Balandro

Posted on December 5, 2014 by Shawn

The last few of times I’ve been to Cádiz I’ve passed up on the opportunity to pay a first visit to Balandro, despite the fact that it came recommended and well-reviewed, and seems to be well-frequented, but this time I felt I could no longer evade my responsibilities. In the end, it turned out pretty much as I expected. The U-shaped bar and main dining area are in a slick modern style, and pleasant enough, but seem lacking in real warmth and personality. The staff likewise.

The menu was typical gastrobar – more style than substance – and a menu this long (you order by number) makes me think that there’s bought in, pre-prepared food involved. The tapas we had were good enough, but I didn’t find that “something special” that would bring me back. In the last analysis, if you like this trendy style of “concept” bar, you’ll like Balandro. If, like me, you usually prefer something with more character, this isn’t for you.

Alameda de Apodaca, 22
Cádiz
Tel 956 220 992
€ € € €

Food7 | Wine 7 | Service 6 | Ambiance 6

balandro (3)
balandro filo cheese bacon filo with cheese and bacon

balandro lubina sea bass in “tempura” with rice noodles and stir-fried veg
in a mess of store bought “Asian” sauces.

order-by-number menu

balandro (2)

El Tres

Posted on November 20, 2014 by Shawn

el tres

El Tres is the newest venture of the Gorki Group, which has several differently-themed restaurants and bars in Málaga. El Tres is their “classic haute cuisine” spot and local chef Rosa Serrano has created a menu that blends Spanish, Basque and French influences.

The restaurant in smack in the centre of Málaga and is tastefully decorated with a small terrace outside. Aside from the regular menu there are a couple of tasting menus available, which seem to be good value for money. As I was with four serious foodie friends we opted to order several media raciones from the a la carte menu and share them (tapas style!). It was a fun way to try what appealed to us rather than sticking to a set tasting menu. My favourites were the smoked eel terrine, octopus & rabbit smoked rice, and crispy skin cochinillo.

Service was terrific and we enjoyed a few wines from the very well thought out list. It was an altogether lovely experience sharing great food with dear friends. Only downer was getting our bill and finding a 2.50€ PER PERSON “service charge”… 12.50€ for the five of us. What? When will restaurants get that they should factor in these fixed costs (napkins, table cloths… toilet paper?) and not tackily tack them on after the end of an already pricey meal. It leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

Strachan 7
Málaga
Tel 952 223 364
€ € € € €

Food 9 | Wine 8 | Service 8 | Ambiance 7

el tres dining (2)
el tres (6) amuse-bouche (can’t remember what it was…)

el tres porra antequera porra Antequera with jamón & chopped egg

el tres smoked eel terrine smoked eel terrine with Williams pear compote

el tres pariente José Pariente verdejo

el tres veg menestre crispy cooked mixed veg with a velouté of creamy jamón

el tres hake line-caught hake in salsa verde with clams and confit potatoes

el tres monkfish monkfish wrapped in cured pork cheek with crab cream and artichokes

el tres pulpo rabbit arroz octopus & rabbit smoked rice

el tres cochonillo cochinillo with crispy skin and apple confit

el tres steak tartare Galician beef tartare prepared at our table, served with crispy veg & chips

el tres squab squab with carrot purée and toasts topped with its livers

el tres wines
el tres dining (1)
el tres gorki

La Barra

Posted on November 20, 2014 by Shawn

La Barra belongs to the ever-growing Gorki chain of restaurants and is their “market kitchen” bar. It’s in a great location in central Málaga and has a nice terrace on pedestrianised calle Bolsa, as well as seating inside at the bar. There are also a couple of tables at the back which is apparently a dining area. I found this out on my third visit after sitting at a bar table near the front door and almost getting knocked out by a constantly spritzing “air freshener” (not noticable in the area directly in front of the bar). I was moved to a table at the back of the room – really right next to the bar tables – and was charged 1.80€ “table service” for the privilege. So basically, don’t sit there.

If you stop in for a quick tapita at the bar you can enjoy a nice assortment of tasty tapas, prettily presented. Service is professional and efficient, wines are good.

Bolsa 8
Tel 952 22 39 54
€ € € €

Food 6 | Wine 7 | Service 6 | Ambiance 5

la barra bar

la barra pincho pulpo octopus, olive and hot pepper gilda

la barra butter fish with seaweed butter fish with pickled seaweed

la barra presa mostaza grilled presa Ibérica with grainy mustard sauce

la barra (4) octopus mayo salad

la barra pork potatoes grilled pork with potatoes and padrón potatoes

la barra window

la barra tables

La Esquinita

Posted on November 10, 2014 by Shawn

la esquinita (1)
Although it’s only been open since 2011, La Esquinita does a pretty fair impression of a typical fried-fish bar that’s been there forever, right down to the ice-filled model boat for displaying the fresh fish. The food we had was good, a boquerones (anchovies) al limon, fried cuttlefish and puntillitas (tiny squid), washed down with some of the excellent local sherry. If you’re in any of the towns along this stretch of the coast, you’ll end up in a fried-fish bar at some point – this one was pretty good.

Calle Misericordia, 1
El Puerto de Santa María
Tel 676 90 83 29
€ €

Food 7 | Wine 7 | Service 6| Ambiance 6

la esquinita (2)
la esquinita (5) boquerones fritos

la esquinita (6) chocos fritos

la esquinita (7) puntillitas (tiny squid)

la esquinita (3)
la esquinita (4)

La Tintorera

Posted on October 4, 2014 by Shawn

[photo courtesy of the La Tintorera FB page]

Every time we went anywhere in Úbeda we seemed to end up at this fabulous little bar in the centre of the old town for a drink and a snack or two. It’s the brainchild of artist Gerardo Ruiz del Moral Tauste, who also owns and runs Misa de 12, and who is responsible for the interior décor with its cool hanging lights, mirrors and wire sculptures. There’s also a pleasant terrace out on the pedestrianised street.

The staff were top notch, knowledgeable and enthusiastic, and Malu made us feel particularly at home. The food we had was all excellent, including a complimentary gluten-free salmorejo with green apple instead of bread, a delish revuelto with calamari and potato straws and an exceptionally good lomo de orzo with potatoes and perfectly fried egg.

If I lived in Úbeda this would certainly be my “local”. Warm and welcoming with terrific food & wine and great staff. Also the most interesting and enjoyable music I’ve heard in a long time (thanks for that Malu!).

Real, 27
Úbeda
Tel 622 480 049
€ € €

Food 9 | Wine 8 | Service 9 | Ambiance 9

la tintorera bar

la tintorera ensaladilla ensaladilla (complimentary)

la tintorera gluten free salmorejo gluten-free salmorejo substituting green apple for bread (complimentary)

la tintorera calamari revuelto revuelto with calamares and potato straws (complimentary)

la tintorera malu Malu with local Spiritu Santo EVOO

la tintorera chorizo bric-wrapped spicy chorizos on potato purée (complimentary)

la tintorera sea water beer beer made with sea water

la tintorera empanadas cheese empanadilla with raisins in port (complimentary)

la tintorera chicken wok wok-fried chicken & veggies with noodles

la tintorera lomo urza lomo de urza (pork loin confit) with egg and potatoes

la tintorera malu pedro top team Malu & Pedro

la tintorera cold beer cold beers on the terraza

La Imprenta

Posted on October 4, 2014 by Shawn

[photo courtesy of the La Imprenta website]

This is more of a bookmark than a review as we only stopped here briefly for a couple of drinks and complimentary tapas (a very tasty hummus and an average sausage and pimenton) on the little terrace, so I can’t really say too much. There’s also a restaurant behind the bar inside which looks impressive on the website, but was closed when we were there. Would like to try it out properly next visit.

Plaza Doctor Quesada, 1
Úbeda
Tel 953 755 500
La Imprenta Website

la imprenta sausage grilled sausage and pimiento (complimentary)

la imprenta hummus creamy hummus with jamón

Misa de 12

Posted on October 4, 2014 by Shawn

misa 12

The Misa de 12 came with a glowing, and justified, recommendation. Inside it’s tiny and charming, with a glass trapdoor covered stairway to the cellar in one corner, so most of the seating is on a little terrace outside in the shade of the overhanging first floor, looking across the spacious expanse of the plaza Primero de Mayo. On a warm summer day this was a perfect spot to stop for a cold beer and then lunch.

As is customary in this part of Andalucía, drinks came with little complimentary tapitas, in this case a Salamanca cheese, lomo de orza (pork loin confit) on toast, and later, cabrales (blue cheese) croquetas. Small, simple and delicious they performed their intended function of luring us on to bigger things – in this case a ración of flamenquin. This dish seems to be ubiquitous in this region and we’d been tempted a couple of times, so we decided it was time to give in, and were glad we did. Perfectly cooked, and with a lovely mustardy dressing. This was followed by a media ración of presa.

By the time we left every table was full, inside and out, and the atmosphere was that nice friendly buzz you get at a place frequented by regulars. Recommended.

Plaza Primero de Mayo, 7 (corner Calle Montiel)
Jaén
Tel 953 828 197
Misa de 12 Website
€ € €

Food 9 | Wine 8 | Service 8 | Ambiance 9

misa 12 bar

misa 12 (9) traditional salmorejo (complimentary)

misa 12 cheese cured sheep cheese from Salamanca

misa 12 olive oil fabulous olive oil for our bread

misa 12 lomo orza lomo de orzo (complimentary)

misa 12 croquetas cabrales croquetas (complimentary)

misa 12 flamenquin flamenquín

misa 12 presa presa Ibérica

misa 12 candles

misa 12 cellar door

misa 12 terrace

Cantina La Estación

Posted on September 23, 2014 by Shawn

cantina estacion
As you might expect from a bar called the station canteen, there’s a distinct railway theme to the décor, from the old pictures to the safety lamps and luggage rack, with the restaurant section very much resembling a railway dining car. As you walk in there is also a separate tapas bar, which extends into a sit-down tapas dining area. We stayed with tapas on this occasion and were disappointed not to make it back to try the restaurant as I’ve heard such great things about it.

The tapas menu was nicely varied and we started with a complimentary tapa of small chicken thighs with herby yoghurt sauce, and were again impressed with the standard of the “free tapas” in this part of Andalucia. We followed this with some half-portion selections from the main menu – a pipirrana de bacalao (an elegant take on the local cold salad of tomatoes, onions and peppers served with cod), a seafood burger of chipiron and prawns with ali-oli in a squid ink bun, and a complimentary “tigre” with prawn bread and Iberian cuts, all of them excellent. To finish off we decided on a media-ración of presa Ibérica in mushroom sauce. Unfortunately, although the sauce was superb, the meat was fatty and gristly. To be fair, we weren’t charged for it as we couldn’t eat it, but it did put a bit of a damper on an otherwise very good meal (though not enough to put us off going back).

Excellent service, very good wine list and great ambiance. My only real complaint was the use of a chemical “air freshener”, which was so strong that it actually interfered with being able to taste the food and wine properly.

Cuesta Rodadera, 1
Úbeda, Jaén
Tel 687 77 72 30
€ € € Bar
€ € € € Restaurant
Cantina la Estación Website

Food 9 | Wine 8 | Service 9 | Ambiance 9

cantina estacion (8) the bar

cantina estacion (3) chalkboard menu

cantina estacion (6)

cantina estacion tigre “tigre” with prawn bread and Iberian cuts (complimentary)

cantina estacion calamar prawn burger calamar & prawn burger in squid ink bun with seaweed alioli

cantina estacion chicken thighs crispy chicken thighs with herb yoghurt sauce (complimentary)

cantina estacion pipirrana pipirrana with bacalao, smoked evoo, tapenade

cantina estacion presa presa Ibérica with mushroom sauce

cantina estacion (2)

cantina estacion (13)
cantina estacion restaurant the “dining car” restaurant

Pato Rojo

Posted on September 16, 2014 by Shawn

pato rojo

A stone’s throw from the Cathedral, I would’ve walked right past if it hadn’t come highly recommended by twitter pal @HERMANOPRIMERO, so I was on the lookout for a small “hole-in-the-wall” called Pato Rojo. There’s not much seating, a couple of tables on the sidewalk terrace and a few more in a small room at the far end of the bar. Most people cram into the narrow bar area and cheerfully order up.

This is totally my kind of place. Busy, buzzy ambiance, great food and friendly super-efficient staff. Also absurdly cheap. I went twice during my short visit to Jaén, once with a friend and again on my own. The first night my friend and I spent 12.90€ on drinks (3 beer, 3 wine) and were given about eight complimentary tapas. We were so full we didn’t get around to ordering any of the other mouthwatering dishes we saw coming out of the kitchen, so I took a few pics of them to show you.

Next day I stopped by at lunchtime and found a spot at the jam-packed bar. The barmen remembered me from the night before and started bringing me more “extras” until I told them I really wanted to order some food from the menu, specifically the grilled scallop with seafood. Which was stunning. By this time I was chatting away with the staff and the people on either side of me, and more food kept appearing that we all ended up sharing. What a great way to spend an afternoon. I loved Pato Rojo so much I wanted to take it home with me. There is nothing like this in Sevilla.

Bernabé Soriano, 12
Tel 953 23 40 99
€ € €

Food 9 | Wine 9 | Service 10 | Ambiance 9

pato rojo bar jam-packed bar

pato rojo fritos fritos variados

pato rojo albariño a very nice albariño

pato rojo langostinos langostinos a la plancha (complimentary)

pato rojo anchovy Cantabrian anchovy with evoo (complimentary)

pato rojo boquerones boquerones fritos (complimentary)

pato rojo gambas rebozadas battered prawns (complimentary)

pato rojo jose José pouring beer

pato rojo mojama mojama (cured tuna) with evoo and peanuts (complimentary)

pato rojo rejos fried rejos – baby octopus tentacles (complimentary)

pato rojo Tilapia, a type of sole tilapia, a type of sole, with padrón peppers (complimentary)

pato rojo rosada chocos fritos (complimentary)

pato rojo ricardo manzanilla spray Ricardo using manzanilla spray on fried rosada (complimentary)

pato rojo salmon smoked salmon (complimentary)

pato rojo scallop grilled scallop with barely cooked prawns and salmon

tuna ventresca (not ours)

pato rojo carabineros grilled carabineros (not ours)

pato rojo seafood platter mixed seafood platter (not ours)

pato rojo orujo orujo (complimentary)

pato rojo jose rachel ricardo Dream Team: José, Rachel & Ricardo

pato rojo (17) the red duck

pato rojo busy bar busy buzzy bar

pato rojo dining area dining area

La Manchega

Posted on September 16, 2014 by Shawn

Founded in 1886, La Manchega offers a variety of typical tapas and specialises in Iberian charcuterie products and traditional stews. When I walked in I thought I would have a quick tapa and leave, but when I asked if I could take some photos (always best to ask first) Cristobal the barman got very chatty, telling me about the history of the bar, about Jaén, and then an old guy at the end of the bar, who turned out to be the owner, asked if I wanted to see downstairs. But of course!

The door leading to the basement bodega and dining area is behind the bar and there was a feeling of suddenly being an insider as Cristobal lifted up a section of the wooden bar top so I could pass through. We went down narrow stairs to a long low room with beamed ceilings that was filled with wooden tables, chairs and wine racks. White walls were festooned with ceramic plates and all manner of “agricultural themed” bric a brac. Rustic? You betcha.

Back upstairs seated at the bar I only tried one tapa (tender stewed pork in sauce) so I can’t say too much about the food, but the other dishes I saw certainly looked good. That along with a warm inviting atmosphere and friendly service guarantees a return visit next time I’m in Jaén.