O Castro

O Castro is a Galician taberna in Ets Hostalets, a quiet residential quarter in the east of Palma. The name already gives away where the cooking comes from: the O instead of an El is Galician, and the kitchen follows suit. Behind an unremarkable door lies a small room with a handful of tables, and the menu is made up almost entirely of what comes out of the Atlantic. The house backs the product rather than the presentation. The menu is deliberately short, the portions are generous, and at the table the waiter tells you which shellfish has come in fresh. Crockery and cutlery are plain, the napkins are paper, and there are no tablecloths. That is not an oversight but a position: at O Castro what matters is what is on the plate, not what it sits on. What comes out of the kitchen at O Castro The best known dish is pulpo á feira, Galician octopus. It arrives on a bed of warm cachelos, potatoes cooked in their skins, with pimentón and a generous pour of olive oil. Named almost as often are the zamburiñas, small variegated scallops, cooked only briefly on the plancha and served with a splash of balsamic. Plenty of guests rate them the best thing on the menu. Around that sits everything that makes a Galician taberna: navajas, almejas a la marinera, berberechos, prawns and oysters, along with rabas and calamares a la andaluza. The kitchen also sends out home-made croquetas, tortilla and pimientos de Padrón. And there are the spoon dishes in which sea and land meet: a stew of octopus and white beans with plenty of vegetables, crowned with a scallop, or callos with chickpeas that turn out surprisingly light. To open, the house likes to put a piece of tuna empanada on the table. The desserts are home-made and unmistakably Galician in intent: apple compote with fresh Galician cheese, ice cream and honey, plus queso de tetilla and the classic pairing of cheese with quince paste. A small room with few tables The place is small and makes no attempt to look bigger. Tables on cast-iron bases, traditional chairs, restrained decoration: the atmosphere here comes from the tight space and the bustle, not from the fittings. Step inside and you notice quickly how many of the guests are regulars. Behind O Castro stands José Carballo, a Galician who runs a second taberna in Palma as well. Both follow the same idea: good produce, a fair price, and no fuss around it. Wines from the Galician northwest The wine list is short and consistent. It leans on producers from the Rías Baixas and the Ribeira Sacra, Albariño is a given, and here and there a Ribera turns up. One speciality is the cloudy Ribeiro, a simple, uncomplicated white poured into glasses taken straight from the freezer. With shellfish it works remarkably well. Gins made in Galicia stand on the shelf too. Booking is worth it The room has few seats and is well filled. Without a reservation you may find yourself turned away again. If you do have a table, take your time and listen to what the house recommends: the fresh catch of the day is not printed on the menu, it is announced.