Founded in 1906, the Real Sociedad de Tenis de La Magdalena in Santander stands as a historic private sports and social club with more than unos ocho mil socios, according to club records. Deeply linked to Spanish royalty since its inception—when King Alfonso XIII and Queen Victoria Eugenia spent their summers in the city—the club operates multiple sports facilities and maintains an active daily social calendar centred around its traditional market kitchen restaurant.
Historical Roots and Royal Patronage in Santander
Located on the Magdalena peninsula, the club has served as a cornerstone of Santander’s social and sporting life for over a century. According to the club’s historical overview, King Alfonso XIII served as its first honorary president, a role currently held by King Felipe VI. Over the decades, the institution evolved into a competitive multi-sport hub, featuring tennis, field hockey, and roller hockey schools that cater to cerca de un millar de niños and have produced numerous national champions and Olympians. Notably, the club hosted the 2000 Davis Cup semifinal between Spain and the United States, an event widely celebrated in Spanish tennis history.
Traditional Market Cuisine at the Club Restaurant
Beyond its athletic facilities, the club’s private restaurant offers a daily market menu designed for members and their invited guests. According to culinary reports of the daily service, the menu features classic staples of regional cuisine, including Cantabrian anchovies, ensalada de ventresca con tomate, homemade foie gras terrine, leek and prawn cake, and Iberian ham. Hot starters range from ham croquettes and fried squid (rabas) to Cantabrian clams, lamb sweetbreads, and grilled artichokes with Iberian ham.
Main courses emphasize fresh seafood and seasonal products. The menu includes squid in its ink with white rice, battered hake with roasted peppers from Isla, monkfish, whitebait, and bonito served either grilled, with onions, or in tomato sauce. For meat lovers, selections feature a cecina and goat cheese cachopo, aged beef steak tartare, sirloin with boletus mushrooms, and slow-cooked lamb shoulder.
Member Menus and Fixed-Price Dining Formats
In addition to the à la carte options, the club features structured dining formulas for different days of the week. According to the daily service records, the standard member menu provides a choice of four first courses—such as seafood fideuá, cannelloni, or cardoons with prawns—and three second courses, including roasted corvina, fighting bull oxtail, and Iberian wing with chimichurri, priced at 19.50 euros for members and 24.50 euros for guests, including dessert and coffee.
For weekend dining, the club offers a closed menu from Thursday to Saturday nights. This fixed formula consists of ajoblanco, baked turbot, boned lamb terrine, and brioche torrija, accompanied by wine, water, and coffee for 30 euros for members and 35 euros for guests.
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