Santiago in Buxton

Santiago is a tapas restaurant, bar and deli in an historic building in Buxton. Highlighting authentic Spanish food including ingredients sourced from Spain, the menu offers an enticing mix of familiar and not-so-familiar dishes. On my first visit I ate a faultless tapas feast that went way beyond my expectations.

SANTIAGO IN BUXTON

Although partner ID and I previously travelled widely in Spain (he’s also had occasional work trips), since getting our dog over 10 years ago, we’ve only holidayed here in Britain. But I’ve really started to miss the wonderful foods of Spain. So, when I heard good things about Santiago in Buxton I knew I had to try it.

Santiago, located in the historic Old Pump House on George Street, describes itself as a tapas restaurant, bar and deli. Opened in 2021 by owners who’ve had a second home in Spain for many years, their aim was to celebrate authentic Spanish food. And that means not just ingredients in their dishes but produce to buy in the shop too.

With lots of tempting-sounding plates on the menu, ID and I decided to go for lunch.

Much larger than it appeared from the outside, the restored building with its exposed brick arches did remind me of an old Spanish bar. Having our cocker spaniel Larkin with us (yes, the one I gave up Spain for, but who happened to be celebrating his 11th birthday) we sat in the dog friendly bar.

At the other end of the building is the shop and deli counter. The dog-free restaurant sits between this and the bar.

We hadn’t booked but, arriving shortly after they’d opened for lunch, there were plenty of tables available. Forgoing the big wine list, we each chose a pint of one of the Spanish beers on draught. For me Cruzcampo (£5.60), Estrella Galicia (£5.70) for him.

SANTIAGO IN BUXTON MENU

The same menu is available in the bar and restaurant, with almost forty plates divided into Fish, Meat, and Vegetables, Extras such as bread and olives, plus Desserts. Along with dishes common in British tapas bars, restaurants, and even pubs these days (e.g. calamari, garlic chilli prawns, meatballs, tortilla, garlic mushrooms), there were a good proportion likely to be less familiar such as mojama (air-dried tuna) and morcilla (Spanish black pudding).

There’s also an impressive Meats & Cheeses section full of Spanish produce. From here you can create your own charcuterie board or go for A Taste of Spain where you get to sample a little of everything.

The Fish, Meat, and Vegetables dishes are marked with a T or an R. This indicates whether they’re a Tapa (£5 – £13.50), or a larger portion known as a Ration (£8.50 – £23). A few dishes were available as either. Between two people, Santiago recommends five tapas or three raciones. If you’ve read any of my other eating out reviews though, you won’t be surprised to learn that we busted right through that advice!

But if you don’t know how much you want to eat, you can start with just a few dishes then order more as you go. As in Spain, don’t expect dishes to arrive in any particular order. They’ll come when they’re ready.

A TAPAS FEAST

Being greedy so-and-sos, we ended up getting seven tapas plus a Bread Basket (£3). We somehow managed to eat the lot as well as dessert.

The order I’ve posted the dishes here is the order in which they came. We didn’t have to wait long for the first one and I see from the time stamps on my photos there were only 13 minutes between the first and the last. They came quite steadily so we felt neither overwhelmed nor like we were waiting.

Matrimonio

As you might expect, the first dish to arrive involved no cooking on the part of the kitchen. Matrimonio (£7.50) is a classic tapa with, figuratively speaking, a marriage of two types of anchovy. It pairs the brownish-pink salt-cured anchovy or anchoa with the white boquerón which is pickled.

At Santiago in Buxton there were four of each type. The anchoas were Cantabrian and, as good quality ones should be, not overpoweringly salty. The milder tasting boquerónes were wine pickled. The menu said they were dressed with garlic and oil, although there wasn’t a pronounced garlic taste.

However, one of each were perfect eaten together, laying side-by-side on their marriage bed of a slice of bread. With full-on flavour, they were a great way to whet the appetite.

Tetilla al Horno

I was very pleased to see tetilla on the menu as I’ve only previously eaten this cow’s milk cheese in Spain. It’s made in Galicia in the northwest where we’ve been many times. Its name means ‘little breast’, and if you Google an image of it (or go to Santiago’s deli counter) you’ll understand why.

You can have a portion from the Meats & Cheeses section, but we went for Tetilla al Horno (£6). Here it came baked, topped with intensely flavoured sun blush tomato, honey, and almonds. For scooping up the deliciously creamy melted cheese were four slices of the same good bread we got in our Bread Basket.

Croquetas de Cangrejo

I’m a huge fan of croquetas. Up to now, my favourite type of these crunchy-crumbed, deep-fried rolls has been with morsels of serrano ham studding the delectably soft bechamel filling. But Santiago’s Croquetas de Cangrejo (£7.50) may have knocked them off the top spot.

We got three very decent sized croquetas which had the hoped-for deep golden coating. Like a number of dishes they came with allioli, the Spanish version of garlic mayonnaise. Breaking through the crust though, it was clear no condiment would be necessary. Because the soft filling was wonderfully moist, rich and tasty with plenty of crab flavour. I only wish I’d taken a photo to show you its orangey-brown colour. But I was too busy scarfing down my share.

Cecina con Queso de Oveja Curado

Our next tapa was a Spanish delicacy I’d heard of but never tried. Cecina is smoked air dried beef that’s most associated with the province of León in the northwest. At Santiago in Buxton, the ruby red, wafer-thin slices came dressed with shaved sheep’s cheese, rocket and olive oil (£9.50).

The flavour was beautifully delicate and the texture similar to good jamón. You can also choose a portion of cecina de León in the Meats & Cheeses section of the menu.

Patatas allioli

Is there anyone in Britain who hasn’t eaten patatas bravas? I’ve certainly had my fair share both here and in Spain. But the truth is, they’re often disappointing: more like the reheated remains of Sunday’s roasties than the crispy, freshly fried morsels we all surely want. Thankfully, the version I ate at Santiago was of the latter sort.

Of course, they do classic patatas bravas with mojo picon hot sauce and garlic mayo. But we went for Patatas Allioli (£5) which is the same minus the hot sauce. The little dice of paprika-tossed potatoes were perfectly crispy and stayed that way. They had good flavour and, like pretty much everything else, the seasoning was spot on.

Secreto Iberico)

The next dish to arrive was Secreto Iberico. At £13.50 this was in the top price bracket for tapas dishes. But that shouldn’t be surprising as Iberico pork is very highly regarded and the secreto cut, with its marbling of rich fat, particularly prized.

As per the menu description, the five pieces of pork steak, cut quite thickly, were served juicily pink. I don’t remember detecting the thyme and garlic  marinade, but I didn’t miss it either. Because the meat was well flavoured, beautifully tender, and with a small amount of intensely flavoured crispy fat. Underneath was more of that allioli plus perfectly charred Padrón peppers.

Berenjenas con salsa romesco y queso cabra

Like the one before, the final dish felt wonderfully Spanish: Berenjenas con Salsa Romesco (£7). As a base was the lovely Catalan sauce romesco, traditionally made with dried red peppers and almonds. On top was the Andalusian classic of fried aubergines with honey.

The thinnish slices of tender aubergine were coated in a light, crispy batter. A little honey drizzled over was a pleasing contrast and echoed the sweet notes of the romesco. I was glad we’d decided to go for the optional soft goat cheese (£1) as its fresh tanginess was a lovely addition to the sweeter elements.

DESSERT

On Santiago’s current menu there are eight choices of dessert (£5 – £7) including familiar ones like churros, plus the current favourite popping up everywhere: Basque cheesecake.

I chose the Crema Catalana Sundae (£6.50). This had a base of crumbled almond cake (see below) that had been doused in Crema Catalana: a liqueur that echoes the taste of the eponymous Spanish custard dessert. On top were scoops of good clotted cream ice cream, toasted almonds, and a segment of orange.

ID chose a dessert we’ve often eaten in Spain, Tarta de Santiago (£5). This is the traditional almond cake named for St. James (Santiago in Spanish) and came with pouring cream and an orange slice. I wouldn’t expect it to be homemade as I think Spanish bars and restaurants usually buy it in. But it was a perfectly fine example anyway.

Both desserts were a simple, unfussy but tasty, sweet finish to the meal. Which is exactly what I’d expect from a Spanish tapas restaurant aiming for authenticity.

SANTIAGO IN BUXTON: AUTHENTIC TAPAS FEASTS

Our food bill, including desserts, came to £71.50 or £35.75 per person. But remember, we ordered more than most people probably would. So I did a quick calculation, working out the average cost of our tapas dishes. The result was, if you followed Santiago’s advice of five tapas between two people, it would work out roughly £20 per head. Add a basket of bread to share and even a couple of desserts and you could still be coming in at around £28 per person. Which isn’t bad value at all these days. And especially given the quality of the ingredients and the execution of these dishes.

I thoroughly enjoyed my first visit to this friendly, casual restaurant and will be back. I also want to try their sister restaurant San Pedro.

Whether you’re looking for familiar tapas favourites or want to try more of the unique and authentic flavours and produce of Spain, I highly recommend you try Santiago in Buxton.

MENU & PRICES CORRECT AT TIME OF WRITING

EXCEPT WHERE INDICATED, ALL PHOTOS © MOORLANDS EATER & NOT TO BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT PERMISSION

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