Beyond the haute cuisine restaurant that we all have in mind, there are other gastronomic formats that mark contemporary cuisine. Perhaps the most widespread is the Japanese-influenced bar, which little by little has become popular, mixing with other models, to give rise to innovative proposals.
Spain, for its part, contributes to this list of gastronomic models references that not only function in a native key, but have demonstrated their versatility beyond, as happened with the Alicante influence, recognized by the chef, in the formation of the bar format of which Joel Robuchon was a pioneer in the field of Western haute cuisine.
In this sense, currently there seems to be a return to these models as inspiration, a renewed look towards Alicante and Valencian bars, towards grocery stores and butter shops in the case of Barcelona or towards grocery stores and tabancos in the south. It is precisely in this line that we must understand the arrival of Ultramarinos Galera to the panorama of a city like A Coruña, characterized by a rich and diverse gastronomic ecosystem in which, however, this format appears as a novelty.
Rubén García and Álvaro Victoriano are old acquaintances of the A Coruña hospitality industry. Victoriano, from Madrid, worked at La Terraza del Casino or Jockey before arriving in A Coruña as head chef at El de Alberto, a classic in the city. It is there where he meets Rubén, who had previously worked in another historic place such as O Bebedeiro. Together they will launch the Peculiar restaurant, the seed of a small gastronomic group that today has four locations in the city.
Ultramarinos Galera is the most recent project of this tandem, a restaurant that, with Victoriano in charge of the kitchen and García in the dining room, dares to explore a different model. On the one hand, there is a tribute to the city’s historic grocery stores, one of the ports that since the 18th century were enabled for overseas trade, which led the people of A Coruña to enjoy, already in colonial times, grocery stores such as cocoa, coffee or spices that had A Coruña as one of their few entry points into the Peninsula.
This made the A Coruña grocery store grow as a particularly rich trade, characterized by quality products coming from here and there. That is, precisely, the spirit that this restaurant claims and that is, in some way, at the backbone of its discourse.
The other great foot on which the model is based is the commitment to the product from the perspective of a gastronomic bar, a model that abounds on the Mediterranean coast, but that has not been much explored in the peninsular Atlantic and that Victoriano and García They reformulate from a taste for classic service – reflected in the uniforms, the crockery and the service – that the Madrid native brings, surely, from his time in Jockey.
These vectors are also found in a space on Galera Street, one of the hot spots for the tavern owner not only in the city but in all of Galicia, which becomes the last of the pieces that end up giving shape to that puzzle. from which an Ultramarinos Galera is born that is difficult to put labels on.
We are talking about a bar, but not a chat bar and a typical tavern atmosphere; We are also talking about a restaurant, but passed through the filter of a more classic service. And we are talking about a respect for the product, which is born from the selection of raw materials from the great historical grocers to meet the temple vocation of the product. There are, therefore, enough elements to give shape to a proposal with a differentiated personality, which is unlike any other in its environment and which has not taken long to find its audience.
Ultramarinos Galera has, next to the window facing the street, a small bar area that functions as a point of sale, the place where you can let yourself be carried away by its impressive offering of cheeses or Iberian sausages, among which those from Remedios stand out. Sánchez, one of the great contemporary producers.
Whether at the table or at the bar, this vocation of an enlightened grocery store, which is committed on equal terms to local and foreign products, as long as the quality supports it, is transferred to a small menu of classics that is complemented with some out of the ordinary menu, collected on a board that changes daily, which are always the best option to explore the season.
100% Iberian pork jowl from Remedios Sánchez on toasted Carral bread, from the Mercedes Bakery, to start, while you review the board and consult with Rubén and Álvaro about the best of the day. Everything here is presented with names and surnames, showing off its origin and the selection work that ends up bringing it to the plate.
Dried meat. National Wagyu and Premium Tajima, served together so that the differences can be appreciated. The first is cured less, the Tajima takes longer, and it supports it better due to the significant amount of infiltrated fat. A selection of cheeses that exemplifies the philosophy of the establishment: local producers are represented through Marigold from the Cortes de Muar cheese factory, which comes along with a wonderful Gamoneu, a Zamorano cheese from Pablo Alonso (Villalpando) and a truffled brie.
White shrimp from Huelva, arrived on the day and barely boiled. Sweetness and smoothness. Maresme artichoke, accompanied by an Iberian bondiola from Remedios Sánchez, toasted pine nuts and a deep pilpil of amontillado.
Fabas, which the restaurant brings directly from a producer in Laxe, on the Costa da Morte, and which it offers with blonde clam. There are no complications. The kitchen lets the product get all the attention, either on its own or in simple preparations that refer to the usual cookery recipe book in preparations like these beans, but also in proposals such as omelette stewed with clams or in Dishes that are part of our taste memory, such as hooded eggs, which have become a classic at Ultramarinos.
Elvers, one of the treasures of the season. Traditional, with garlic, chilli, oil and a touch of heat in a clay pot. At other times of the year, this gap in the offer would be occupied by some barnacles from the Tower of Hercules, some shrimp from the Costa da Morte, some black scallops from the Ría de Ferrol or perhaps, if you are lucky, some santiaguiños.
Fisterra squid, simply grilled, without decorations or garnishes. You don’t need them to shine. Pure intensity of flavor with the buttery texture that only gives freshness.
This is if we choose to sit at the table – I especially like the high tables, in front of the bar, which allow us to enjoy the bar atmosphere without giving up more cuisine dishes – because if we prefer the bar we can adapt the order to simpler bites, perhaps some Sanfilippo anchovies, a salad with northern albacore trunk, a squid muffin or some pieces of the day’s seafood.
What does not change, whether at the bar or at the table, is the importance of leaving room for the desserts, made in the restaurant’s workshop by Paula Acuña. Here too, excesses are avoided with a brief offering of classics that return to the idea of ??the restaurant: a traditional larpeira cake, served with a coffee cream; a wonderful cheesecake or, in my case, whenever possible, one of the best chocolate mousse, without updates, without reviews, that I have had in a long time.
I especially like the versatility of the restaurant model. In a quick visit it is possible to sit at the bar, share some cheeses, perhaps a muffin or, in season, a good tomato salad and enjoy the product at very affordable prices, considering the quality of what is offered. Or you can opt for a table and decide if what you want today is something more classic, perhaps a little spooning, maybe a seasonal stew, or let yourself be carried away by seafood, mushrooms, if we are in season, or fish of the day, as far as you want.
In any case, whether one formula or another is chosen, Ultramarinos Galera shows that the product bar also has a place in the north, that there is an audience that demanded a versatile option like this and that it is possible to delve into the city’s gastronomic legacy. without falling into clichés, without limiting ourselves strictly to the product of local origin and offering something with personality and, what is even more important, with common sense; something that is fresh air and that shows that, when the product is the center, all formats are possible.
