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Going Out
Cinema & Theatre
The cinema and theatre in Asturias are as popular as they are all over the world. The spanish embrace entertainment from their own back door and in particular the United States and this is no less in Asturias. There is also a bullring in Gijón (we never went there to see a bullfight!).
Restaurants
These are typically Asturian and serve dishes such as Fabada, a mix of chorizo, black pudding, thick bacon and fabes - asturian beans. Other dishes are Pote Asturiano which is a stew of lamb and potatoes - delicious. There are no Indian restaurants to speak of. The Chinese restaurants are very good. There are also numerous pizzerias. Hote cuisine is also catered for with some very smart restaurants which ofter have an equally chic wine bar at the front.
Sidrerias
The famous type of hostelry is the Sidreria. Here you can buy different brands of natural cider or “sidra”. Asturias produces virtually no wine but it’s climate is perfect for apple orchards and so a huge industry exists to make this fantastic brew. First choose your brand - go for the most expensive at about 1.5€ in 2006 - you won’t regret it. The bottle is opened and the waiter or barman holds it high above his head with the glass as low as possible. Then the pour - this puts bubbles in the drink and gives it life. Only a little is poured at a time and you have to drink it all immediately. It is delicious and I miss it a lot. If you’re a real traditionalist you should only have one glass for everyone to share and leave a small amount in the glass to throw into the trough in front of you. This washes the glass for the next person. They are real spit and sawdust places and I loved their honesty. You can often buy real local sidra - not mass produced stuff - only 20 or 30 thousand bottle production runs. The taste between the brands varies - some are sweeter than others - some have notes of citrus. Our landlord made sidra and it was my favourite - he was very generous - I never had to pay for a bottle!
Wine Bars
As I have said, Asturias produces no wine to speak of but the regions of Navarra, Rioja and Galicia are close by and produce some of the best wines in the world. Good wine bars will have a great selection of these wines.
Merenderos
These are a country pubs which serves food. There are traditional and serve local food. Our experience of these has been excellent. Good quality honest food at a very reasonable price.
Pubs
As with most cities in the world there are the themed bars, typically Irish, Scottish and even English ! ! ! Try the Scourmont near the Jovellanos theatre in the centre.
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