After five years of running the Sevilla Tapas blog and more than two years doing the Tapas Tours, I’ve been wondering lately if I might be getting a bit jaded.

Sure, a plate of perfectly sliced jamón Ibérico de bellota is still an exquisite thing of beauty to me, and I continue to enjoy trying new places and dishes, but more often than not these days I end up feeling a bit let down. Could it be me?

NAAAH! It’s them! Seriously, I am getting so sick and tired of tapas bars that open up out of nowhere and think that just because they have light fixtures made out of coat hangers or bring your cutlery to the table in a Hello Kitty pencil case that this somehow allows them to charge you outrageous prices for ordinary food (the 5€ tapa is becoming the norm in such places), and then add a mysterious “cubierto” charge that can include anything from bread to napkins to who knows what. In spite of the economic crisis here, new tapas bars seem to be opening every week and most of the new ones are trying to “out cute” each other, focusing more on style than substance.

Very glad now that I changed my reviewing policy back in January as it seems that more than ever people should be warned about these places. Frankly, there are very few (maybe two) tapas bars in Seville that can get away with charging 5€ for a tapa. The rest are just bullshit. And it’s spoiling what going out for a tapa is really all about. It’s about meeting friends, or even just going out for a quick bite on your own, knowing you’ll get a nice snack and a drink that is more often than not cheaper than what you could have whipped up at home.

Is this sort of pretentious dining trend happening where you live too?