Category Archives: restaurants

shawn of the bread update

28 Friday Feb 2020

Posted by in restaurants, sevilla, tapas bars

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It’s been almost five years since I was dubbed Shawn of the Bread by my friends Anna & Jorge @guitianmayer, due to my continuing battle against the unfair – and illegal – bread/service charges that first appeared on menus in Sevilla sometime around 2010-2012. I was reminded of this yesterday when Lucy @sparkybakewell & I were out for a drink at our new favourite “penúltima bar” and decided to have a snack. And there it was.

Even though we had sent back the unasked for bread basket we were charged 1€ per person for “service”. Well, they tried to charge us. When I explained to the waiter (lovely young woman really, wasn’t her fault) she took the charge off the bill and instead we left the 2€ as a tip. Because that “service” charge never goes to the staff. It’s simply a way of making extra money – illegally – for doing absolutely nothing. Like an admission fee. Not right. And they count on people not knowing it’s illegal, and also that they won’t make a fuss about it. But they never count on me.  😉

The regulations for this are clearly stated here…
Obligaciones de bares, restaurantes y cafeterías

Los servicios no solicitados no se pueden cobrar. Tampoco se pueden cobrar conceptos como, por ejemplo, reservas, cubierto o mesa.

fall in love with sevilla

04 Tuesday Feb 2020

Posted by in events, food & drink, gastronomy, restaurants, sevilla, sherry

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chef Jorge Manfredi with Pedro Sánchez-Cuerda, director of Grupo La Raza

Enamórate de Sevilla (Fall In Love with Sevilla) is the name of the latest tasting menu being offered at Ispal (Grupo La Raza) created by their new chef Jorge Manfredi. I had been invited to try the original tasting menu when Ispal first opened in 2018 and while they have kept about 30% of the previous chef’s menu, the rest is new by Manfredi. Also new is a much expanded wine list, which now boasts over 400 Andalusian wines.

It’s a “kilometre 0” menu, with locally sourced products and reinterpreted dishes that are based on traditional Sevilliano recipes, and is divided into four parts: Vamos de Tapeo!, Vámanos a la Feria, Paseo por Sevilla and Desserts. We started off with a vermouth cocktail and had some wonderful wine pairings throughout.

The tasting menu is 59€ per person, 89€ with wine pairing and 109€ with the premium wine pairing. For more information have a look at their website. Photos of the meal below…

Restaurante Ispal


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an unexpected feast

19 Tuesday Nov 2019

Posted by in food & drink, friends, gastronomy, restaurants, sevilla, sherry, tapas, tapas bars

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So there I was yesterday morning, settling in for a morning of writing with plans to take my WALK after lunch, when I got a message from my friend Gabriella (AKA Shawn of the North) that she and some friends were coming to town. That day. For lunch. In fact, she was texting me from the runway at Bilbao airport and wanted to know if I could recommend somewhere nice where they could eat before heading to Jerez. Tricky as they would be arriving when most (good) bars and restaurants close for the afternoon, and on top of that it was a Monday, but I knew La Antigua Abacería de San Lorenzo would be the perfect choice. And it was.

I was also invited to join them! Gabriella’s friends were a group of six, winemakers and tour operators from Rioja, so we hit it off right away. We opted for Lo Que Diga Ramón (What Ramón Says), a set menu that Ramón makes up as he goes along, and I paired our dishes with different sherry wines, giving the group a bit of sherry education before they hit Jerez. I also recommended that they eat at Mantúa while there, so they will be doing that tonight.

Needless to say I didn’t get any more work done that day. Nor did I take my walk. By the time we said our goodbyes (7-ish?) I knew I had a serious date with my comfy chair, Netflix and the cats. What a great day though!  🙂

Ramón & Carmen with son Ignacio

juan antonio

21 Saturday Sep 2019

Posted by in restaurants, sevilla, tapas, tapas bars

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This seems to be my week for meeting charming elderly gentlemen. I went to update my review of Bodega San Lorenzo after hearing that it was under new management. Happily the interior of this venerable bar, founded in 1864, has remained visually the same after a bit of sprucing up (and nice new bathrooms!), along with a few changes to the menu, notably a more complete wine list.

Anyhow, while I was there waiting for my friend Lucy to join me I took some photos and ended up talking with Juan Antonio, who was enjoying a midday vermouth while reading his paper.  In a very short while I learned that he is 78 (his birthday was two days ago), has lived in the barrio for 25 years, lives alone but has a daughter who looks in on him daily, and we also touched on other topics such as exchanging birthday gifts El Corte Inglés, compression socks, knees (his are much better now, mine not so much), to mention a few. Such a lovely man!

When Lucy arrived we tried a couple of snacky things before heading to our main lunch spot, but I will definitely be back to San Lorenzo to sample more of the menu. Around midday, so that I might run into Juan Antonio again. 🙂

anniversary lunch at la cochera

17 Tuesday Sep 2019

Posted by in andalucia, food & drink, friends, restaurants, sevilla

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Part of the “problem” with having a birthday or anniversary fall on a Monday is that a lot of my favourite bars and restaurants are closed that day. I mean, I didn’t do too badly yesterday, hitting up 6 bars (2 on my own, 4 with my friend Corinna) but I had been hoping for a proper celebratory lunch. And then the lovely Cinta got in touch and invited me for an anniversary lunch today at her bistro La Cochera del Abuelo. So I thought what the hell, if I can have Birthday Week (or Month) then I could also do Anniversary Week. Plus I had bought a ticket for a Kiko Veneno concert at the gorgeous Lope de Vega theatre tonight, so all in all it seemed like a perfect day.

When Cinta joined forces with chef Bosco Benitez Ruíz del Pozo earlier this year, La Cochera went from being an events venue to a restaurant offering set tasting menus four evenings a week. A more recent change saw La Cochera grow into being a full-time restaurant with a bistro menu, which I have been wanting to try.

Everything was fabulous, as you can see, and it really was a perfect place to continue celebrating. Last year I had talked with Cinta about booking La Cochera to host a 25th anniversary party, but then things got busy and I didn’t get it organised in time. So I think I’ll wait now and – fingers crossed! – celebrate my 30th anniversary here.

Off to the concert soon! More on that tomorrow.