World Tapas Day: We're in the perfect place!
In honour of World Tapas Day on June 16th, We - the interns - got our heads together and came up with our favourite tapas spots around city.
1. Café Piola (Alameda de Hercules)
Café Piola does serve nice tapas but we are actually recommending them for their breakfasts! First meal of the day so first on the list. They do a fantastic range of breakfast options and many different varieties of tostada toppings – including but not limited to a nice range for vegetarians and vegans. Our favourite however, is the plain and simple Tostada con tomate, with a smooth café con leche. Perfect.
2. 100 Montaditos (All around the city...)
100 Montaditos is an institution in Spain. If you’ve ever spent time in Spain before you most likely already know it. A montadito is a little mini-sandwhich, and 100 montaditos does a massive menu of them. Their restaurants are always a little rough and ready, but the taste of the montaditos and the prices more than make up for that! The majority of the montaditos are as little as €1 or a few cents over. And on Wednesdays and Sundays the whole menu is just €1 solo! …….Not that you’d ever know we just poor Erasmus students……..
From the menu we recommend: the calamari and mayonnaise, the salmon and goats cheese, and the goats cheese and pesto.
3. Bar Antojo (Just off the Alameda de Hercules)
Bar Antojo is one of our top places for good tapas. It's found in the Alameda de Hercules, so super-convenient location. The interior is sleek and stylish, making for a nice change from the more common style of down-to-earth tapas bars in Seville! They have a really good mix of traditional tapas dishes and some creative ones of their own. :D
From the menu we recommend: the croquetas, the mini-burger and the chocolate torta……….
Taberna Alambique (Plaza de la Alfalfa)
Taberna Alambique is actually a chain that has branches in various cities in Spain, but that doesn’t matter at all, as the food is always lovely. The Seville branch is in Plaza Alfalfa, which is a favourite haunt of students at night time thanks to the cheap drinks and the super-central location. In the day time it’s just a lovely chilled out plaza to relax in!
From the menu we recommend: the fried camembert, the foie tostada, the mushroom croquettes, and last but NOT least, the patatas Alioili which are the best we’ve found in Seville.
5. La Locanda de Andrea (Calle Feria)
La Locanda de Andrea is one of many Italian restaurants in Seville, and we have to admit that we haven’t tried THAT many of them. But this place is very sweet and has a lovely cosy area at the back for when you want that nice restaurant-y feel, but only pay tapas-type prices! They have a great menu with lots of variety (as long as you like pasta!) and have a huge selection of bread starters or sides which are big enough to share but very well priced! We shared the pitta version of the ‘Italia’, and it was totally delicious.
From the menu we recommend: The ‘italia’ bread starter (but the others are probably also as tasty!), the spaghetti bolognaise which is especially nice, and the Nero D’avola wine, if you’re a red wine fan.
El Pasaje (Pasaje de Vila, Barrio Santa Cruz)
El Pasaje is a lovely little tapas bar tucked into the heart of Bario Santa Cruz (the Jewish Quarter), on the corner of Pasaje de Vila (hence the bar’s name). We discovered it by accident as it just looked really nice and there was an outside table available as we walked past, but it turns out that a number of local hotels recommend it to their guests! We recommend sitting inside for once, but by a window; that way you get the bubble of outdoor chatter and the breeze, but without crowds of tourists walking past you!
From the menu we recommend: the mushroom risotto (delectable!) and the inés rosales with avocado and salmon; inés rosales are a local Spanish type of biscuit that are very popular around and about Seville.
7. Bar Koala (Calle Jose Diaz - at the end of Avenida Sanchez Pizjuan)
Koala is last on this list as we wanted to save the best till last! It’s a genuine hidden gem discovered by Katie, one of our two interns at the food bank and English teaching programme. None of us can get enough of this place. It’s genuinely local, cheap and cheerful – yet the food is simply fantastic. And it’s under 5 minutes walk from where we all live! It’s nicest to sit outside, but you’re better off arriving before 8:30 to snag a table before it gets busy. Inside, if you look up, the walls are lined with stuffed koala teddies.
From the menu we recommend: the rulo de cabra. (fried goats cheese). It’s without doubt the best we’ve tasted in Seville. Also the grilled vegetables, the tortillitas de camarones, or the tortillitas de esparragos. All are under €3!
