I have not been to Curdelon, but having been to Gueyu Mar serveral times, if they have the canned sardines or razor clams, I’d suggest ordering them as they were a highlight.
We brought some home with us on our last visit to Güeyu Mar and they get my vote as well.
Here in Madrid one can purchase them at the Gourmet Experience in the El Corte Inglés Castellana.
Thanks you so much for the update on pintxos bar at San Sebastian. Casa pepe looks promising.
Do you know of any olive oil store in Jaen similar to oroliquido in Barcelona, since Jaen is famous for their olive oil.
We had also been to Gueyu Mar 2 years ago , and we absolutely loved it.
It´s hard not to love Güeyu Mar, isn’t it?
Yes, the Jaén province is famous for their high quality olive oil. There are several “oleotecas” in the city.
Here´s a list of olive oil shops in Jaén, Baeza, Ubeda
https://www.jaenparaisointerior.es/oleotour/oleotecas
I would probably go to Paraíso Virgen Extra Tienda Gourmet in Jaén. Although it can’t compare with Oroliquído of Barcelona, which deals with all the best of Spain.
The ¨best AOVE¨ prize was given last year to the AOVE ORO DE CÁNAVA from the Cooperativa Andaluza Nuestra Señora de los Remedios from the town of Jimena in the Jaén province.
That’s what I would look for
Also Juanjo Mesa León, the chef of Radis in Jaén, was a candidate for Revelation Chef of the Year in this year’s Madrid Fusion. The winners were the chefs of AMA in Tolosa.
Hi Maribel
We are heading to spain tomorrow., very excited for our trip.
We haven’t decided for our dinner on the first night in Andalucia. There is a michelin star restaurant at our hotel La Bobandila called La Finca, have you tried it? If good, then we might forego the drive to Malaga for tapas ( La Cosmo)
As well, for the olive oil ( oro de canava) you recommend, is it true that you can only purchase from their store , or can you get it at Paraiso Virgen Extra Teinda Gourmet, do they offer olive oil tasting as well
Hi Silverlim,
Hope you have a wonderful time in Andalucía. I haven’t stayed at La Bobadilla so can’t comment on their Michelin starred restaurant, but it would certainly save you the hour’s drive to Málaga for dinner on your first night.
Paraiso Virgen Extra Tienda Gourmet does sell the Oro de Cánava olive oil, or at least they have it online. They do offer special tasting events with cheese (for a fee), but not every day, I don’t think. You can email them or send a message on their web page to see if they can provide a tasting for you.
Hope you have a fantastic trip!! Buen viaje and will look forward very much to hearing of your edible adventures! Also curious about La Bobadilla, both the restaurant and if the pool is heated to a swimmable temperature in these cooler months (I’ve read some conflicting reports on that).
Hi Maribel,
We went to Paraiso Virgin Extra Store in Jaen yesterday , but they were closed in the afternoon. We don’t have time to detour to Jaen , is there a similar store in Cordoba as we will be in the city today. Appreciate your help. By the way, both Kaleja and La cosmo were a let down , but Baga and Casa Peppe were amazing especially Baga, one of our best meal so far in this trip. Will report back when I have more time
I don’t know of a similar store in Córdoba, I’m afraid.
You might try the Club del Gourmet of the El Corte Inglés supermarket, but the olive oils will come from all over, not necessarily from the Jaén province.
Just finished our trip in Spain, continue on to Paris tomorrow
Here a quick summary of our dining adventure in Spain
- Rekondo-- our first dinner in Spain, nothing really stand out but overall food is good. Price wise is similar to the legendary Ibai but the food is 2 level below Ibai. I guess they are fame for their wine cellar and their wine list is huge and lots of premium selection. We have their famous bake crab, clam with rice, and red prawn carpaccio, We miss Ibai so much even Chef Victor at Etxebarri agreed with us that Ibai is the best, that he used to dine there every Monday. He also knew about the take over by Amelia but he isn’t so sure about the reopening.
- Ama Tolosa-- We have made a reservation for monday lunch on their website, but apparently , it was a mistake as they are not open on monday. I wish they have informed us earlier instead of waiting for the day before our reservation. Will save it for next trip
3)Kaia Kaipe— We have always wanted to compare Elkano and Kaia Kaipe, as we have been to the former but no tthe latter, we decided to give it a try since they are open on Monday ( really lack of option to dine in spain on either Sunday or Monday as most good restaurants are closed).and our Ama reservation was being cancelled. We have the same dish we had at Elkano , i.e whole grill turbot, and our conclusion is Kaia Kaipe is better and I believe it was also cheaper than Elkano, and much easy to book, as we book last minute. - Pintxos Crawl-- Bar Antonio, our favourite pintxos in SS and most consistent in quality , unlike La Chucara de San telmo, where we were wowed the first time we went and the second time was meh. Mushroom and Baby squid were in season and they were outstanding , the other nice thing is you can make reservation. Afterward, we head to Gandarias which we had never been before and were very buys.We ordered their famous prawn brochetta and red pepper stuffed with spider crab-- good. We then head on to Itxaropena which is also a new pintxos bar for us, and we have their artichoke warm salad, which is excellent and perfect finish for our pintxo crawl.
- Extebarri-- our 6th visit and we come here annually. The dinning room has been remodelled, which include a semi-private room at the main level, which we like the new design. Food have also evolved, we particular like the white truffle with smoked egg yokj ( white truffle is from alba, according to Mohammed, they got the truffle from the same producer that provide truffle to piaza duomo in alba). It was our 2nd best meal during this Spain trip.
- Las Kaleja–First half the course was mediocre at best, than the latter half of the course was more enjoyable. i feel chef Dani is trying to incorporate or emulate the acidity that is emphasized in Nordic cuisine but I don’t think he reach the level like Noma, Kadeu or DBK. Highlight is the sea bass tartarte and avocado. At least, the price is reasonable.
- Las Cosmo-- We decided to give it a try despite it was an hour drive from our hotel ( La Bobadilla) as their michelin star restaurant is closed , and the hotel will be closed for the rest of the year in 3 days. I thought the restaurant concept is focused on produce, which is not , and they seems to design their menu to famous restaurant dish , for example, the famous chocholate cake from L’ Ambroisie in paris…and etc. The iberico croquete is average, even rekondo version is much better ( which is their" free" appetizer) . Nothing memorable .
- Baga-- Our best meal in this trip to Spain. The chef is brilliant . Every dish only have two ingredient and they matched perfectly. No fancy technique. Mostly local ingredient. Outstanding dish include oyster with green pepper, white shrimp with shitake, orange and bottarga, cocconut and basil. Highly recommended and to book far in advance, as it isa tiny space and only allow 8 diner . Not to mention the best value out of the michelin start restaurant in spain we have tried.
- Casa peppe-- Great local restaurant in Jaen. Great seafood for reasonable price. We loved their signature dish – sheep brain in caserole , delicious and creamy.
- Noor-- Fancy dining room, robotic service, ok food is how I sum up my experience in this restaurant. To be honest we have better moorish food in Morocco. Their signature dish of egg yolk, with caper and caviar and special sauce ( i can’t remember) was to be honest nothing special to us.
- Los Morinos Jose-- 3rd best meal in this trip. Excellent seafood , must go for seafood lover , comparable to Bar FM in Granada in terms of quality. Unfortunately, selection is limited due to poor weather ( strong wind and rain pretty much everyday we were in Andalusia). Sea cucumber is outstanding.
- Bardal— Not sure why Ronda is packed to the brim on Saturday, can’t find a parking spot in the city centre and took an 1hr to get a parking spot far way from the city centre, even the parking garage are all full. We only like the first starter ( which is vegetable consomme with marinated egg yolk) , the rest of the meal was not memorable to us. We were more like swallowing than eating. Not sure why the meal cost more than a 2 star michelin restaurant like Noor and no fancy ingredient. Disappointed to say the least.
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Hi Erica,
There is a outdoor pool ( not heated) and indoor pool ( heated ) in La Bobadilla. The hotel close for the winter season starting from Nov 5. We did not try their restaurant, as their main ( michelin star restaurant) is closed. The hotel is pretty old and need updating, we can only recommend staying at the suite Alhambra or above ( which has been refurbished) and have the best view/vista, but you need to hike up 3 floors to get to the suite a there is no elevator in the hotel.
Thanks very much for your candid feedback about your Basque and Andalusian dining adventures, some highs, some lows.
Very glad you enjoyed Bagá in Jaén, along with Casa Pepe.
The Jaén province was richly rewarded at last night’s Michelin gala in Barcelona.
Bagá already has a Michelin star and 2 Repsol suns, but also in Jaén Michelin awarded new stars to Radis and Malak in the capital and to Valdelvira in neighboring Baeza.
Córdoba’s Noor received its 3rd star.
