Great week of eats in Barcelona, Granada, Cordoba, and Sevilla

[genevah]

Huge thanks to the generous participants on this board for your outstanding recommendations for my short spring break trip to Barcelona, Granada, Cordoba, and Sevilla this week. I am a solo traveler from the San Francisco Bay Area. This was my first time in Spain, and it had me kicking myself for waiting so long to visit this dazzling part of the world.

Top 4 Meals:

Bar FM (Granada)

Maleducat (Barcelona)

Augurio (Sevilla)

Tradevo Centro (Sevilla)

BARCELONA (part 1):

BESTA - I booked this reservation right when my plane landed for that same night. I was one of three parties seated at the intimate bar that evening for their tasting menu. This meal featured the most interesting texture and flavor combinations of any meal I had on the trip. My favorite was a tiny savory tart covered with squiggles of squid.

If anyone has been to Besta recently and has a more precise description, I would love to know! While I didn’t love every dish, especially some of the fishier desserts, I found the menu inventive and fun with some truly unforgettable bites, including their play on the Gilda below:

The serving team at Besta was outstanding: warm, convivial, and deeply knowledgeable. What an excellent welcome for my first night in Spain! This is a place I’d gladly revisit. I am headed to the Basque and Asturias regions this summer, and my meal at Besta makes me excited for what’s to come in the north.

JON CAKE

On day 2, just before a wander around Mercat de Santa Caterina, I happened upon a cheesecake shop called Jon Cake with a long line out the door waiting patiently. I had some time so decided to join the line, which moved at a decent clip. The classic and pistachio slices I ordered were worth the wait, perfectly creamy and not too sweet with excellent depth of flavor. I would love to return and try their other flavors, including peanut, salted caramel, gorgonzola, and Brie.

BAR DEL PI, BODEGA VASCONIA, BODEGA LA PALMA

On night 2, I took a tapas tour with Devour. We had a chance to sample cava, tortilla espanola, jamon Iberico and manchego cheese at Bar del Pi; vermouth, padron peppers, and albondigas at Bodega Vasconia; and excellent patatas bravas, croquetas, and crema Catalunya at Bodega la Palma. The last stop was my favorite, as the patatas bravas and crema there were excellent renditions. Our Devour tour guide, Feliciano, born and raised in Barcelona, recommended a number of places to try paella: Can Sole, Salamanca, Can Ramonet, Cadaques, and Delta in Born. Filing these away for future trips!

CAN MAJO

Day 3: After a three hour bike tour and a visit to Fundacion Joan Miro, I was famished and ended up near Barceloneta, where I had an excellent meal at Can Majo. Both their beautiful beachfront terrace and interior were packed on this Sunday afternoon, but they managed to find me a table inside. What fun to see multigenerational families out in their Easter finery celebrating with beautiful feasts and gifts. I had an excellent meal of boquerones, juicy razor clams, and al dente paella with Galician clams and shrimp, portioned for one.

[genevah]

GRANADA

EL PICOTEO

My Sunday night flight to Granada was delayed, so I arrived too late for a meal. On Monday, I stayed in the Albaicin in a lovely family owned hotel called Hotel Santa Isabel La Real. The owner recommended his favorite restaurants in the Albaicin, and for lunch, I ate at El Picoteo, where every table was packed. I had my first taste of berenjenas (fried eggplant) here, and they were served here in round slices with a creamy honey butter (different than what I would have at Casa El Pisto in Cordoba a few days later.) I also had some tasty fried baby squid, served with a side of cabbage with a light vinegary dressing. The tables around me ordered some beautiful looking tomato and avocado platters drizzled with olive tapenade, as well as rabo de toro. This was a great casual lunch stop in the Albaicin, not too far from Mirador San Nicolas.

CASA GABRIEL

That night, I also ate in the Albaicin at my host’s other recommendation, Casa Gabriel. I had a tasty if possibly too rich chargrilled artichoke dish with porcini sauce, shaved Parmesan and Iberian ham. For my entree, I had roasted and seared Iberian pork, served with a roasted apple puree, stewed mushrooms, and arugula. A very hearty and nourishing meal after a long day at the Alhambra!

Other places our host recommended: Yunque in Plaza San Miguel for a quick bite, but I never made it there during opening hours.

BAR FM

I stayed an extra day in Granada just to eat at Bar FM (since it’s closed on Sundays and Mondays), and it was well worth the wait. Without a doubt, it was the most exquisite meal I had in Spain from beginning to end.

My first experience with trying quisquillas from Motril will forever be encoded in my memory as a delight! The staff patiently showed me how to get the most deliciousness from each crustacean - sucking on the shell, cracking open the head to suck out the juices, then peeling back the shell carefully to taste the brilliant blue egg sacs. I loved the raw ones even better than the cooked. I had two croquetas, a slightly spicy tuna one and an excellent cuttlefish one, perfectly fried and seasoned. I then had an elegant bowl of small clams, followed by their outstanding grilled baby squid. The staff gave me warm but stern instructions to scoop up each baby squid in one bite, rather than piercing the squid with a fork to ensure that none of the inky goodness leaked out. Finally, for dessert, I had their tarta Italiana, served with mint ice cream, a perfect end to an extraordinary meal. I asked the kind server what I should have from their menu if I were to return, and he said that I should definitely try their fried dishes, as the chefs are talented with the fryer. He also recommended the grilled cuttlefish. Already dreaming of my next visit!

[genevah]

CORDOBA:

CASA EL PISTO

Lunch at Casa El Pisto did not disappoint. I arrived 15 minutes before they opened with a reservation, and the line was already out the door by the time I was seated. The fried berenjenas here were cut in long rectangular wedges rather than in round slices as I had in Granada. Lightly salted and served with a small jar of cane syrup, I polished them off in no time flat and would have gladly eaten more! Next, I had the flamenquin, which was tasty and fried expertly but not something I’d crave again. My media racion of tender rabo del toro was just the right end to a satisfying meal, but I was really curious to try their salmorejo. I ordered a media racion, but it was still too much. I did not love the sourness and heavy creaminess of this dish, but I’m glad I tried it.

[genevah]

SEVILLA:

CANABOTA

I had tickets at Casa de la Memoria for 10:30 pm and ended up wandering into nearby restaurant Canabota by accident, mistaking it for La Barra de Canabota, where I had planned to try my luck for a seat and a quick bite. It was 9 pm at the peak of dinner service, and due to there being a no show, they sat me at the bar. Everyone else seated at the bar was dressed to the nines and seemingly really psyched to be there. By the time I realized my mistake, it seemed like it was too late to back out of my restaurant seat, so I went with the flow and got the shorter Jarife tasting menu, at one of the chefs’ strong suggestion. This was not my favorite meal, especially at this price point, though having a front seat to the precision of the kitchen was an interesting experience. Honestly what I remember most was the fish soup served as a shot in the appetizer and the really good olive oil they served with the bread. The best bite was probably the hot monkfish wrapped in nori and served on a cube. The cod liver ice cream appetizer was interesting if not delicious, the blue lobster appetizer served with oyster foam and vinegar sorbet was beautiful to look at, and the scarlet shrimp appetizer was just downright off tasting. The grilled fish was forgettable, not nearly as good as what I had the next day at Tradevo Centro. But my neighbor at the bar, who had the full omakase and was a self-described sushi aficionado, seemed to love every single bite, so it may be that the sophistication of the menu was lost on me!

TRADEVO CENTRO

My lunch the next day at Tradevo Centro was a delight. The avocado canneloni stuffed with shrimp paste was beautiful and tasty. This was my first time having huevos de chocho (the reproductive organs of cuttlefish), and they were succulent and beautifully presented. Finally, my grilled mackerel with vegetables was a perfect end to the meal. I sat right next to the fresh fish case, and it was so much fun being able to pick out my lunch from the case. The server steered me away from ordering too much, as I had coveted the fried calamari too! This is the kind of restaurant I would love to eat at every week if it were in my neighborhood! I would love to return and try the fried sea bream, which alas, was only available in filet sizes too large for me to order.

BARRA BAJA
I snagged a 10 pm reservation at Barra Baja and enjoyed this experience of sitting at the bar much more than my experience sitting at the bar at Canabota Restaurant. The two chefs seemed to be having a great time, chatting and singing while also working together in beautiful sync. Every dish that came out looked better than the next and made me regret my safer choices. The roasted leek covered with shaved and flame torched mushrooms, the bone marrow with steak tartare, and the silky omelet topped with mushrooms all looked mouthwatering. Same with the huge platter of ribs that my neighbors at the bar ordered, which were deboned by the chef before serving. I had the ajo blanco, which was refreshing, some tasty wild clams served in a crème francaise, and the arroz con pato. I was touched that while deeply focused on his cooking, the chef noticed that I had lots of sauce left from my clams and took the time to ask the server to get me another piece of bread just to sop up the tasty sauce. Altogether a nice experience, though I would order more adventurously if I visited again.

AUGURIO

On my final day in Sevilla, I had lunch at Augurio. The lone waiter seemed to be a bit harried at opening but was exceedingly kind and helpful once we got going. This was a wonderful final meal in Sevilla, and the portion sizes were perfect for lunch. I enjoyed the elegant anchovy toast with blue cheese and especially loved the ensaladilla with shredded chicken in escabeche and egg. The best dish was the tagliatelle made of squid. So tender and delicious. I would happily return and do hope they stay in business, as it was relatively sparse at lunch and seemed to have a lot of same day slots for dinner reservations too.

I had a piripi at Bodeguita Antonio Romero before hitting the airport for my flight back to Barcelona. Simple but delicious with great crunch of the bread, tasty mayo, tomato, and pork. They packed one for me in foil to take on to the plane. It wasn’t as good as fresh at the bar but still beat anything I could get at the airport!

I had gelato multiple times at Mito while in Sevilla. The pistachio was spectacular, and I enjoyed the maracuya too!

[genevah]

BARCELONA (part 2)
I had one last dinner in Barcelona before flying back to San Francisco.

MALEDUCAT
I am beyond delighted that this was my last dinner in Spain. The meal was excellent from beginning to end, starting with simple anchovies on tomato toast and a flavorful, creamy croqueta of Iberian ham. Next came a wonderful small plate of warm leeks with burrata and sundried tomatoes topped with hazelnuts. Absolutely delicious and gorgeously presented. As a solo diner, I was able to order a media racion of this dish (and several other small plates were also available in media racion.)

For my main course, I ordered from their specials menu, guisantes lagrimas from Maresme with guanciale, served in a broth of chicken and Iberian ham. What can I say but that this was a perfect dish: homey and elegant at the same time. I had wanted to try guisantes lagrimas my whole trip but this is the first place I came across them so I thought I had missed the season. They were tender and delicious and worth the wait.

For dessert, I had an intensely flavorful sorbet made of strawberries from Maresme, with cremeaux dotted with spots of vinegar, which added some lovely acidity, and topped with edible alyssum flowers that I grow in my garden back in California but had never thought to nibble!

The waiter left me with a list of restaurants they recommend in Barcelona.

[genevah]

Reading back my writing, I am embarrassed at how many times I used the words “delight” or “delightful,” but truly Spain was a delight for my senses. As a solo traveler, I was warmly welcomed in every restaurant and had an easy time making reservations for one. Thank you a million fold to all of the Hungry Onion contributors who made this journey a scrumptious one!

[tigerjohn]

Seems like you had a great time in Spain, nice report!

I’m glad you enjoyed Bar FM. You picked some of my favorites, especially the qusiquillas. I’ve been going there for 10 years and think it’s some of the best seafood spots in the country (particularly given the price) but it’s a bit farther out and understandably many want something close to the monuments. Hoping more give it try, even with the taxi ride.

[vinouspleasure]

Wonderful trip report!!