For Granada, we have an 1130 am reservation for the Nasrid Palace so we probably won’t be done w the Alhambra and Generalife until 2 pm or so. Is there something reasonably priced to eat in Alhambra or just outside after we exit?
Sorry, Maribel, I keep using the term restaurant. I just meant a place to get food but I understand now what you’re saying that these are not sit down, table service type places. 
Brunch is more of a trendy thing not a strength of a restaurant, but some folks rave about the chain called “Brunchit”. There’s one in Sevilla. I´ve never been because brunch is not my favorite meal.
Most Seville spots will serve a mollete, a type of bread, with Iberian ham and tomato.
If you need eggs, try the potato and egg Spanish omelet, la tortilla española.
The Bodeguita Casablanca, near the cathedral, serves both. We sometimes go there for breakfast but for us, breakfast is just a breakfast sandwich or a slice of tortilla española.
For Granada, you most likely won´t be finished until 2 pm. Remember that your timed ticket at 11:30 is only for entrance to the Nasrid Palace. You can go earlier and visit the Alcazaba fortress or the Palace of Carlos V beforehand, but you may not want to do so if concerned about making your timed entrance to the Nasrid Palace.
Inside the Alhambra complex there is no cafeteria, just vending machines and a refreshment stand in front of the Alcazaba.
For sit down, you could walk up the Calle Real to the small Hotel America on your left, still within the Alhambra grounds, and have a reasonably priced lunch in their garden courtyard, as we have often done.
See the menu here
https://www.hotelamericagranada.com/en/restaurant/
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For ice cream in Sevilla, there are now 4 locations of MITO. The one on Calle Almirantazgo 8 would be the closest to the cathedral.
Thank you for all your suggestion!
I looked at Google pictures and it does seem like in Granada, St. Germain, Taberna la Tana, and Taverna Malvasia are all too small to fit our group of 8 people. I picked La Sitarilla and Bar Poe because they seem like fun, not fancy spots with bigger portions.
For Seville, I am undecided between Petite Comite, La Brunilda, and La Casapuerta for our other dinner. I reached out to Augurio for the other dinner to see if they can fit our party of 8. I chose Casa Roman for the first night since they take reservations and have low tables.
Here is our itinerary so far. Open to any suggestions for substitutions or additions. In general, we like hearty, homey food vs fancy, stuffy places.
Day 1
-train from Madrid arrives in Granada at 452 pm
-check in hotel in Plaza Santa Ana
-pick up pastel moruno from Pasteria Lopez Mesquita
-Albayzin?
-dinner - Los Diamantes
Day 2
-Nasrid Palace 11:30 am reservation
-lunch if hungry - Hotel America
-Royal Chapel
-Plaza de Bib Granada
-dinner - La Sitarilla or Bar Poe?
Day 3
-train to Cordoba arrives at 1244 pm
-lunch - Taberna Salinas (Monday so limited options), snail stands
-Mezquita
-Roman Bridge
-train to Seville arrives at 732 pm
-dinner - Casa Roman
Day 4
-Royal Alcazar
-lunch - Casa Morales and Bodeguita Antonio Romero
-Gelateria Mito
-Productos de la Sierra
-Plaza Espana
-dinner -
Day 5
-Seville Cathedral
-lunch - Bodeguita Romero and Casa Moreno
-El Corte Ingles - Manu Jara
-shopping area
-Las Setas
-dinner- Augurio
-flamenco show - La Carboneria
Day 6
-train back to Madrid arrives at 312 pm
-check in hotel in Plaza de Santa Ana
-last shopping
-dinner -
-drinks -
Day 7
-flight leaves Madrid at 12:35 pm
I hope your group appreciates all the planning you’ve done!
Thanks for the mention of La Carboneria. I thought I’d see flamenco at the Las Setas theatre but will look at Carboneria as well…
Coincidence as I just booked Augurio today!
For your open dinner in Madrid, I know Maribel has you covered but until then, maybe e you could take a look at the menu of Lakasa. I think they could easily seat a group your size and they are very flexible about offering to serve smaller portions of dishes so you could try many things. It’s a lovely restaurant with such kind and welcoming staff.
Haha, yes, it’s basically me, my husband, our 3 small kids, my brother and his wife, and my 75-year old father. So I do all the travel planning - hotels, train schedules, sights, and restaurants. It’s a lot of work but I enjoy planning the overall flow and making sure people are happy with my choices. But it is a lot of work envisioning how people might feel a certain day (jet lag, tired from long day, tired of certain foods, etc.) and having back up plans and knowing which restaurants are in which areas.
For our open dinner in Madrid, I’ll take a look at Lakasa but my feeling is people would prefer to stay near Plaza Santa Ana after the train ride from Seville. It is the farewell dinner so maybe something festive, charmingly old-school Spanish, or nicer like steak at Askuabarra nearby might work. Probably some churros after dinner. Then drinks at Salmon Guru or Viva Madrid, depending on which one we haven’t tried yet.
Look forward to hearing about your trip to Seville @erica1 and which places were actually good and which were overrated!
erica1,
If you’re looking for professional, very skilled flamenco in an intimate setting with no food or drink served so as not to distract from the dancing/singing, I wouldn’t choose La Carbonería.
It´s popular for its inexpensive drinks along with “free, spontaneous” flamenco and very popular with foreign students.
There are now 24 different flamenco venues in Sevilla.
Since you’ve been to Casa de la Memoria (if memory serves), I would suggest 3 other very serious venues, with intimate seating and no meals/drinks served:
Museo del Baile Flamenco, founded by veteran artist Cristina Hoyos
Tablao Álvarez Quintero
https://www.tablaoalvarezquintero.com/en/
That said, Tablao Flamenco las Setas is new, and a retired flamenco dancer friend of mine went recently and enjoyed it a great deal.
It does serve sherry cocktails and tapas and the show lasts 90 minutes, 30 minutes longer than the one hour programs at the two mentioned above.
@krystle920
As one who has years of experience taking groups around, family and otherwise, I think that for your open dinner, farewell dinner, in Madrid you may be very wise to stick to restaurants within walking distance of the Plaza Santa Ana or near your apartment in La Latina rather than take a longish taxi ride to Lakasa, as nice and welcoming as it is.
If you´re thinking “charming old school Spanish”, I would consider Casa Alberto, the classic Madrid taberna from 1837 on Huertas with lots of Old Madrid atmosphere in its back dining room.
@krystle920
I’ve always had great meals at Petit Comité and recommended it to a friend on another travel forum, a Seville first-timer who loved it, especially for its hospitality. It’s not at all stuffy.
Day 1
Since you’ll be staying at the Plaza Santa Ana, the Los Diamantes on Plaza Nueva, the larger branch, is a good bet for fried fish and other seafood dishes.
Day 2
Don’t know either La Sitarilla or Bar Poe but I have the latter on my list to try
Day 3
Taberna Salinas will be your Monday opportunity to try one of the classic Cordoban taverns since Taberna San Miguel Casa el Pisto is closed on Mondays.
Day 4
I hope you have your reservations for the Royal Alcázar as to avoid long lines.
Plaza de España is unmissable for its gorgeous tiles but please be careful with your belongings there.
Dinner could be at any of Azahar´s 5 oranges rated places in the center.
Day 5
Ditto to online reservations for the Cathedral. Lines here are extremely long.
If you want to see serious, professional flamenco, not impromtu, I would go to one of the intimate professional venues like Casa de la Memoria, Tablao Álvarez Quintero or Museo del Arte Flamenco for their one-hour shows. But…if you plan to go with your children, at these more formal shows, they might get extremely bored. And La Carbonería flamenco is free with the price of a drink.
Is the back room at Casa Roman still lively or would it feel dead or isolated? I reached out to Casa Roman to make a reservation and here is their response—
"Buenos días Krystle,
Muchas gracias por contactar de nuevo con nosotros.
La sala del bar está bloqueada por una pre reserva, podríamos atenderlos en la sala de la trastienda (le dejamos fotos) o bien con normalidad en la sala del bar si la pre reserva se anula. ¿Quiere que le reservemos igualmente?"
I just don´t know, as I´ve never eaten in the backroom, la trastienda, but Casa Román is on a very, very lively square as it is next to another bar of Don Juan Tenorio fame, there is outdoor seating on the square, and it faces a very often visited museum, the Hospital de los Venerables, so I don´t imagine that it would feel dead.
The place itself is very atmospheric and the dish to order here is the Iberian ham, one of the best in the city.
It´s located in the heart of the Santa Cruz quarter, which these days is teeming with visitors.
I called Taberna Salinas in Cordoba to make a reservation and they said they are closed on Mondays. Their website says they are open though. Maybe it was my halting Spanish reading Google Translate, since the guy who picked up did not speak English.
Since Casa El Pisto is closed on Mondays too, what is our best option for good rabo del toro and traditonal Cordoban food? I looked at the menus for Bodegas Campos and it’s a little pricey with meat entrees in the 25-30 euro range, unless the tavern menu is cheaper? Casa Pepe de la Juderia also seems out of our price range with menu items around 30 euros for meat/seafood entrees. I assume lunch prices are the same as dinner prices.
That’s strange. The Taberna Salinas web site clearly states and google also says they are open on Mondays.
Can your hotel book for you, or are you staying in an airbnb? In the latter case, can your airbnb provide dining support for you? Or perhaps I’ve forgotten that you’re not spending the night?
Or try La Montillana, just a stone’s throw from Casa el Pisto and very well regarded by locals. It’s another of the typical Cordoban tabernas.
https://tabernalamontillana.com
Our concierge sent us there, as we were staying nearby, in addition to Casa el Pisto. It has garnered a Repsol “solete”.
It might be too pricey (no prices on the menu) but CUCHARA DE SAN LORENZO is open Mondays and they offer a Rabo de Toro. I liked this place a lot, except my de-boned pork feet were very fatty. They are very welcoming, but its not a traditional taberna.
Thanks, I just made an online reservation at La Montillana. The menu and prices look good.
I went to Taberna San Miguel “Casa El Pisto” and Taberna La Montillana in January. We had an enjoyable experience at both places but found the food, wine and service at La Montillana to be outstanding. Didn’t take many photos at either place, bottom photo is cochifrito iberico at La Montillana.
Thank you. That’s great to know Taberna La Montillana was outstanding. The reviews are really good online so I’m excited to try it!
I also read there is a partial rail strike on the day we are supposed to go from Granada to Cordoba, and Cordoba to Seville. It says the partial strike is from 6.30 am to 9.30 am, 2.30 pm to 5.30 pm, and 8.30 pm to 10.30 pm. If we are planning to take the 11:13 am train to Cordoba, and the 6:32 pm train to Seville, does that mean our trains will be fine or would they be delayed? Should we just drive?
About La Montillana,
We went because our concierge had recommended it strongly, and it also gets a nod from 3-Michelin starred native son, Paco Morales. It’s very reasonably priced. It is especially known for its vast selection of Andalusian wines.
I can’t answer the train question for you, as I don’t know how Renfe will manage the situation, if indeed the strike occurs. Often these strikes are called off at the last minute.
