Author Archives: azahar

fixed it!

11 Monday Sep 2023

Posted by in architecture, history, sevilla

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, ,

balbuena huertas

Or rather, Paul fixed it for me. Remember my fabulous tasting menu at Balbuena y Huertas last week? I mentioned that the restaurant is housed in a rather splendid 5 Star GL boutique hotel (opening soon). However, when they renovated the building, which was built in 1924/25, they left up an antique ceramic tile ad that is, well, frankly racist. I always put a photo of the outside of bars and restaurants in my reviews but really didn’t want to lead with a pic of the offending tiles and so… Paul to the rescue.

In fact, Fiona and I had a talk with the chef about this after our meal the other day but he said that old tiles like this are protected and cannot be removed. And he’s right. But they can be covered up as long as the original tiles aren’t damaged (I’ve seen this done in various places around town). So we shall see.

Continue reading →

katie & paul

08 Friday Sep 2023

Posted by in food & drink, friends, instagram, social media, twitter, twitter friends

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, ,

katie me (3)

So this was lovely! The other day a mutual Twitter/Instagram pal hooked Katie @bowlandandbay and me up as she and her partner Paul were in town for a few days. We met today – their last day – for a quick sherry at Manolo Cateca, which ended up segueing into a fun sherry filled afternoon, finishing up at Palo Cortao for lunch. Another great social media connection (I still love Twitter for this!) and new foodie friends.

katie me

Katie runs food adventures in Lancashire UK so if you’re in the area look her up.

Bowland & Bay

balbuena y huertas

07 Thursday Sep 2023

Posted by in food & drink, gastronomy, instagram, restaurants, sevilla

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , ,

balbuena huertas (1)

Not my usual Wednesday! José Luis Pastrana, chef at brand new Balbuena y Huertas in the soon to be opened Cavalta Boutique Hotel (5 Star GL), got in touch on Instagram to ask if I would like to try their tasting menu. And so after the usual clarification that I don’t accept invitations in exchange for publicity (fine by José Luis, he said he preferred it that way) I asked pal Fiona Flores if she wanted to join me. Lately we’ve become quite a good team when it comes to visiting new restaurants, hotels, etc.

The meal, as you can see below, was quite spectacular and lunch lasted until almost 6 pm, after which we were given a tour of the hotel, which is set to open in a couple of weeks. The six-course tasting menu is actually very good value at 38€ (53€ with wine pairing). The meat course was swapped with tuna for pescatarian Fiona and were given a few cocktails too, with and without alcohol. It was a fabulous experience and so I am happy to do a review for them soon on my website. Have a look…

Continue reading →