Tierra Astur

Atención excelente, fui con mi novia y dos amigos, nos asignaron una mesa, vino otra persona, tomó el pedido, pronto otra persona lo trajo, excelente presentación, deliciosa comida, Penélope otra chica muy amable nos atendió durante nuestra cena, el ambiente es alegre y el lugar es obligación conocerlo por su modernista diseño y amplias instalaciones y un pequeño mercado de vegetales, carnes y quesos.

Before we came into this part of Spain, we watched video of Anthony Bourdaine visiting a friend in Asturian. We were looking forward to our short visit to this wonderful part of Spain.

What was one of the most interesting happenings in life was entering a restaurant bar that offered Cider. A cider bar never heard of it or been at one until now.

What was also quite funny as we walked into the busy bar area, everyone at the bar paused on their conversations with others and just stared at us? I get.... a neighborhood bar with locals in a small town and a bunch of strangers show up.

The cider must be woken up before you can drink it. How it works? The waiter holds up the bottle with his or hers stretch arm then holds the other arm with an empty glass as low as possible. Then pours a small amount of the cider into the glass. The Cider was odd tasting, but I drank a whole lot of it while enjoyed our wonderful dinner.

This restaurant is absolutely amazing. The food is delicious and the staff is so nice and accommodating.

For a nice priced lunch, with pretty good sidra, Tierra Astur is a good choice. Plus the location doubles as a shop for some meats our cheese that you may fancy.

Their menu del dia included 3 plates plus a postgres (or coffee). My meal included Tacos de solomillo de cerdo con queso and callos con patatas. Both were outstanding. For just a bit of 10 euros, it was one of the better lunches I had in Spain.

Fantastic everything is delicious. All kinds of Asturias food. Comida asturiana original y la sidra buenísima.

Second time I've been here. Great place for you to eat local Asturias cuisine. Might not be the best, but they have everything, and everything tastes amazing.

They do lack service quality, as some waiters/waitresses are great, but some are horrible, but price is great for the quality of the food, and especially for the quantity.

I would list this as a must visit for anyone in need of a crash course of Oviedo.

Whoever is the founder of Tierra Astur is a marketing genius: there's a restaurant, bar, and shop for all of your Asturian needs. The location is Gijon is supposedly the same way. But wow, this place was buzzing - there was not an empty seat inside of the restaurant, nor on the not one, but two, terraces of the restaurant. Compared to the capacity of the other restaurants on this street that is famous for all of the establishments that specialize in cider from Asturias, Tierra Astur is the place to be.

What makes the experience even more ridiculous is that the restaurant is like the Cheesecake Factory of Asturias. All of the portions are humongous. I wasn't given a piece of bread, I was given half a loaf. A "small tapas" that was brought with my sidra was what would be a whole "tabla" of embutidos (cured meats) in a New York restaurant (and probably command at least $15). I am not sure whether the ternera that the table next to me ordered actually came from a cow or a brontosaurus. But if the food is good, I am never one to complain!

Although the restaurant was extremely crowded, this is the type of establishment where the service is still really friendly, bordering comical. One waiter was teaching a toddler how to pour sidra [1]. My waiter probably could have been a comedian, too.

I ordered the cachopo de merluza (a fish-based cachopo versus the traditional meat-based version). What is cachopo, do you ask? The word itself is Asturian and translates to the hollow trunk of a tree. The original cachopo (with meat) is two pieces (although slabs may be a more accurate term) of meat, with jamon and cheese between them. It's usually accompanied by a side of potatoes, mushrooms, and piquillo peppers. My fish version was instead stuffed with mussels and octopus, and served with a giant prawn, piquillo peppers, and potatoes, but you get the idea: enough food to feed the entire family sitting across from me.

Because cachopo takes 15 minutes to prepare, I drank plenty of sidra and was feeling very full from just a few bites of the bread and the embutidos. The cachopo was well worth the wait - the fish sauce, how it was stuffed, everything about it was prepared very well.

I finished (or what I thought was me finishing) my meal with a very robust cafe solo. As I was taking the final sip of my coffee, my waiter said, "You look like you need a shot." I was hesitant; I needed a moment to think whether I REALLY needed a shot. He started rattling off the plethora of liquors available in the well-stocked bar area. I caved and asked for a hazelnut liquor. My waiter came back a few minutes later to tell me that I looked much better with the shot. The joke may not translate well to English, but like I said, this guy was a comedian.

When I asked for the cheque, my waiter told me that the coffee and the shot were his treats and there was no need for me to pay for them. I definitely appreciated his warmth and hospitality - plus, after a short walk, I hadn't felt so relaxed in a while.

[1] A great educational video on the whole technique to pouring sidra: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNPs_AnGE5c

Incredible food. The waiters stretching the cider over a meter before it falls in your glass along with the incredible Asturian fare, makes it a must visit in Oviedo.