific for places like this and there I order Raciones or Menu del dia. But I love and prefer self cooked meals with other pilgrims!!!

 

[alexwalker]

But I love and prefer self cooked meals with other pilgrims!!!

Indeed! Me too! But this thread is very interesting, as to the quality and serving time for the Menu del dia: Much better timing for us peregrinos/as, IMHO.

 

[trecile]

This delicious fabada was part of an excellent pilgrim meal in Avilés.

 

[alexwalker]

This delicious fabada was part of an excellent pilgrim meal in Avilés.

View attachment 121007

If I can find an albergue kitchen open in the next week(s), I'll make it direct, hopefully with a few fellow pilgrims joining in: It has all my favorite ingredients (adding some bacon)! Imagine, with fresh bread, and a solid ration of red... Bed time immediately! Thank you! (I googled recipes...)

 

[Damien Reynolds]

Let's face it, if you're walking a winter camino you think about hot fries being shaken out of the fryer basket about every 15 mins

Never walked a winter Camino. I can imagine though, considering I love those fries Spring, Summer, and Fall.

 

[Damien Reynolds]

This delicious fabada was part of an excellent pilgrim meal in Avilés.

View attachment 121007

Yah you just have to throw away the blood sausage bit… oh no! I said it!

 

[pasiño a pasiño]

This delicious fabada was part of an excellent pilgrim meal in Avilés.

View attachment 121007

It looks delicious!
I don't want to generalize though.
Not every pilgrims menu is bad!
Don't get me wrong here!!

It is also depending which Camino in Spain!
If I take the Francés there was definitely the majority of pilgrim menus just quantity.
I mean what can you expect for the price!?
Also it's a matter of individual taste and definitely influenced by origins and culture (like the Asians miss the rice on the way!).
So a opinion of food relies on many factors!
Also hiking makes you soooo hungry, I ate stuff only cause out of hunger, what I would not eat/touch at home and there wasn't a alternative.

post scriptum: My "personal" conviction is based on a european, ecological, sustainable nutrition. Plus more than 10k on Caminos under my belt = so maaany "menu del diaperegria"....

que aproveche!

 

[Tincatinker]

I’ve said it before, though The Beloved assures me that that won’t stop me repeating myself, the Menu Peregrino is served to those who’ll likely never pass again. The Menu del Dia is offered to the local customers: the farmers, foresters, Guardia, politicians, pharmacists, tractor menders, and everybody else who lives in your neighborhood, knows your mum and will, firmly, express an opinion on the quality and generosity of your offering.
If I was lucky (or unlucky) enough to run a little local comedor somewhere in Spain I know who I’d cook for. And in Spain I know what I’ll seek out and always request.

 

[Daddyfrog]

we walked the Norte in 2018, and at that time both Peregrino and del dia menus were readily available and of good quality. We never encountered a meal that made us turn up our noses and move on!

 

[gerardcarey]

Yah you just have to throw away the blood sausage bit… oh no! I said it!

Throw it my way cobber.

 

[Karl Oz]

But wait. Do you still get the fries with the Menu del Dia? I mean the fries are so wrong, but so right…

Coming along well with the humour!