La Cervecería is a place for socialising, tradition and remembrance. The change has made them a place to thank the sea for everything it gives us, and that has started in Santander
El Camino is mainly based on craft beer, but as if that wasn’t enough, the menu is a far cry from what we know from a typical brewery. The dishes at El Camino are mainly Asian, with plenty of variety. That can be accompanied by beer, they only serve their own from their six taps. The dishes are very varied, and you can find everything from sushi handmade on the spot, gyozas, noodles or chicken.
Dishes on the menu of the colonial bistro El Camino in Santander
They also have an interior restaurant and two terraces, one of them covered, with views of the mythical beach of El Sardinero. Not far away there is a taproom with 19 taps of craft beer.
El Camino reinvents the style of the typical brewery. The tradition, the memory, the world in which you immerse yourself when you enter one of these spaces stopped in time, cannot be expressed. But change is also good and, who knows, perhaps immersing yourself in an underwater world is also good. That’s why El Camino reinvents the concept, not only turning it around and taking the sea as the protagonist, but also putting the focus on Asian culture.
Exterior of the Cervería El Camino, Santander
So in the north, even if the sea is a bit cold, we find this enchanting world through food.The restaurant is designed by Zooco Studio Design, an architecture studio founded in 2009 by architects Miguel Crespo Picot, Sixto Martín Martínez and Javier Guzmán Benito. All three have studied at the Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Madrid and currently the studio has offices in Santander and Madrid; they develop their projects both nationally and internationally, they have a style and a timeless language, permanently in search of new challenges and adventures.
They also always explore a noise and artifice-free, minimalist environment. But that’s not all, they have recently been chosen by Forbes magazine as one of the 100 most creative Spaniards in the business world.
The interior of El Camino, an ode to the underwater world
The interior is very peculiar and among all the styles, designs and different spaces El Camino is an oda to the marine world and its different expressionsand wonders. The square geometry and beach views create an atmosphere of relaxation, the sea is represented through textures and abstract shapes, and a warm interior ambience prevails throughout. With more geometry, this time there are curves in the interior that represent the waves of the sea. This is also transferred to the curved geometry which is mainly used to represent the sea waves and fish scales throughout the restaurant.
The bar area is also one of the most important, with shapes made from highly resistant materials. The light and atmosphere they create is one of the singularities of the space.
Brewery interior inspired by the underwater world
Warm colours, a must
The restaurant is created with a timeless palette of colours, always warm and textures such as wood, as it responds to an Asian, Japanese style. One of the most impressive aspects are the geometries referring to images of the underwater world. The clay scales that look like the scales of fish, transparent and shimmering cylinders, like the way water shimmers in the sun. The floors are covered with terrazzo, as if you were on the beach itself.
Interior, bar and tables at Cervecería El Camino, in Santander
One of the characteristics of El Camino is that both the designers and the owners of the venue have wanted to move away from the typical concept of “the sea”. They approach it more as art than as an exact materialisation of the sea. They wanted to draw the abstract shapes and textures that remind them of the sea, capturing the marine world as art. They have achieved this through the use of noble, timeless and warm materials, giving shape to the premises mainly with wood and clay, inspired by Asian culture.
One of the main objectives of Zooco Studio Design is to present design as an added value. The most important thing is that they accompany the client throughout the process and construction of the creative project and, of course, until the last moment. They also express that their philosophy is to approach any project, whatever the size, whatever the budget, with the same professionalism, creative attitude and enthusiasm. Thus, to provide a project, design and solution both professional, to cover the pragmatic, structural and budget part, as well as the needs, to go into those challenges both artistic and philosophy.
