Sidrería
An Asturian sidrería is a special place. It bridges a divide between the chigre and the restaurant. Whereas a chigre is primarily a place for drinking, and may offer no food (or seats) at all, and a restaurant is a place for eating and may not even offer cider (and almost certainly will not escanciar), a sidrería combines the two things - drinking cider and eating good food - into one establishment.
Historically, sidrería was just another way to say "cider bar" and was used interchangeably with the term chigre or bar.[1] Over time the two terms have diverged, and the sidrería has differentiated itself as a place to eat and drink, preferably copiously on both accounts.
Essential Features of a Sidrería
A sidrería is a careful combination of two things; a place to drink cider and a place to eat food. That means that, unlike a lot of restaurants (especially in the States) the bar and the dining room are not separate. Solo drinkers sit next to couple eating lunch and tables full of workers having an after work drink are shoulder to shoulder with groups having a multi-course dinner. This conviviality is, in my mind, the very essence of a sidrería. Whether small or large, free-standing or attached to a llagar, a sidrería is always about food and cider together.
Sidrerías in the Interior
In the interior towns such as Oviedo, Mieres, or Pola de Lena, sidrerías have a very specific feel. They are usually large; some very much so. The dining room is always spacious, and the tables are not packed too tightly. The food tends towards the montaña in the "montaña y mar" tradition of Asturias. Many of these sidrerías double as parillas - the Asturian equivalent to a steak house. Many have open kitchens with roaring wood-fired grills on which immense amounts of beef and pork, and innumerable sausages, are cooked throughout the day. Outside seating is limited or non-existent. This may owe something to the fact that many of the best of them are located in industrial areas or warehouse districts. What they lack in exterior charm, they make up for in the authenticity (feigned perhaps) of their interior decorations. Walls adorned with farm implements, sepia photographs of village life, and wooden crates of old cider bottles are de rigeur.
Coastal Sidrerías
In the coastal areas of Asturias (Gijón, Avilés, Ribadesella, or Candás for instance) the sidrería takes on both a more urban feel, and a more oceanic character. This is reflected in the menus, which abound in fried fish, various seafood a la plancha, and sardines with everything.[2] In contrast to the sidrerías de tierra adentro, these coastal establishments are dominated by their massive outdoor dining terraces. Located if possible with a view of the ocean (some directly on the fishing docks) they luxuriate in their surroundings. Aiming for a loud conviviality, they pack the tables much closer than in the sidrerías of the interior, and in many places, waiters circulate with complimentary pintxos and tapas on trays.
