Tag Archives: tapas bars

brand new wlt ott

23 Wednesday May 2018

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One of the great pleasures of running my “little sister” food tour company We Love Tapas is that I can create and develop different tapas tours. One of my favourites is the Oldest Taverns Tour. The first version of this tour included 4 bars that were all over 100 years old, but then sadly one of the bar owners passed away. The next version included 4 bars 75 – 165 years old, but it didn’t feel quite right. So this week I met with Team WLT and introduced a revamped OTT tour, which now includes visiting 5 bars, all of them over 100 years old, all family run, all fabulous. The first one is tomorrow with the amazing Delia and I’m really excited to see how it goes.  🙂

a surprise visit!

19 Saturday May 2018

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

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A delightful surprise visit from my friend José Pizarro @jose_pizarro yesterday. He is on a research trip around Andalucía and had one day (not enough!) in Sevilla. He asked me to take him and his team to a few traditional tapas bars “con solera” and I was more than happy to oblige. It was a fun and slightly crazy afternoon, and sadly I had to opt out of going to the Cathedral with them (after which they were heading to Jerez) because I had a tapas tour in the evening and needed to rest up a bit. Still, it’s always lovely to see my lovely friend.

rosario

08 Tuesday May 2018

Posted by in sevilla, spain, tapas, tapas bars

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When I first met Rosario last week I thought it would be nice to bring her the photos I took, because the bar doesn’t have a website or use social media, and when I tried showing them to her on my phone she the images were too small for her to see. Anyhow I did this today, and she loved them! And there’s that beautiful smile again. Then we got to talking about her late husband, how they met in their home village near Santander, and she also spoke about her mother (Rosario is one of 12 children), and coming to live in Sevilla over 60 years ago. Turns out Rosario is 88 and still works in Bodega San José with her children every day. An amazing woman. I’m so happy to have met her.

girl crush

30 Monday Apr 2018

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Lately I’ve been going to some very old-school tapas bars (some for the first time!). The other day I went to Bodega San José, a place I hadn’t been to for at least 15 years (!!!). As usual I got to talking with the barman and found out that the bar is 135 years and still in the same family. This is a photo of the present owners, Nicolás and his mother Rosario. It was Rosario’s father’s cousins, Rodrigo and Pablo, who founded the bar.

By the time we left I was completely in love with Rosario. Not only was she up for some photos (her son less so, but he went along), she told me about her upcoming cataract operation, saying how much she was looking forward to seeing clearly out of her left eye again, though by the way she filleted those anchovies I reckoned she could do it blindfolded. While she chatted with me she held my hands in hers and smiled that beautiful smile. Swoon…

Not surprisingly they are not on any social media, so I am going to put their Sevilla Tapas review on a PDF, print it out, and bring it to them at the bar. I think Rosario would like that.

anna & hijos

20 Tuesday Feb 2018

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The last time Anna @annalibera was in town we weren’t able to meet up, so when I found out she was coming back for a few days I was happy that we could find a time to get together. We did a short lunchtime tapeo in Porvenir, starting off at a new abacería and later going to a neighbourhood gastrobar, where we were joined by Anna’s sons Linus and León. Great company and good times. xx

support system

24 Wednesday Jan 2018

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I’ve walked past this bar many times over the years, but only went inside for the first time the other day (it was time for a quick beer o’clock). Taberna Gonzalo Molina is clearly a local favourite, apparently specialising in quails & wings and they also host live flamenco performances a couple times a week. I didn’t try the birds as I reckoned drinking out of the beer glass I was given was enough of an immune system workout for one day. But I was actually charmed by the place, and will stop by again. If it’s still standing, that is.

jeremy, karen & joe

24 Tuesday Oct 2017

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The last time I saw Jeremy @jeremyhead, Karen & Joe was almost exactly two years ago, when we met up for tapas and ended up on an impromptu Triana Tapas Tour. This time we managed to meet near the end of their week-long visit in Sevilla and had a lovely lunch at the recently renovated La Azotea Zaragoza. Good times.

phoebe

23 Monday Oct 2017

Posted by in friends, gastronomy, sevilla, sherry, tapas, tapas bars, twitter friends, wine

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Ramón & Phoebe at La Abacería Antigua de San Lorenzo

Phoebe @plemess is yet another friend I met through Twitter, but indirectly, through – yep – another Twitter friend (and now her husband) Oli @CoteDuPy. We met in person in London (August 2015) when Phoebe very generously offered to host a rooftop dinner for me in her home. So when I heard she would be visiting Sevilla I was happy to play host one afternoon and introduce her to some of my favourite tapas bars (and tapas). Phoebe is also a sherry addict like me, so I made sure we went to places that have a nice range of sherries, but I hadn’t expected to find this year’s latest bottling (autumn 2017) of Solear manzanilla pasada by Bodegas Barbadillo at La Antigua Abacería de San Lorenzo. What an extra special treat that was.

fabulous sherry and tapas at Eslava

We finished up with a penúltima at La Tienda de Azotea, by which time Phoebe’s friend had arrived in town, so she went off to meet him and I made my way home. All in all, a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Solear Autumn Saca 2017 at La Abacería Antigua de San Lorenzo

under pressure…

28 Thursday Sep 2017

Posted by in food & drink, sevilla, tapas, tapas bars

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So the other day Peter @SVQconcierge and I stopped in for a tapa on the way back from Andalucía Sabor and we were very disappointed in the quality of the fish, especially for a place that specializes in salt cod. It was tough and chewy, not nice at all. I mentioned it to the waiter and he said he’d let them know in the kitchen. Meh. We paid and left.

Later I  posted the photo on Instagram, mentioning how disappointing the tapas had been. Next day I got a call from the owner of the bar pleading with me to “modify” the post – he was clearly very upset that I hadn’t spoken to him first, and feared this negative post would affect his business. Well, first of all, the post was in English and the majority of my followers are not locals. Secondly, well, it was my opinion. I don’t often post a negative comment about places, but this experience had annoyed me.

After a second call from the bar owner I decided to just delete the post. It wasn’t worth “modifying” and I didn’t want to be pestered anymore, though afterwards I felt a bit annoyed with myself that I caved. Had it been a Sevilla Tapas review I wouldn’t have changed a word, but I’m still not sure I did the right thing.

Anyhow, after deleting the post the bar owner called me again, thanking me, and saying I would be invited to their next “new menu” tasting. Uh… no thanks.