Restaurants in Seville
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Bodega Santa Cruz
Forever crowded and with a mountain of paper on the floor, this place is usually standing room only, with tapas and drinks enjoyed alfresco as you dodge the marching army of tourists squeezing through Santa Cruz’ narrow streets.
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Los Coloniales
The quiet ones are always the best. It might not look like much from the outside, but take it on trust that Los Coloniales is something very special. The quality plates line up like models on a cat walk: chorizo a la Asturiana, a divine spicy sausage in an onion sauce served on a bed of lightly fried potato; eggplants in honey; and pork tenderloin al whiskey (a whiskey-flavoured sauce).
There is another inferior, more touristy branch, Taberna Los Coloniales, near the cathedral.
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Vinería San Telmo
San Telmo invented the rascocielo (skyscraper) tapa, an 'Empire State' of tomatoes, aubergine, goat's cheese and smoked salmon. If this and other creative nuggets such as foie gras with quails eggs and lychees, or exquisitely cooked bricks of tuna don’t make you drool with expectation then you’re probably dead.
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Restaurante San Marco
Once a place with a cult following for its pasta and pizza, nowadays San Marco's produces average Italian food. The setting of this particular branch is wonderful though, in a large refurbished Arabic bath. Try a plate of penne all'Arrabbiata and a glass of frosty white wine.
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Café Alianza
Old-fashioned street lights, a trickling fountain and colourful wall plants make this small plaza a charming place to relax with a coffee, and Café Alianza is positioned perfectly for just that. Its tapas nibbles are also good.
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El Patio San Eloy
Patches of old tiling remain at the always-busy Patio San Eloy, where you can sit on the tiled steps at the back and feast on a fine array of burguillos (small filled rolls).
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El Rinconcillo
Seville’s oldest bar first opened in 1670 and has been dishing out the goods since before many countries were even a twinkle in someone’s eye. Time has allowed this place to build up an impressive range of little morsels; though to be fair you do probably come here more for the sense of history than for the food. However, the ortiguillas fritas (fried sea anemones) are memorable for all the right reasons and it serves the biggest olives you’ve ever seen.
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Bar Europa
Up there with the best of the best, this neighbourhood institution serves tapas so exciting they’ve won awards for several years in a row. The highly unusual, and rather tasty, quesadilla los balanchares gratinada sobre manzana was voted the most innovative tapa in 2006. This beauty of the menu involves turning a boring old Granny Smith apple into a taste sensation by covering it in goat's cheese and laying it on a bed of strawberries.
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Mesón Serranito
Vegetarians steer clear: this place is dangerously close to the bullring and has tasty bull’s tail on the menu to go with the less tasty bulls’ heads hanging on the wall – next to pictures of the final few seconds of their lives.
It also specialises in the serranito, a Spanish gastronomic institution consisting of a slice of toasted bread heaped with a pork fillet, roasted pepper, a nice bit of jamón and garlic.
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Álvaro Peregil
In terms of decoration, this tiny bar has not much more than garlic bunches hanging overhead and a trio of wooden tables outside to rest your tapas on. It's situated near the cathedral in a row of rarely empty bars the kitchens of which never seem to shut (good for hypoglycemic northern Europeans unaccustomed to late dinners).
Most of the good stuff comes on a skewer, including chicken, scallops and prawns. You're encouraged to wash it all down with some local manzanilla sherry.
reviewed
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Restaurante La Albahaca
Gastronomic inventions are the mainstay of this swish restaurant. Housed inside an imposing building with massive studded doors, it looks as if a trip here may break the bank, but the lunchtime menú del día (daily set menu) is, in fact, a really great deal.
Try the pork trotter with mushroom, young garlic and pea mousse (essentially just a posh version of mushy peas) or the rabbit stew.
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Horno de San Buenaventura
There are actually two of these gilded pastry/coffee/snack bars in Seville, one here in Avenida de la Constitución opposite the cathedral and the other (inferior one) at the Plaza de la Alfalfa. All kinds of fare are on show though it’s probably best enjoyed for its lazy continental breakfasts (yes, the service can be slow) or a spontaneous late-night cake fix.
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Restaurant San Fernando
The posh Sevillan crowd comes to eat at Hotel Alfonso XIII's restaurant, so slick your hair back and don your best gown if you want to fit in. Haute cuisine is at its hautest here, and dishes like guinea fowl with grated potatoes and sautéed chanterelle mushrooms are served with a tidy, self-conscious presentation. Most importantly, they taste good.
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Casa Robles
The dizzily bright lights of the restaurants north of the cathedral function to attract and trap buzzing sightseers, so be prepared. One good option is Casa Robles, an upmarket choice that prides itself on its natural food and elegantly styled restaurant. Its dishes, which range from braised bulls' tails to seasonal salads, are beautifully presented.
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Horno de San Buenadventura
There are actually two of these gilded pastry/coffee/snack bars in Seville, one here in Plaza de Alfalfa and the other opposite the cathedral. All kinds of fare are on show, though it’s probably best enjoyed for its lazy continental breakfasts (yes, the service can be slow) or a spontaneous late-night cake fix.
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Mesón de la Infanta
If you like your tapas with a touch of class and a glass of cool sherry, indulge in innovative, well-presented dishes at this sevillano favourite. While eating you can ponder the purpose of the tins of peas and jars of jam lined up on the shelves – see if you can solve the mystery!
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Bar Alfalfa
It’s amazing how many people, hams, wine bottles and knick-knacks you can stuff into such a small space. No matter, order through the window when the going gets crowded. You won’t forget the tomato-tinged magnificence of the Italy-meets-Iberia salmorejo bruschetta.
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Casa Tomate
A newish place in an old building decorated with art deco feria posters, Tomate cares more about satisfying the palates of locals than making a fast buck off tourists. The waiters recommend the garlic prawns and the pork sirloin in a white-wine-and-pine-nut sauce. The waiters are right.
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Café-Bar Campanario
A hotchpotch of tapas favourites can be found here, including the cornerstone of Spanish cuisine, the tortilla de patata (Spanish omelette), aubergines with cheese and divine croquettes with ham and bechamel. Unlike most of the old bars it has an airy feel.
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Café de la Prensa
Tapas were surely invented to be enjoyed next to the river on Triana's ebullient Calle del Betis with the Giralda beckoning in the background. It would be heresy to try anything but the fish here, preferably dipped in chickpea flour and briefly fried in olive oil.
reviewed
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Baco
If you’ve enjoyed sampling the food that much (and who hasn’t?) then you can take some of it home with you from this wonderful deli stocked with quality local food products such as olives and olive oil, jamón, cheeses and bacalao (salted cod).
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Robles Laredo
This small Italianate cafe-restaurant is fairly dwarfed by its two huge chandeliers and a vast collection of delicate desserts displayed in glass cases. The tapas are equally refined. Try the foie gras, beef burgers with truffle sauce, or oysters and whitebait.
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Ristorante Cosa Nostra
Forget the Mafiosi nameplate, this is the best Italian food in Seville and well worth crossing the river for. The pizzas are spun in front of your eyes and the rich creamy risottos ought to have every paella chef in the city looking over their shoulder.
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Taberna Los Terceros
It might lack the visual ‘stop dead in your tracks’ look of the nearby El Rinconcillo, but more than a few people say it tops its neighbour for taste. Plus it has a younger, more bohemian clientele. Snails (caracoles) are the house special.
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Catalina
If your view of tapas is that they're ‘glorified bar snacks,’ then your ideas could be blown out of the water here, with a creative mix of just about every ingredient known to Iberian cooking. Start with the cheese, eggplant and paprika special.
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