Category Archives: birthdays

julie & steve are back!

21 Wednesday Jan 2026

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After seven long years these two lovelies are back in town. Briefly. They’ve been spending the month in Málaga but popped up to Sevilla for a quick visit. And what a time we had… a belated birthday lunch at Augurio. A perfect way to spend a cold, rainy January afternoon, with good friends, good food, and some rather spectacular wines…

Thanks so much for coming up for a visit and for treating me to a magnificent meal. Glad you got to meet Carmen too. We were a trio of mandonas but somehow Steven survived. Come back soon! xx

Carmen, Steven & Julie

lunch with lucy

15 Thursday Jan 2026

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Lucy and I have birthdays a day apart (me Jan 7, Lucy Jan 8) and so we always try to get together during January to for a birthday lunch. This time we went to La Casa del Tigre and it couldn’t have been better. Some fizz to start then a wonderful starter (mini brioche filled with manteca colorá), a gorgeous seasonal mushroom dish (chanterelles, níscolas, lengua de buey) with egg yolk and shaved truffles, THOSE confit patatas bravas and a super tender (monster) angus beef rib. We had a great time catching up. Wonderful wine, fab food, lovely company… a good day.

lovely lovely jaylu

08 Thursday Jan 2026

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I had booked our spot at the bar with Ana on Whatsapp. Her grandfather was of the founder of Jaylu and she works at the restaurant now with her father Enrique. We were the first to arrive and once seated they didn’t give me a menu, instead waiters Manuel and José just kept suggesting things to try. They know I prefer tapas to main courses, so that I get to taste more things. But first a glass of fizz (Torelló corpinnat)! Then I ordered a bottle of my favourite verdejo by Ossian. Heaven. And during the next two hours we enjoyed dish after dish, finishing with a superb marantona cheese that I’d never had before and a chupito of orujo blanco from Galicia. These were the dishes…

✨Cantabrian anchovies on tomato with evoo and balsamic
✨Confit tuna belly
✨Confit corvina morillo
✨Yellow cherry tom salmorejo
✨Breaded prawns
✨Marantona cheese
✨Warm olive oil bread

I got the team to pose for a family photo and struck up a conversation with two women who were also sitting at the bar. It was clear they were good friends with Enrique and Ana. And one of them said to me, hey I know you, we met at Bodega Góngora a while ago. It’s a small world. Turns out she was there with her husband that day and they thought we were tourists, so I informed her that I was the Queen of Tapas and gave her my card. Do I remember that? Of course not. But it was a fun coincidence. And I guess that’s it until next year. I love this place so much. Now I have to go and update Jaylu’s page on Sevilla Tapas…

my birthday! wtf I’m 69?

07 Wednesday Jan 2026

Posted by in birthdays, casa azahar, home

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It was a fun day, though of course I tend to do Birthday Week. In fact, I started off Birthday Eve yesterday with a lovely bottle of cava at home and my two final birthday lunches have been booked for January 20th and 21st, so that’ll make it two weeks long this year. 

Since my friend Fourat opened her fabulous Beirutina around the corner from my house I’ve been able to revive the Birthday Baclava Breakfast tradition, which began years ago on a birthday trip to Granada. I’m not actually a fan of sweet things, or even breakfast, but these crispy nut-and-honey-filled pastries are somehow perfection with a cup of hot coffee. Once a year.

Lunch was at Jaylu, a more recent birthday tradition. It’s spendy AF but Peter treats me to lunch to make up for being a Christman grinch and this is how I exact my revenge 😇.  My favourite spot there is sitting at the bar having amazing (and amazingly expensive) tapas, rather than do the full-on meal in the dining room. I get to chat to the staff and even other people at the bar. Always fun. Lunch pics mañana…