ANDALUCIA..PROVINCE OF CADIZ (Jerez. Vejer, Zahara, Barbate..brief current notes

Regional Dining Discussions Italy, Spain, Portugal
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Will try my best to give (more) brief updates to this report, as I am now In Madrid where I wish I could fit in 5 meals per day, the food is that exciting. Is anyone old enough to remember when a trip to Spain came with the caveat…"oh, yes, Spain is wonderful, but the food is not good…no vegetables, the meat is very poor quality(I remember when Americans would say that "the meat in Europe is not good…I guess I had clueless friends at that time!!) quality, you will have to be reduced in Spain to eating strange parts off strange animals. "Oh, but that have this thing called paella…just order that (as if it was one single dish) and you MIGHT be ok. Guess I am giving away my age bit time time here, but I remember this so clearly…my first visit was to summer school program in Valencia where I was more taken with the local “boys,” than with the food! We are talking a loooong time ago, as if you cannot guess…

From JEREZ, I took a rental car to my base on the rolling green lands outside the “white town,” of Vejer. I think I mentioned earlier that I’ve been very taken by the province of Cadiz and this all-too-short visit cementer the desire to return more often.

To be brief, and save myself the extra work, I will compress meals taken at 2 different times to one report.

ANTONIO…ZAHARA DE LOS ATUNES.

When small town has “atun” its name, ou get an inkling of what you might consider ordering at restaurants in the zone.

I think that my comida at ANTONIO the last time I was in the area, about 4 years ago when based in Cadiz (recommend the Parador in that city) after a stay in Sevilla…(now there is one great food city…also so different than what it was (food wise) when I made my first foray so long ago from Valencia to Granada…imagine me on top of a slooow truck laden with carrots, .we could have walked faster but had our fill of Vitamin C) RIP my great travel companion.

SO…

ANTONIO, ZAHARA DE LOS ATUNES. I arrived by car from Jerez on the Saturday and made sure to book for Sunday comida at ANTONIO. No easy task, as they take no online bookings and answer the phone only at set hours. It took a few days before I was able to book a table for Sunday comida for one person (thank goodness no one has said “only one people??” as I’ve heard in a few places…not in Spain…disgression…slap of hand sound…(slap, slap…)

ANTONIO has a lovely, light-saturated dining room with windows onto the beach. I like to sit in the bar area, especially when traveling solo ad this is generally true throughout Spain, for me.

ANTONIO does have a proper menu, but I tend to have a look at the case, and ask a few questions, before ordering.

I knew that I had swooned over the artichokes the last time, same time of year, so I began with a half order, which was one lovely specimen of the interior of the choke…a bit more than only the heart. Superb, and I will try to drag photos… If you visit in season, artichokes are ubiquitous and almost uniformly excellent. FLOR DE ALCAHOFA CON JAMON (half racion=one artichoke) was the first of many wows. Bread in rear of shot was one of 3 choices; this one was infused with turmeric…the bread here is top notch

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Sleepy…more very soon…

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ANTONIO, ZAHARA DE LOS ATUNES
I’ve become lazy with this report, so will finish up with my lunch at ANTONIO by posting (or trying to post) a few more pics. And if there is interest here in other area restaurants, I will try to do the same with the ones I tried.

CARTA; ANTONIO

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PAIR OF PRAWNS FROM SANLUCAR

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BEST CLAMS IN THE WORLD?

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PUNTILLITAS (BABY SQUID…ESSENTIAL to order when they have these):

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Nice menu, but expensive! The fish must be super fresh! Puntillitas - I know them as chipirones (deep fried), one of my favourite appetisers. Thanks for the great pics.

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Damiano…No wonder they are among your favorites. These were sauteed, but not fried. Your comment made me curious, and when I took a look, I found lots of online debate on the differences between chipirones, chopitos, calamares, puntillitas, and pulpitos.
I think some of the differences in names may be due to the region, but also, some come from cuttlefish and some from squid. And sometimes pulpitos are baby octopus, I believe.
I had a plate of the latter, from Palamos, in Madrid last week (super expensive!) and they were also sauteed, but not the same as the puntillitas at Antonio. Maybe a cephalopod expert can jump in and explain…the online sites seemed to disagree about some of the nomenclature!

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Will now post some photos from Jerez:

A MAR

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Thanks @erica1 for all your reporting here! I am particularly drawn to those clams, but would follow gladly in your wake to all!

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Hi erica! stumbled upon this website (which i had previously never heard of) and have learnt so much about the food scene of andalucia from your posts - so thank you for that! I am doing a tight four night trip next month starting with 1 night Seville, then 1 night jerez, then 2 nights in Vejer. My partner and I are serious foodies so we are keen to try all the variety Andalucia has to offer despite the tight timeframe. With regards to the four amazing restaurants you recommended here:

  • A MAR
  • CARBONA
  • MAREA de MARCOS
  • ANTONIO

I was wondering if you could recommend one MUST for dinner between these four? (sorry - must be really hard haha)

Currently have booked for the trip:
Barra baja - seville
Restaurante castilleria
El muro
El campero

Many thanks in advance!

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You are in for an incredible food experience!!!

Of those four, if you are a seafood lover, I would choose ANTONIO. But it’s far from the others (the other three are in Jerez city). You already know that, I’m sure, so if the location is no problem, I’d guess ANTONIO. Second, for me, would be LA CARBONA. But they are all GREAT!!! But keep in mind that MAREA DE MARCOS is a simple place, very little decor, and short menu of only what they found the day on at the lonja. ( I don’t think the lovely owners speak English so have some translation app ready ifi you decide to go there. ) The others are pretty, slick spaces, more traditional, upscale restaurants.
ANTONIO can be difficult to book; you cannot do it online and sometimes they are difficult to get on the phone. Just keep trying, and also try to phone the hotel number if you cannot get through to the restaurant. Come to think of it, I’m not sure anyone at ANTONIO speaks English, either but you will not have a problem since their menu is translated. And maybe you speak Spanish!! I cannot wait to read about your experiences so I hope you will return here and let us know!!

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Perfect - will go ahead with this order and hopefully get to try a second restaurant in Jerez before heading south! In fact, I just had a look at ANTONIO and seems like they have joined the fork and opentable for reservations so it is very accessible!

Although I did get an A* in GCSE spanish when I was 16, unfortunately, all that is left in my memory are the days of the week haha… but hopefully will just google translate my way through andalucia. fingers crossed!

Will most definetely return and update my experience in May! :slight_smile:

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I tried to find ANTONIO on The Fork and had no luck…are you sure?? It’s just sounds odd to me that they would be on a reservation site…so much easier ifi they are, though!

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https://www.thefork.co.uk/restaurant/antonio-r339319

i checked the pictures look the same on the website but i feel like if i make the reservation i should call to just reconfirm

i totally see where you’re coming from though - very odd indeed especially you mentioning the prior difficulties!!

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No, no, no! Antonio in Zahara de los Atunes is not on the Fork! The “Antonio” on The Fork reservation system is located in Jerez de la Frontera!

For Jerez I highly recommend La Carboná, as the chef is fantastic, and also the dining room is housed in a former sherry warehouse and decor is beautiful. Very relaxing dining, great service and well spaced tables. I love it.

A Mar in Jerez would be where to go in Jerez for blue fin tuna in many guises, but you would have the same, and even more accomplished, although considerably more expensive at Antonio in Zahara de los Atunes, outside of town, on the road to the Atlanterra development. And again at El Campero in Barbate, which has recently been sold to the Azotea Group of Madrid but promises to keep the entire staff and maintain its high quality.

There is nothing like dining at the water’s edge at Antonio. Just make sure it’s the right one! And yes, it’s very hard to book, as I’ve been lucky only by phone. In my experience they’ve been very slow (or not at all) in responding to emails.

I wish that Antonio did have its own online reservation system, but it’s so popular among gourmands and the professional gourmet press, that they have no trouble at all filling the tables during their season.

About The Fork…while still somewhat handy in some regions of Spain, I find here that more and more of the higher end restaurants won’t be found on The Fork but instead can be booked via Cover Manager, which is the booking engine that many of the most recommended restaurants now use.

I just returned from 8 days of dining in Castilla-Léon at Michelin recommended or starred or Repsol “sunned” or recommended restaurants, and most I booked on their own web pages, via Cover Manager.

In Madrid the restaurants still using The Fork tend to be ethnic ones, with only a few notable exceptions (at least for me). Cover Manager also sometimes requires a credit card deposit, as they did for 3 of my most recent bookings here.

If you’re interested in tasting menus, in Jerez de la Frontera both Mantúa (1) and Lu Cocina y Alma (2) are Michelin starred but offer tasting menus only. The former scores an 8.3 on Macarfi and the latter an 8.9. but there’s little real difference at that level.

Albalá is the casual outpost of the chef of Mantúa, which I also recommend for small plates dining and is handy to the Royal School of Equestrian Art.

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Ok… i am so beyond glad that I verified with you before actually booking or even having the meal at the wrong ANTONIO without realising haha. Think will go with La carbona for my one night stay in Jerez then!

Perfect, thank you so much for all this information (both about the restos and the booking system) - I really appreciate it! :slight_smile:

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and oh! hello maribel - sorry for the confusion between you and erica!! thank YOU for the clarification of my stupid mistake. (am very new to this website hence i just assumed only erica would be reading my replies haha)

have read many of your posts about spain and am hoping to do a san sebastian trip late summer with all your recs!! though i have very low hopes on being able to secure an extebarri reservation… maybe martin berasategui for this first visit which seems to be a lot more easier to secure a spot in comparison :slight_smile:

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That’s perfectly ok, since erica1 and I think alike about food! We’re on the same page! (and we know each other :grinning: )

Yes, Etxebarri is tough, especially tough these days now that it´s “the 2nd best restaurant in the world”.

I was there recently, but not to dine upstairs but to partake of its pintxos and cazuelas at the downstairs bar, only open on Sunday mornings, starting at 11. Since then, they have changed their Sunday morning system to make it less chaotic (lines were out the door by 11:30), and reservations, only made in person, are needed, and there is wait service. But Axpe in the Valley of Silence is one of the most beautiful settings in Vizcaya. The Mendi Goikoa up on the hill has been taken over by new management and is also a lovely place to dine and also to stay in one of its 11 rooms.

Of all the San Sebastián area Michelin-starred restaurants (I’ve been to all except for the newly starred and re-invented Ibai–dined there before the star), I think looking back, now, that the one I would most like to revisit is Martín Berasategui in Lasarte, as it was my very first.

And by the way, welcome to Hungry Onion! I’m always very happy to see newcomers here.

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Lovely - just bookmarked the downstairs bar on my maps!

And thank you for the warm welcome @Maribel @erica1 ! I am really enjoying this sort of open and kind sharing environment which is certainly harder to come across on Instagram. Looking forward to coming back on this topic to discuss my Andalucia trip as well as planning san sebastian soon! :slight_smile:

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Yes, please come back and let us knowhow you fare, after your trip…the back-and-forth on this site is wonderful!!

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While you are in Jerez, if you are interested in a sherry tour, try Bodegas Tradicion, with its private art gallery with an El Greco, a Goya and other famous artists works, along with a tasting of almost everything in their cellar.

For a second meal in addition to La Carbona, I second Albala which Maribel recommended, and which also has a good list of sherry wines by the glass. You can order just a few small plates if you’ve had a bigger meal at Carbona.

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@alwaysfeasting
And I second that visit to Bodegas Tradición.