15 Tuesday Oct 2024
Posted in friends, gastronomy, restaurants, sevilla
My friend Fourat has just opened a restaurant literally a stones throw from my balcony. Stopped in for a first quick visit and omg it’s fabulous. Lebanese food, full of flavour and textures… as soon as you walk in you are enveloped in the fragrant aroma of all the gorgeous spices. Also beautiful décor designed by Fourat. Review coming soon on Sevilla Tapas.
09 Wednesday Oct 2024
Posted in gastronomy, restaurants, sevilla
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When it comes to choosing an emblematic image for Sevilla it has to be the orange. The more than 40,000 orange trees lining the streets and squares throughout the city provide both shade and beauty, and for those few glorious weeks in early spring the air is filled with the delicate scent of azahar when the trees are in blossom.
The Sevilla Hotel Association’s 23rd Jornadas Gastronómicas will take place October 10th to November 10th with 29 establishments participating with a special dish or menu paying homage to the Sevilla Orange.
25 Wednesday Sep 2024
Posted in restaurants, sevilla, tapas bars
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After Monday’s GP visit we decided to stop for a quick Beer O’clock at Los Claveles, a very popular traditional bar that just happened to be half-way between the health centre and the bus stop home. After scoring a table in front of the large open windows we decided to stay for lunch, since it was actually lunchtime by then and I hadn’t updated their review on Sevilla Tapas since 2015 (!).
Anyhow, the tables were all set up with these pretty fish plates and when I asked our waiter where they came from he said he had bought them at a little shop in Marbella. Dang. But later on, after paying I went up to the bar and cheekily asked if I could buy a couple of the plates… then was totally surprised when the owner told his son “just give them to her!”. Score! I mean I was happy to pay for them, but it was a lovely gesture on their part.
This reminded me of many bar owners I know who “lose” their glasses, plates, cutlery on a daily basis because of assholes who want a “souvenir”. One bar I know lost two dozen monogrammed sherry glasses on one night when a bunch of drunken tourists decided to take them home and got away before the staff noticed. I also know a michelin starred place that had to change their fabulous cutlery because clients were making off with sets of them. Wtf guys… JUST ASK. Often the bar is happy to let you have the item(s) at cost price, and sometimes, yes, as a free souvenir. But just taking them… well, that’s stealing isn’t it. Show a bit of respect.
12 Thursday Sep 2024
Posted in gastronomy, restaurants, sevilla
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Well this could also describe my lovely friend Reyes but in this case it also describes the VERY BEST hake I have ever tasted in my life. No kidding. Reyes and I were out having an early celebration lunch for my Sevilla 31st Anniversary (coming up this Monday but I’ll be stuck in an MRI machine, hence the early celebration). Anyhow… we went to try our pal Iván’s original Ivantxu Espacio Bistronómico (having previously gone to his new restaurant La Carmela) and we weren’t disappointed. We were also smart enough to let Iván choose our dishes and when he said – you MUST try the hake – we did. And I mean, I like hake but I did not expect this. Pan-grilled line-caught hake served with a gazillion slivers of sweet garlic and “pan potatoes”. None of these words actually describe this dish. The hake was lightly seared, tender yet still firm, the garlic caramalised and melty and those fucking potatoes. One of the most simple dishes – santurce style, look it up – but in the deft hands of Iván turned into something magical. Later Reyes said that she was going to think about this hake for the rest of her life, and well, me too.
Ivantxu review coming soon on Sevilla Tapas
25 Tuesday Jun 2024
Posted in gastronomy, restaurants, sevilla, twitter, twitter friends
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Got to meet another Twitter pal in person over the weekend. Michele @mneylon is a world-travelling food-loving guy from Ireland and we’ve known each other virtually for YEARS. And then all of a sudden he was in Sevilla! So we met up for lunch. When Michele mentioned he’d like some seafood I knew we had to go to Salmedina. I mean, I go there a lot both on my own and on my tapas tours, but it’s always fun to go with someone who really knows and appreciates good food.
Our waiter recommended the “pez tambor” in tempura and… he was so right! I’d never heard of this fish before, which is found on the Cádiz coast. Toothy little guy, also very toothsome, with firm sweet flesh in light crispy batter. Michele also made sure to get all the goodness out of the head (cheeks etc) but before taking it away our waiter pointed out that there was still some good eating from behind the eyes, and Michele happily followed instructions.
That evening I suggested that Michele go to another of my favourite spots, Augurio, and so he went with two friends and, well, raved about it. There are other excellent new restaurants in town but to me Augurio is THE opening of 2024 (even though we’re still in June I feel safe saying this). Anyhow, great to meet Michele and I hope he’ll be back again before too long.
casa azahar 