Since Jerez has been designated the Gastronomic Capital of Spain for 2026, we decided to take a fresh look at the dining scene while attending the International Flamenco Festival.
La Carboná has been our consistently favorite Jerez dining destination. It’s housed in a beautifully decorated former 1898 sherry warehouse with soaring wood cathedral ceiling from which hang giant lamps made of esparto grass, lovely antique furniture pieces adorn the space, with impeccably dressed and well spaced tables, and in the center sits a large circular fireplace.
It recently received its first Repsol sun (having received yearly Michelin recommendations), and the “Sherry Chef”, 42-year old Javier Muñoz (trained at El Celler de Can Roca), was happily posing for photos with his recently minted “sun” in hand and receiving congratulations from his “regulars”.
While two tasting menus are offered featuring dishes prepared with sherry along with sherry pairings, we opted for a la carte—
Presented first: the amuse bouche, a paté de ave, with an oloroso glaze along with excellent breads baked with a manzanilla yeast strain, a velo de flor.
For our shared starter, a “must order” tomato tartare of magnificent Conil tomatoes, topped with red onions, grated cheese, drizzled with AOVE and served with guacamole. If only we could have filled our car’s trunk up with these Conil tomato treasures!
For our mains, sea bass grilled over vine shoots, served with charred bimi broccoli and a manteca colorá hollandaise sauce, a double layered red mullet atop creamy rice and a touch of amontillado, and for dessert, a chocolate soufflé, caramel ice cream, chocolate soup and Palo Cortado. Don´t miss this!
All washed down with our favorite Cádiz rosé, Forlong, whose winery we toured that morning.
But for sherry lovers, La Carboná offers a prize-winning selection of 300 labels.
A winning dining experience. Next time we’ll attempt the tasting menu with sherry pairings, as it includes a low-temperature confit suckling pig with amontillado sauce, mushroom and peach chutney and a deboned oxtail braised in Oloroso with a potato Parmentier.
There are excellent non-sherry whites, reds and rosés being produced in sherry land, under the D.O. Tierra de Cádiz. And excellent vinos de pasto, or non-fortified sherry wines produced by Luis Pérez, whose estate, Hacienda de Vistahermosa, is stunning.
Closed Monday/Tuesday
Note the albariza stones at the entrance, the “queen of soils” of the sherry region.
The lovely dining space
The pate de ave amuse bouche with an oloroso glaze
Our Conil tomato tartare
Red mullet over creamy rice
Sea bass grilled over vine shoots
The chocolate confection dessert
The all Andalusian cheese trolley that we had to pass up (sigh!)
Forlong rosé, 100% tintilla de Rota
Both Michelin/Macarfi/Repsol recommended, this contemporary gastrobar of Michelin-starred and Repsol sunned chef Ismael Ramos (Mantúa), sits just a block from the Royal Equestrian School and has made for us a very handy lunch stop after attending the “How the Andalusian Horses Dance” equestrian ballet.
With an international fusion of flavors, the tapas, raciones meant to be shared, stews and main dishes here give a bit of a nod here to South America and Asia. Along with updated Spanish classics, you´ll find spicy prawn saams, a sea bass tiradito with alga wakame and two mar y montaña dishes: Iberian pork meatballs with baby octopus and veal sweetbreads with red prawns.
And the bread is excellent. Service too, very welcoming, friendly, helpful, attentive.
We shared an unusual caña de lomo tartare, oxtail croquettes with wild mushroom sauce, a creamy rice with Iberian ham, wild mushrooms (trompetas de la muerte) and a chive emulsion, and for dessert, the “must order” pumpkin sponge cake with Palo Cortado ice cream atop panna cotta, along with Sobremar, a “vino de pasto”, 100% palomino. With so many imaginative dishes, we never tire of returning to Albalá. Plus it’s an exceptional value.
Closed Sunday night and all day Monday.
An unusual tartare of caña de lomo
Croquetas
Creamy rice with Iberian pork
Pumpkin cake over a bed of panna cotta topped with Palo Cortado ice cream
The daily specials
Our non sherry accompaniment
Arima Gastrobar, “Comer con Alma”
A pleasant discovery, this friendly little gastro space or neo taberna, with only 5 comfortable high tables and a 5-seat bar inside, plus a covered terrace, is new to the city, opened 2 years ago by a local couple, Alejandro Bazán, the chef, and Mariana Sánchez the head of the house. They earned their stripes in the Basque Country, hence the name, Arima (=soul). Alejandro is the former head chef of the Bistro Guggenheim in Bilbao and Mariana, the former maître of Bilbao’s Ola Martín Berasategui.
There are some 30 dishes on the menu, from tapas to plates meant to be shared to main courses. The drinks list include a house vermouth with a splash of gin, called a marianito in the Basque Country, many sherries, bubbles and non-fortified wines from small local producers (
Retinto syrah). Another nod to the Basque Country: their several gilda skewers of anchovies & piparra peppers from Santoña (Cantabria).
We began with excellent Panadería La Gallina Violeta corn bread from the served with anchovy butter, then Navarran lettuce hearts, cogollos, served with a caper cream, picatostes, shavings of Villaluenga payoyo cheese and dressed with roasted garlic oil, followed by a txuletón with sides of French fries and roasted Piquillo peppers (but the beef was not Basque nor local retinto but instead frisona from Holland*)* and as in the Basque Country, served very rare, what we’re used to but may be too rare for some. We finished with a warm chocolate cake covered with marscapone and salted toffee.
The prices are competitive, the service from Mariana friendly and polished. We’ll return to try the braised pork cheeks with mushrooms and payoyo cheese parmentier, the sea bass in tempura with a manteca colorá Bernaise sauce and the torrija (the Spanish pain perdu), a typical Lenten dessert here in Andalucía.
Featured in the Macarfi guide; closed Sunday evenings and all day Monday.
Atuvera Gastro Taberna
The very polar opposite of the sleek dining spots above, this is a low cost, very funky bistrot (think late sixties East Village or Seattle’s pre-gentrified Fremont), in the San Miguel “cradle of flamenco” quarter, next to the statue of the late flamenco artist, Lola Flores. “A tu vera” was one of her greatest hits.
This modest space is housed a former 16th century stable, decorated with mismatched, recycled chairs, rustic wood tables, some with legs made from antique sewing machines, a hanging bicycle, homages to Lola….
The “international fusion” menu gives nods to the southern US (Kentucky Corn Flake fried chicken, pulled pork), Mexico (chimichangas), Asia (mussels with Thai vinaigrette)…..
We opted for their spicy, signature papas bravísimas, Moroccan lamb skewers with almond cous cous, a nest of wok-fried squid atop white garlic with coconut milk, and a tasty bao, filled with large shrimp sauteed with red curry and served with kimchi alioli.
The chef trained with Dani García and turns out tasty little dishes. Although this isn’t usually our kind of fare at all, we left pleased, and the service from the all female wait staff (
Carmen, Eva, Noa) is very attentive. One can dine surprisingly well for around 30 euros/person.
Atuvera receives a Repsol solete (the award given to casual bars, ice cream emporia, pastry shops, pizzerias, beachside chiringuitos…) and is only open Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday lunch.
