Following on from Eating in Granada, we caught a bus to Seville. 37 degree days, it was the hottest (literally) city of the all the places we’d visited in Spain. Siestas are a must in Seville to get out of the heat. But we both loved this gorgeous city. The Plaza de España especially!
La Azotea
For lunch one day, I wanted to try La Azotea, a cheapish Michelin star restaurant. We started off with the house made foie gas (14€) with marmalade, pineapple chutney with toasted walnut and raisin bread. I loved the combination of flavours and perfect balance of sweet and savoury. (We did think the foie gras from Pialligo Estate was better though!)
Scallops in garlic were one of the specials that day. These were very small in size, simple yet tasty.
The rice paper rolls stuffed with cheese, prawns and leeks (2.90€ each) ended up being fried rolls, but this was delicious topped with salmorejo (a puree of tomato and bread). I could easily order more of these.
A mini roast beef burger (6€) served in a small box with roast potatoes, mustard, ketchup and aioli on the side, with some salad. More like a deconstructed burger, it was mini but there was a lot of beef stuffed into it, and it was darn tasty.
Overall, a very enjoyable meal with friendly service. I would definitely go back to try more of the menu.
Amorino Gelato
Given the heat, gelato is a must have to cool down. We went to one of the many Amorino gelato shops in town. I didn’t think it was fantastic and I’ve definitely had better Italian gelato.
Cafetería Pastelería La Canasta
Mr FPJ was sick and stayed in bed, so I ventured out on my own to find some breakfast. I passed by La Canasta which had lots of croissants and pastries available, and decided to go in for breakfast. I wanted to try the salmorejo (puree of tomato and bread) served in a bread bowl (5.95€ bar pricing). Unfortunately, I forgot to tell them that I wanted it in a bread bowl (as an option) so it came out in a regular porcelain bowl. Oh well. The salmorejo is served cold with some Iberian jamon and egg on top. This was actually really nice, and even though I wasn’t expecting a cold breakfast, it was nice and soothing as it was already heating up outside.
I also bought one of the chocolate pastries to go for Mr FPJ as we had a tour of the Alcazar (Royal palace complex) later that morning.
Ovejas Negras
After the tour of the Alcazar (3 hours +) we headed to Ovejas Negras, another recommended Michelin star tapas bar. As with most tapas places in Spain, you basically have to wait until some people leave the table/bar and pounce to get a seat. As it was 1.30pm, peak lunch time period, there were no seats left so we stood to the side to wait.
There was a small counter where we were standing (with beer drums stored underneath) and we ordered some drinks. With the drinks, came some bread sticks and cutlery.
After a bit of a wait, we asked if we could just eat standing up as we were leaning against a small counter anyway. This was fine by the waitress and we ordered some tapas. It was HOT, so a nice cold burrata with tomato salad (8.90€) sounded superb. And it was. The burrata was soft and cold, and tasted so good with fresh tomatoes, basil and a sun-dried tomato pesto. Yum.
The mushroom risotto (5.90€) was deliciously cheesy and well seasoned. We both loved this dish.
Lastly, we shared the stewed Iberian pork cheek (5.50€) with mashed potato and roasted garlic puree. The pork was nicely tender, and the sauce thick and rich, but it’s a much better winter food than summer.
It’s quite difficult to pay for the bill in Spain. One, you need to get someone’s attention to retrieve our bill. And two, they need to remember to come back so you can pay it. After waiting around, we decided to just head to the counter to pay the bill. When we got there, the bar tender gave us two shots of a house made fortified wine to taste. Not for me, but it was a nice gesture. Mr FPJ said it was quite sweet – so it may have been sherry.
I’d go back to Ovejas Negras but I’d try to get there when doors open. The entire time we were there, only one table was available for the next lot of people. So I’m glad we just asked to eat standing up!
Bodega Santa Cruz
Bodega Santa Cruz received some excellent reviews for its cheap tapas, so we ventured in for an early dinner to ensure we could get a table. We both ordered cold coke zeros (3.20€ each).
Although an English menu was provided, the bar only had certain dishes available that day written up on the blackboard, and some of these items were specials and had no translation. Some of the staff don’t understand English either.
Luckily for technology, we whipped out google translate to translate some of the menu but this was a slow process. Another waiter came by to see if we needed help and he spoke English which made it a whole lot easier. I knew I wanted to try the pringa (2.20€) a house specialty pressed sandwich with mashed chorizo, black pudding and pork. So glad I did, as it was amazing and we kind of wanted to order another one. We also tried the champinones mushrooms with diced serrano ham (2.20€), the spanish potato omelette (2.30€), and the espinacas 5 quesos, the spinach with 5 cheeses (2.30€) on our waiter’s recommendation. The potato omelette and mushrooms were okay but I wouldn’t have ordered them again. The spinach and pringa were amazing!
I was still hungry and went back to our waiter to see what else he could recommend. We tried the pork sirloin in a sweet wine sauce (2.50€), and the breaded ham stuffed with cheese (2.20€) which came with potato crisps, aioli and bread sticks.
Tapas are cheap and can be purchased in three different sizes – small, medium, large – tapa, media and racion. We stuck with the tapa sizes so we could try more dishes. Although we had googletranslate, it was lovely to be able to ask for someone’s recommendation.
Bar Alfalfa
For breakfast the next morning, we tried Bar Alfalfa as I had read it was one of the few places open early in the morning.
The bar is located on a small corner with only a few tables inside and bar seating. There are so many wines stacked high along the walls, it would be a great joint to hang out in for after work drinks.
There are quite a lot of items on the breakfast menu and a lot of the toast options include your choice of coffee.
We shared the half portion of tostada (toast) with oil, jamon and tomato (2.90€) which came with a coffee, and a croissant with home made jam and butter (1.70€). Orange juice was an extra 1.40€ each.
I liked that half and whole portions are available so that food doesn’t go to waste if you just want something small. It was a quaint bar and we would have loved to go back for an afternoon of tapas and wine. But as always, we didn’t have enough time.
Bar Las Teresas
I had read that Las Teresas was another great traditional tapas bar so we went in for lunch. The first thing to grab your attention are all the Iberian pork legs hanging from the ceiling.
The bar doesn’t look like its changed in decades. We both got a small table with cushions to lean against by the window facing the bar and ordered drinks. An English menu was given to us which made things easy. Similar to Bodega Santa Cruz, there were three different sizes you could choose from, and we stuck with the smallest tapa size to try more dishes.
The acorn-fed Iberian ham (3.20€) had thick chunks of pure fat on it which tasted amazing but we did slice a bit off as it was too fatty for us.
The cod with tomato (3€) came in a light tomato and green bean mix served hot, and worked wonderfully with the white bread received at the beginning of the meal.
The Iberico ribs (2.75€) was a big portion for a small tapa and came with fried potatoes. The ribs were sinewy and not as pleasant as expected.
The white wine sausages (2.75€) had been boiled and served with fried potatoes. The sausages were average and a little watery without any taste of wine left. Not something we’d order again.
Our waiter behind the bar was really friendly, and I felt comfortable enough to go back and ask for any other recommendations. The grilled mushrooms (2.75€) came in a serve of two giant flat mushroom. Filled with melted garlic butter and a side of miniature carrots, of course this was one of our favourites.
Our waiter recommended the Kobe ox strips (3.95€) so I was happy to give that a go. This was the dish of the day and I’m sure glad to have asked for a recommendation. The beef was dripping in flavour, soft and succulent, and grilled to perfection. I missed out on Kobe beef during my trip to Japan, so having this to taste was wonderful. This came served with pickled cabbage and more fried potatoes.
We both loved the atmosphere of Bar Las Teresas. Very laid back, great menu, cheap prices and friendly staff. Honestly, we could have happily spent another hour there just sitting, drinking, and eating!
Taberna Coloniales
Our final dinner in Seville was had at Taberna Coloniales. Like with most places in Spain, there’s an additional charge for bread and breadsticks. I don’t know if it’s bad etiquette to request no bread, but we always forgot about it until it arrived at the table.
We ordered the papas a la brava, potatoes in ‘brava’ sauce (2.90€) which is basically patatas bravas. The potatoes were floppy and a little soggy so I didn’t enjoy this dish.
The tenderloin in a sweet port wine sauce (2.90€) wasn’t too bad and I liked the sweetness with the meat. However, the cuts of tenderloin were gristly and not enjoyable. This came served with more of the same potato.
The chicken salad with bacon and honey vinegar (7.10€) was HUGE and could have fed a family of four. This was one of the more expensive dishes as it was medium in size but we really wanted some fresh salad after all the rich food we were consuming. We didn’t realise that the chicken would be fried but it was delicious and so was the vinegar on the crunchy salad. I didn’t think the bacon needed to be added at all.
We also tried the mushroom croquettes (2.30€) which were surprisingly good and filled with lots of mushroom chunks.
Our final dinner in Seville wasn’t as nice as I was hoping it to be and service was slow. However, we had a few enjoyable meals during our stay from La Azotea, Ovejas Begras, Bodega Santa Cruz and Bar Las Teresas.
As mentioned at the beginning, we loved Seville! The atmosphere, the history and the easy lay out of the city centre. A fabulous place to hang out.
And that concludes my Eating in Spain series. Next, we fly to Belgium…the land of chocolate!
Eateries visited:
- La Azotea – Calle Recogidas, 16, 18002 Granada
- Amorino gelato – Calle Granada, 2, 41001 Sevilla
- Cafetería Pastelería La Canasta – Av. de la Constitución, 16, 41004 Sevilla
- Bar Alfalfa – Calle Candilejo, 1, 41004 Sevilla
- Ovejas Negras – Calle Hernando Colón, 8, 41004 Sevilla
- Bodega Santa Cruz – Calle Rodrigo Caro, 1, 41004 Sevilla
- Bar Las Teresas – Calle Santa Teresa, 2 – 41004 – Sevilla
- Taberna Coloniales – Calle Fernández y González, 36, 41001 Sevilla
Eating in Spain series
- Barcelona – Part 1
- Barcelona – Part 2
- Barcelona – Part 3 – La Boqueria Market
- Valencia and La Tomatina
- Granada
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