It’s been a while but Paul is back in town and so tapitas and sherry were in order, as well as the obligatory Penúltima. Good times.
paul’s back!
01 Friday Jul 2022
Posted friends, tapas, tapas bars
in01 Friday Jul 2022
Posted friends, tapas, tapas bars
in21 Tuesday Jun 2022
Posted restaurants, sevilla, tapas, tapas bars
inTags
A couple of weeks ago I ran into a friend of mine enjoying snails outside a very popular snail bar (they’re in season now) and he was with a pal who happened to be a chef at a restaurant I wrote a rather scathing review about a few years ago (2013, this chef wasn’t there at that time). Anyhoodle, I took a pic of them and posted it on my Instagram and the next day got a message from the new owner of this place, asking me if I’d like to come and have a meal to see if I might enjoy it better than last time. I said sure, I mean why not, and then asked if I could bring a friend. And so I brought my friend Fourat with me, the same person who had been with me at that last disastrous meal back in 2013, it just seemed fitting. Fourat thought so too.
So today we showed up for lunch and it was lovely. Since Covid the new management (brother and sister team) has redone the whole place, including the menu, which now has a few Peruvian influenced dishes as Pedro has spent years in Peru running a restaurant there. It looked like a very interesting menu.
Gotta say, the main ISSUE of the previous visit had been the absolutely appalling and frankly rude service. It was only when I saw Fourat’s jaw drop open at one point after an especially rude bit that I knew I wasn’t just being over sensitive. We paid. We left. We never went back. Because you can have the best food in the world (and trust me, this wasn’t that) but if the service sucks then so does the entire experience.
Of course today we were going to get the VIP treatment, so I was mostly focused on the food. Which was excellent. Original takes on traditional dishes, the aforementioned Peruvian ones, lovely lemon and cava sorbet for dessert, all of which left us wanting to come back and try more. I really appreciate that Pedro got in touch because of course things change and he gave me – and Fourat – the chance to take another look.
26 Thursday May 2022
Posted friends, sevilla, tapas, tapas bars, tourism
inMy old pal Marcello @marcellobrito from Brazil is back in town for a travel fair and so of course I took him out on a tapeo. We can’t remember if it’s been 10 or 12 years since we last saw each other but in the end it doesn’t matter because it feels like just yesterday. Good times.
18 Wednesday May 2022
Posted sevilla, tapas bars
inTags
Estimados camareros
Por favor, no lleve vasos de agua o cerveza a las mesas de esta manera. A nadie le gusta.
Atentamente
Todo el mundo 🍻Dear waiters
Please do not carry glasses of water or beer to tables this way. Nobody likes it.
Yours truly
Everybody🍻
It really should be a no-brainer because I mean WTAF? For the record the above photo is a “re-enactment” by Peter after our waiter brought our water glasses to the table like this. Even though his other hand was free. And like… gaaaahhh. I mean, these guys go on to pick up dirty plates and glasses, give tables a wipe with the icky yellow cloth and then keep serving food without washing their hands. The LEAST they can do is not smear the rim of your drinking glass with whatever gack is stuck to their hands. Sadly still a not infrequent occurrence here in Sevilla.
19 Tuesday Apr 2022
Posted sevilla, tapas bars, tapas tours
inIt’s always lovely when people return to Sevilla and the first thing they want to do is get together again. Last weekend I had another tour with Dave & Kate, who had been out with me in 2015, and then today I went out with another “repeat couple” (from 2014), Liliana & Doug. Then Jack & Thomas got in touch, who had been on a tour with me in 2013 and are coming back for more in July. Must be doing something right!