We spent a few days in Sevilla in early September. My partner had a conference, and I tagged along. I was on my own for lunches but we had dinners together. I did one day trip to Córdoba. My best sources for research were this thread and the azahar-sevilla.com website. I’m more of a cheapskate than @Maribel, @erica1, or Shawn, so nothing really high end. I won’t post photos, as there are more and better ones on Shawn’s website and also on Google Maps. I was mostly drinking sherry (fino, palo cortado, and manzanilla), occasionally white wine, once or twice a glass of red, as local as I could get.
Vida Jonda: one of our best meals. Vieira (the scallops were raw, a pleasant surprise), gofre pringá, and stuffed mushrooms. The server was funny and went through the whole menu in detail without being asked. There was a great funk soundtrack playing. The place was mostly empty (we were there shortly after opening) and those who arrived while we were there seemed to be locals. We had a day later in the week when we couldn’t plan, and when it turned out that dinner would work, we went back. But the staff had changed, there was no music, and what we ordered (croquetas de carrilladas, and their fancy take on San Jacopo, made with venison and jamón ibérico) was heavy, dull, and actually undersalted. So YMMV.
Tradevo Centro: probably the other top meal. We reserved for lunch indoors. We had fairly wretched service, but it was clearly the server’s first day on the job; the other staff were showing her where the wine fridges were, and she deferred to them on some of our requests. She had better English, though, and everyone was at least friendly, even if they were quite busy. From the specials page, we ordered navajas, and coquillas (these weren’t listed but I could see them in the display case), and from the regular menu, atún rojo salvaje de almadraba (tartare, atop a gazpacho and with various flavourings) and tallarin de sepia (ink in the sauce, not the pasta, my preference, plus, unusually, a Bolognese on top, which worked!). Everything was good (okay, maybe a bit too much sauce under the coquillas, which didn’t need it). Unfortunately, we ordered a dessert to share, and then waited, while everyone rushed about. Had they forgotten? It didn’t require any preparation. We had timed tickets for the Catedral, so we called for the bill. Despite the service hiccups, this would have been a better place to return to (or their original location in Nérvion, close to my partner’s conference location).
Casa del Tigre: probably the nicest atmosphere we encountered, in terms of the layout and decoration of the rooms. It filled up fast, mostly with tourists (we had reserved our table; those who hadn’t went to the bar). We ordered a special (cherry tomato salad, with a sort of salmorejo and olive oil sorbet), oysters, and from the regular menu, the layered papas bravas, the tortilla abierta with crystal shrimp, and the “hot dog” de corvina.
La Brunilda: also a pleasant atmosphere, but it felt a bit like a machine. We’d heard about indifferent service, but ours was at least pleasant and efficient. No specials, and the menu has been mostly the same for ages; they have two seatings a night. I can’t complain about the food. We had tuna tataki, octopus, duck confit, and the mini-hamburger. All very correct, and yet somehow the whole experience lacked a certain sparkle. I would recommend it to first visitors, but I wouldn’t return, myself.
La Casapuerta: we had a reservation for our arrival night, but travel delays forced me to cancel and rebook, and even then we had to roll by with our luggage (it was just off the route between the bus station and our hotel) and make sure they would hold the table. We returned about 21:30, and there were plenty of open tables, with some departures and arrivals while we were there (all tourists from what I could tell, some Spanish though) but it was never busy (this was a Sunday night, though). We went for their Cádiz specialties: tartare of almadraba tuna with three sauces, and an entrecote of retinto beef, sliced and served with a tangle of sautéed peppers of various colours (we had a choice of that or fries). Certainly good, but in retrospect overshadowed by later meals.
La Cantina: at the Mercado do Feria, a market bar with a small terrace of self-bussed tables. You order and pick up orders at the bar. We had checked out of our hotel, and this was up to the northeast near Vida Jonda. It was early, because we had a bus to catch, and so relatively quiet. We weren’t the first ones eating, but it was close. We ordered fried puntillos (very small squid), grilled sardines, and a large plate of navajas. Basic, fresh (from the fishmongers in the market), very tasty, inexpensive. Also they were quite friendly, which is not always my experience in markets.
Bodeguita Romero: a solo lunch. I arrived before opening, along with some other tourists, who hung by and grabbed the outdoor tables as soon as a server took the stools off them. I didn’t play that game; I went inside (only locals in there, as far as I could tell) and sat near the apex of the oval bar, where I could see the dishes coming from the kitchen being placed for the outdoor service. From the specials, I ordered fideos marineros and chipiritos. The tuna in the display case looked fabulous, and I was tempted, but I wanted to try the famous pringá. That was a mistake, as it was somewhat of a disappointment. Would definitely return, and stick to seafood specials.
Dos de Mayo: my first solo lunch, and close to our hotel, as I didn’t quite have the place scoped out fully. There was a terrace with a couple of tourist parties on it, but it was hot, so I went inside and got a high two-top where I could see into the kitchen. The others inside were all older locals, with some working folks dropping by to eat at the bar. The things available as media rácion were not that interesting, so I ended up with a whole plate of deep-fried boquerones, which were fine but a bit monotone. But I enjoyed the atmosphere and the people-watching.
A few more Sevilla notes: decent ice cream at Créeme, near the Fine Arts Museum. We hit a number of specialty coffee places, which were mostly okay, but nothing special. Breakfast was a real issue for me. I found a couple of decent croissants / pains aux chocolat, but I can’t have that every day (okay, maybe I can in Paris, but there’s a lot more variety there). I am fine in countries where breakfast is closer to other meals (in fact I prefer that to a large North American breakfast). It just felt like there wasn’t much choice. Also what is with coffee places that open at 10am or even noon?
For my lunch in Córdoba, I looked hard at El Bar de Paco Morales and Garum 2.1 (at times I was convinced I would eat at each), but didn’t make any reservations, and after seeing the Mezquita-Catedral in the morning, they seemed incongruous. Instead I went up to the Casa El Pisto, which was nice as it got me into the modern city, which has some good pedestrian zones and plaças. They were booked but I got a table in the side room which had a late booking. I may have been the youngest person in the place, and I am not young. But I enjoyed the style of the dining rooms (lots of paintings, photos, vintage posters, and framed memorabilia). The salmorejo was excellent; the estofado de rabo de toro (oxtail stew) was merely good. Service was friendly and efficient. Prices were quite reasonable.
Thanks again to all posters here. The Azahar website is an invaluable resource for this part of the world. It’s even interesting to read if you have no immediate plans to visit.
