Simpar

Should You Book Simpar?

If you're deciding between Simpar and Casa Marcelo for contemporary cooking in Santiago de Compostela, the choice comes down to format: Casa Marcelo leans into fusion and Asian-inflected small plates at €€€, while Simpar delivers tighter, more grounded Galician-contemporary cooking at the same price tier, with same-day sourcing and a named award to justify the spend. For most visitors arriving with a serious interest in Galician produce, Simpar is the stronger call.

Portrait

Simpar sits on Rúa do Vilar, one of the cobbled pilgrimage streets that channels foot traffic directly toward the Praza das Praterías and the cathedral. The address means you are walking distance from Santiago's historic core, but the room itself reads differently from the stone-and-timber aesthetic you might expect in this part of the city. Step inside and the first thing you encounter is a spacious bar running across the entrance — useful context, since bar dining here is a genuine option rather than an afterthought (more on that below). Beyond it, the contemporary interior keeps things clean-lined and uncluttered, which gives the food room to do the talking rather than competing with heritage décor.

The kitchen is run by young local chefs Áxel Smyth and Claudi Merchán, whose approach is worth understanding before you sit down. This is not a kitchen that leans on spectacle or elaborate technique for its own sake. The emphasis is on same-day sourcing from trusted suppliers, and the restaurant is willing to name those suppliers on request — a transparency signal that matters more than it might sound in a city where pilgrim-season tourism can flatten sourcing standards across a lot of otherwise serviceable restaurants. Knowing the fish on your plate was bought that morning rather than two days ago changes what you're eating, and Simpar's positioning on that point is deliberate.

The menu structure gives you choices. There is an à la carte, a seasonal Simpar set menu, and the option to add their tripe dish as a supplement to any menu. That tripe , an updated version of the traditional preparation with chickpea stew , earned recognition as Leading Tripe in the World 2024, which is either the leading or most underrated credential in the Galician dining scene depending on your perspective. Either way, it makes the addition worth considering if you have any appetite for offal. The signature anchor across menus is the Galician-style fish of the day: the cut changes with what's available, it arrives with crushed potatoes and a three-textured ajada garlic sauce, and it functions as a reliable read on how well the kitchen is executing on any given service.

For an explorer-minded diner, the combination of named sourcing, a chef team young enough to still be building their reputation, and a price point that sits below the top tier (see A Tafona at €€€€ if you want to go higher) makes Simpar a more interesting proposition than the award-winning tripe alone suggests. The Google rating of 4.7 across 157 reviews is consistent with a kitchen that delivers reliably rather than one that peaks and dips. Santiago has enough tourist traffic that a bad restaurant can sustain a mediocre score for years; a 4.7 at this price level points to genuine execution.

On the weekend or during slower midday services, the bar area near the entrance functions as a lower-commitment entry point , you can eat well without committing to a full tasting menu format. This is relevant for solo travellers or couples who want to eat at a good table without the ceremony of a long set menu. The spatial layout, with the bar positioned at the front and the dining room opening behind it, supports that flexibility in a way that more formal €€€ rooms in the city do not.

Santiago de Compostela's restaurant scene has historically been better at volume than at precision , the pilgrim trade rewards reliable and filling over technically considered. Simpar is one of a smaller group of restaurants, alongside A Tafona, Anaco, and Indómito, that has moved decisively toward technique-led cooking without abandoning the Galician produce base that makes eating in this region worth doing in the first place. That positioning, rather than any single dish or award, is what makes the restaurant worth your time if you're serious about eating well here.

For broader context on where Simpar fits within Spain's contemporary dining conversation, the technical ambition at work here shares DNA with what kitchens like El Celler de Can Roca in Girona or Arzak in San Sebastián have demonstrated is possible when regional ingredients are treated with rigour. Simpar is not operating at that scale or with that level of international recognition, but the underlying philosophy , sourcing precision, technique in service of flavour, seasonal anchoring , is consistent. If you want to see what that approach looks like in a Galician context at an accessible price, Simpar is a more honest answer than the tourist menus crowding the streets around the cathedral.

Explore more options with our full Santiago de Compostela restaurants guide, or browse hotels, bars, wineries, and experiences in the city.

Practical Details

Address: Rúa do Vilar, 47, 15705 Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña, Spain. Price tier: €€€. Booking difficulty: Easy. Cuisine: Contemporary Galician. Awards: Leading Tripe in the World 2024. Google rating: 4.7 (157 reviews). Bar seating: Available at the entrance bar. Reservations: Recommended; walk-ins may be possible at the bar. Dress: Smart casual fits the contemporary interior. Groups: Check directly with the venue given no confirmed private dining information is available.

How It Compares

See the comparison section below for how Simpar stacks up against A Tafona, A Maceta, A Horta d'Obradoiro, and others in Santiago de Compostela.

FAQ

• What should a first-timer know about Simpar? The same-day sourcing policy is the starting point: menus change based on what arrived that morning, so the fish of the day is worth ordering as a baseline read on the kitchen. The restaurant is at €€€ pricing, so budget accordingly , this is not a pilgrim-menu price point. The Leading Tripe in the World 2024 award means the tripe supplement is worth adding even if you would not normally order offal.
• Is Simpar worth the price? At €€€, yes , particularly when you compare it to what €€€€ gets you at A Tafona or what the €€ tier delivers elsewhere. The named sourcing, the award-winning tripe, the 4.7 Google rating across 157 reviews, and the technical ambition of the kitchen give you real value at this price. If budget is the primary constraint, A Maceta at €€ is the more practical alternative.
• Is the tasting menu worth it at Simpar? The seasonal Simpar set menu is the format that showcases the kitchen most completely, and adding the tripe supplement makes it a fuller picture of what chefs Áxel Smyth and Claudi Merchán are doing. If you want a shorter commitment, the à la carte draws from the same pool of ingredients. For a first visit, the set menu is the better choice.
• Is Simpar good for a special occasion? Yes, with the caveat that this is a contemporary dining room rather than a grand formal setting. The combination of technique-led cooking, same-day sourcing, and a location on one of Santiago's most atmospheric cobbled streets makes it a solid choice for a meaningful dinner. If you want more ceremony or a higher price ceiling, A Tafona at €€€€ steps up on formality.
• Can I eat at the bar at Simpar? The spacious bar at the entrance is a genuine dining option, not just a waiting area. For solo diners or couples who want flexibility over a full set menu commitment, this is a practical choice. It also works well if you are arriving without a reservation, though confirming availability in advance is sensible.
• Can Simpar accommodate groups? No confirmed information on private dining or group capacity is available in the venue data. Contact the restaurant directly via their address at Rúa do Vilar, 47. Given the contemporary interior layout and bar area, moderate-sized groups are plausible, but this requires direct confirmation.
• What are alternatives to Simpar in Santiago de Compostela? For a step up in price and formality, A Tafona (€€€€) is the obvious comparison. For a lower price point with strong produce credentials, A Maceta (€€, Fusion) and Abastos 2.0 Mesas (€€, Galician farm-to-table) both deliver. If you want a completely different format , casual counter eating at €, with the same Galician sourcing ethos , Abastos 2.0 Barra is worth knowing about. For more options, see our full Santiago de Compostela restaurants guide.