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After years of “meaning to go” to Abantal, Sevilla’s only Michelin star restaurant, I decided that my 60th birthday was a good excuse for a decadent splash out meal. I’ve known chef Julio for many years, and even worked with him on the Turismo Sevilla tapas app, so I was looking forward to finally trying out his place.
We did the tasting menu – descriptions are below, and you can click on the photo above to enlarge the image…
- razor clam with cauliflower cream on fried wonton
- garlic soup with egg yolk and seta foam
- quisquilla (prawn) carpaccio with seaweed and artichoke pilpil
- red tuna galette, orange escabeche, cucumber granita and mint foam
- seasonal mushrooms, sopa morisca purée, truffled egg yolk, onion bizcocho
- confit cod with spinach and garbanzo purées
- presa Ibérica with truffled pumpkin cream, grapefruit, lime
- passionfruit creme with mint granita and chocolate
- orange wine zabayon, torta de aceite, mandarin, cinnamon
This was my second Michelin experience. The first was pretty much a disaster at the JC García Restaurant in Málaga, also a 1-star like Abantal. This time the experience was actually quite pleasant, with excellent service. But the food was somehow lacking. Nothing was terrible (as at JCG) but nothing was exceptional either. Still, it was a lovely afternoon and a very nice birthday present – thank you Peter!
So no more fairy lights in the orange trees… well, until next December anyhow. The Three Kings came last night and today (Epiphany / Twelfth Night) marks the end of the holiday season. But it is also BIRTHDAY EVE! And boy am I ever excited. 🙂
I have been thinking about where to go for a big 60th BIRTHDAY TRIP, since I reckoned that making it to my 7th decade on January 7th was indeed something to celebrate. But my first choice (San Sebastián) fell though because my friend Gabriella is going to be away all month, and one of the main highlights of going to SS would be to hang out with G. And then I thought about Lisbon, but direct flights are difficult to find, so I may hold out on that one until I can go by car. Also, both places are iffy weather-wise in January, especially as I was planning to spend a week wherever I went, and a week in the rain anywhere would not be pleasant.
casa azahar 