Pintxos, Part IV

Including a soon-to-open hotel inside one of Spain's prettiest lighthouses

Galicia’s Most Feted Restaurant Expands its Sphere of Influence

Culler de Pau; the restaurant's Loewe-branded Paris Fashion Week dinner

I ate so well on a recent trip to San Sebastián (more on that in a future newsletter) that I’m planning a return trip to the north in pursuit of more delicious food. This time, I’ve got my sights set on one restaurant in particular: Culler de Pau, on Galicia’s O Grove peninsula, where footballer turned chef Javier Olleros and his wife, Amaranta Rodríguez, have recently expanded the footprint of their plant-forward, two-starred Michelin establishment. The glass-walled restaurant (tasting menus from €130) now encompasses a greenhouse; a wine cellar with 500 labels, 60% of which come from Galicia; and a 2,500-square-meter organic garden where the couple cultivates 200+ species of plants including endangered Galician products like millet corvo (black corn) and the guisante lágrima (teardrop pea). Olleros recently traveled to France to cater a beyond beautiful Paris Fashion Week dinner for Loewe, so you just know it’s a matter of time before Culler de Pau really blows up.

In Spain’s Battle Against Mass Tourism, Even Olive Growers are Taking a Stand

Andalucía accounts for more than a quarter of the world's olive oil production with 175 million olive trees.

If you’ve been following Spanish news, you’ll know that there has been major pushback against overtourism in the Canary Islands, where “unlimited growth” of Airbnbs and new developments has led to housing shortages and environmental degradation. These uprisings and other battles against overtourism—in Barcelona, the Balearics, Sevilla, Málaga, and San Sebastián—seem to be shifting Spaniards’ opinions towards tourism more generally. Recently, 8,500 Andalucían olive oil farmers banded together to oppose a UNESCO World Heritage bid that’s been in the works since 2017, saying that it challenges their right of ownership and puts limitations on crop yields without offering any financial compensation. “If it belongs to humanity, it ceases to be ours,” said one critical olive grower in an interview with El Pais. Not all farmers share this view—many believe the UNESCO designation would act as an “extra shield” against overtourism and drive sustainable tourism in the region, as it has around the world. But detractors point to the closures of farms in Mallorca’s Serra de Tramuntana, a UNESCO site since 2011, as proof that the World Heritage seal doesn’t come with any guarantees.

One of Europe’s Longest Cycling Routes Nears Completion

Image courtesy of EuroVelo

The 7,560-kilometer EuroVelo 8 cycling trail is inching closer to completion now that a major section has been finished in Andalucía. Starting in Cadiz and ending in Athens, the long-distance route passes through France, Monaco, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, and Albania before a final loop around Cyprus (ferry travel required). Beyond the sheer length of the trail, the other cool part is how it will link existing cycling routes, such as the Corredor Verde, which connects the bays of Cadiz and Algeciras and crosses the Alcornocales Natural Park. The network’s official website would have you believe that Spain’s 1,700-kilometer section is basically done, but the Reddit community argues otherwise: “I did the exact route from Cadiz to Barcelona this summer, and while much of it is on relatively chill paved backroads with occasional bike lane or dirt road, some stretches are … more of a suggestion than a route,” commented one user. Pedal at your own peril, people.

A Lighthouse Hotel from One of Spain’s Brightest Design Stars

Virginia Nieto has to be one of Spain’s most talented and under-the-radar design stars, having dreamed up the interiors at some of the country’s most stylish hotels, including Cesar Lanzarote and Menorca’s just-opened Morvedra Nou. I think her big breakout moment will come this summer with the opening of a 17-room hotel inside Galicia’s historic Cabo Silleiro lighthouse, in Pontevedra, with views out over the Atlantic and the Cíes Islands. I’ve been poking around her IG trying to gain more visibility into the project; so far, all I’ve found are her sketches and moodboard shots (above), which are getting me super excited for what’s to come.