Spain
Seville city centre has a wealth of food establishments, with plenty of choice between tapas bars and international dishes. However, sometimes a trip to a small town can uncover little gems. Da Frá is a beautifully decorated Italian restaurant. Very cosy, and with a family feel - perfect for a winter's evening with an enormous log-fire in the middle of the venue. It has a wide selection of anti-pasti/insalatas, pasta and pizza, meat and risotto but not too much to make you dizzy. All reasonably priced and generous portions. Homemade puddings too!
www.dafrasevilla.com
Calle Martires de la Iglesia, S/N, 41807 Espartinas
Google map: bit.ly/zFRcqK
* BecomingSevillana is our Been there local for Seville. You can read her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/seville-local-kim.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/BecomingSevillana.jsp
She also has her own blog: becomingsevillana.blogspot.com/
A minimalist wine-bar style establishment in Utrera, a small town some 30 minutes away from Seville. A good range of hot and cold gastro-tapas. A little more expensive than most places, but definitely worth the few cents more. All dishes come beautifully and innovatively presented. Being a drab winter day, I asked for the 'pucherito expreso' (€3.90), and what a spectacle! Puchero is a broth made of various meat-types. It is normally served as a broth with rice or chickpeas and the meat is served as a side, all mushed together and eaten with bread, called 'pringá' (or pringada). My pucherito expresso was served to me from a tiny cafetiere. The waitress poured it for me into a bowl, garnished with a quail egg, and the pringá was in the bottom half of the instrument.
www.besanatapas.com/
C/ Niño Perdido, 1 41710 Utrera
+34 955 86 38 04
Google map: bit.ly/xujL5Z
* BecomingSevillana is our Been there local for Seville. You can read her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/seville-local-kim.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/BecomingSevillana.jsp
She also has her own blog: becomingsevillana.blogspot.com/
My Sevillana friend always swears by a certain Sevillano chain heladería. Then, I told her about this little place. If there is any place where you can taste Seville, then it is here. Joaquín Liria has created ice creams based on some of Seville's most prominent scents: springtime's crema de flor de azahar (cream of orange blossom) and dulce de romero (rosmary), and favourite sweets: dulce de palmera, crema de Torrijas (typical of Holy Week). There is even one that tastes of Manzanilla de Sanlucar de Barameda - sherry flavour! For me it would be hard to choose a favourite: I love Dulce de Chirimoya (custard apple), which is only available towards the end of summer when the fruit is most flavoursome, and caramelly Dulce de pestiño, another sweet typical of Holy Week. There is a variety of sizes, available in scoops or little tubs (a 1-scoop cone is €2.20 and small tub €3.00). The heladería has gained press both nationally and internationally for its innovative creations, and even Great Britain's Rick Stein visited while filming his last series Rick Stein's Spain.
www.heladerialafiorentina.com
c/ Zaragoza, 16, 41001
Google map: bit.ly/vfAUmd
* BecomingSevillana is our Been there local for Seville. You can read her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/seville-local-kim.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/BecomingSevillana.jsp
She also has her own blog: becomingsevillana.blogspot.com/
Local tapas bar in the Alfalfa neighbourhood.
Good relaxed vibe, with people spilling out into the street when it gets packed (which it easily can given the small size).
C/ Candilejo, 1 41004 Seville, Spain
+34 954 222 344
Google map: bit.ly/mZLXAV
This traditional stand up tapas bar is located on Plaza Alfalfa. Above the door is a colourful tiled arch depicting a beach scene.
A very popular place with both locals and visitors alike and it quickly fills up as soon as the door opens. Offers superb value for money & allows you to try traditional Andalusian-style tapas at great prices.
A novel tapa for me was the Iberian pork liver, served cold in an olive oil marinade. The tortilla portions were massive. Staff friendly and attentive.
There are tables at the back, but most opt to stand while eating tapas and watching the football on the TV and the activity on the street outside.
Calle Alfalfa, 4 41004 Seville, Spain
Google map: bit.ly/pdCHCA
Opens: noon - 4pm & 8pm - midnight daily.
Good vibe around the Plaza Alfalfa with plenty of good tapas bars (La Bodega & Bar Alfalfa), cafes and alternative shops.
Plaza Alfalfa
Located very centrally north of the cathedral.
Google map: bit.ly/p7SK5I
Bodega Santa Cruz (aka Las Columnas) is a great find, just around the corner from the Giralda.
An authentic tapas bar where the good humoured bar staff chalk up your tab on the bar counter.
Food while cheap is good, and we ended up frequenting this place a few times during our stay in Seville.
Some seats outside.
C/Rodrigo Caro 1 (very near cathedral)
Open 7am - midnight daily.
Google map: bit.ly/q4Nee4
An absolute gem. One of the oldest tapas bars in Seville, with a bar on the site since the late 17th century. Popular with tourists and locals alike.
Dark wood panels with seating at a minimum but great food and a great atmosphere.
You stand at the bar and order and your tab is chalked on the bar counter to keep track.
Food really good quality and not that expensive. The espinacas con garbanzos (spinach with chickpeas is particularly to be recommended.
You can book a seat at the back for the dinner menu but we much preferred the tapas menu at the bar, so much so that we returned a number of times during our stay in Seville.
While we were there there we encountered an elderly gentleman named Valentino who writes poetry on napkins and hands to people in the bar. If you do see him, buy him a glass of beer for his trouble.
We first heard about this place on Rick Stein's TV programme 'Spain'.
www.elrinconcillo.es/en/home.html
C/ Gerona 40 near Plaza Ponce de Leon
+34 954 22 31 83
Open until late every day
Google map: bit.ly/o0Hn7B
See bar featured at the start of this Youtube video on Rick Stein's Spain:.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fuiDcJyXfE&feature=related
Literally meaning vegetable garden in Spanish, La Huerta, offers just that. Lots of veggie tapas - you can even find croquetas (croquettes) free of ham (choice of cauliflower or pesto). Tapas prices ranging between €2-3. Three tapas and 4 drinks (2 people) was about €20. Great summertime dining as plenty of outdoor seating and near other tapas bars (including the infamous Rinconcillo) if you wished to make a little tour of it.
Plaza Terceros 9, Seville, Spain
+34 655 270 079
Google map: bit.ly/ovIJK5
* BecomingSevillana is our Been there local for Seville. You can read her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/seville-local-kim.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/BecomingSevillana.jsp
She also has her own blog: becomingsevillana.blogspot.com/
Barrio: La Encarnación
A lovely bar/restaurant nestled in the Triana barrio. It offers a wide selection of international-influenced tapas, and a well-balanced variety of meat/fish/vegetable dishes. Friendly and attentive waiter service. Fancy food but relaxed atmosphere - a little pricey, but good quality (3 tapas and 2 drinks €28). Try the star dish "Arroz meloso con magret" - Risotto-style rice with duck.
www.puratasca.com
Numancia, 5, Triana 41010
+34954330680
This bar doesn't have the best location, perched on the corner of a busy road, but it is perfect for a quick bite and beer. It offers cheap, cold beer and a selection of fish-based montaditos at €1.50. Thick, white bread filled with your choice of filling: melva (frigate mackerel), achoas (achoivies), mejillones (mussels), caballa (Atlantic mackerel), or queso en aceite (cheese in oil).
Cardenal Ilundain s/n (corner of Manuel Suirot)
Bing map: binged.it/obLg2c
50s-style American dining, with authentic-looking decor, free jukeboxes and plenty of ketchup and mayo on the table for your liking. Meals are quite pricey - around seven euros for a burger and fries - DO NOT come for that! Pink lemonade a refreshing economical option and great choice of indulgent desserts.
Meal is a little rushed as you're given an hour slot. Reservations a must!
C/ Luis Montoto, 50, 41018 Sevilla
+34 954 41 45 85
www.peggysues.es
Google map: bit.ly/kDvEvR
Boreas could be considered a “gastro” tapas restaurant, serving traditional tapas with quality ingredients and a modern, international twist. It has a relaxed atmosphere, and a specials board that changes regularly, with plenty of choice for vegetarians and pescatarians. Tapas are a little pricier than your bog-standard bar but the quality is definitely there.
Make a table reservation to avoid disappointment
Alameda de Hercules, 61, Sevilla, 41002
+34 954 916334
www.boreassevilla.com/
La Alameda is considered the more indie part of the city, where many bars and restaurants have sprouted after a recent renovation. It is a short stroll away from the city centre, but is a hive for food and entertainment.
Google map: bit.ly/mm1TIV
A local bar squished between two blocks of flats. Don't go if you have tired feet or are looking forward to a good sit down, as there are no seats! Saying that the place was packed, and all of the white, plastic garden tables were taken up. There is not much on the menu, but the pajarito (roasted quail) and filete (pork bap) are both yum. Dare to try the spicy sauce too!
Avenida Santa Cecilia, 2, Triana, 41010 Sevilla
+34 954 08 66 94
Google map: bit.ly/fXIXVR
Especially in cooler months, El Comercio is a popular afternoon meeting point for Sevillanos. It is well known for its Churros con chocolate - a fried, long donut-like snack which is dipped in rich, thick, hot chocolate. If you want to try them, don't arrive before 5pm at the weekend, as its likely that the machine won't have had chance to warm up! (Speaking from experience)
Calle Lineros, 9, 41004 Seville, Spain
+34 954 228 256
www.barelcomercio.com/en-index.htm
Google map: bit.ly/e7Plmv
It is a bar that a friend recommended to me. It's nothing fancy and you can either sit at the bar or in one of two rooms with tables. We ordered four tapas (carriada, espinacas con garbanzos, pisto con huevo, and champinon a la plancha) with five drinks and it only came to 15 euros. Great home-made Spanish food.
C/ Herbolarios, 17 41004 Seville, Spain
+34 954 215 177
Google map: bit.ly/g3boVW
A high point of my visit to Sevilla was a tapas tour with the woman who writes the Sevilla Tapas website. Not only did we get to try some really delicious food, but we got to see some truly charming tapas bars, each with its own unique character.
It was a real treat to be with someone who really knew her way around Seville's confusing maze of streets, and knew where to go and what to order to have a phenomenal tapas experience.
As first timers in Seville, we booked an excellent walking tour on our first day. David Cox, an Englishman and resident, organises small informal groups to discover the rather more unusual history and places in this beautiful city. We loved it and it was the kind of introduction that none of our guide books could match. At our request, he also told us about some excellent places to eat that were both good value and just off the tourist trail. There is a website with details of how to book both walking and bicycle tours. Suggest you try to do this tour early in your stay and then enjoy your own sight seeing even more.
Avoid the touristy tapas bars near Giralda. Poor service and greasy food and ice cold red wine.
Try the tapas where you see lots of the local people and you are sure of finding excellent food and wine.
Two we found were fantastic, one the other side of the Cathedral on Calle Santo Tomas near the Archivo de Indias. And the other called Cinco Jotas, Calle Castelar in the Arenal district.
Both serving delicious tapas, look and see what the locals are eating and drinking and point to the waiter, you can't go wrong.
Cinco Jotas, Calle Castelar 1, 41001, Sevilla
+34 954 210 763
www.mesoncincojotas.com/index_english.htm
Google map: tinyurl.com/y8zpl23
Go to Horno de San Buenaventura for breakfast.
We stayed in a hotel nearby where the breakfast was 20 euros each. As a family of four we decided to explore an alternative and found this great place. Great food, great value and the best coffee we have had in Spain.
The cost for the four of us was only about 16 euros.
Avenida la Constitución 16. Sevilla, 41002
Teléfono.: 95.422.18.19
Google map: tinyurl.com/ycumrpp
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