El Faro | Azahar Tapas

photo courtesy of El Faro website

The El Faro group (which actually consists of 4 restaurants and a catering company), used to be best known (by me) for the El Faro restaurant in Cádiz, where I’ve stopped for tapas a few times, but there is also an El Faro fine dining restaurant and tapas bar in El Puerto de Santa María which I’ve been wanting to try for ages, and recently I had the opportunity to visit twice.

Restaurante El Faro in El Puerto has been run by chef Fernando Córdoba and his wife Ana Isabel Puerto for over 30 years now. It’s located just outside the old city, not far from the bullring, in an old manor house surrounded by gardens, including the restaurant’s own kitchen herb and seasonal vegetable garden,, and the general appearance and atmosphere is “modern in a traditional style”. There are several dining areas of various sizes, some for private functions, but our interest was in the substantial area in front of the huge wooden bar, which is where tapas are available.

The cuisine itself is generally typical of the region, with lots of fresh fish and seafood, with seasonal variations, especially for fresh vegetables, and the quality is excellent. Very hard to pick a favourite, though on our first visit Chef Fernando let us order the taquitos de urta frito, served in the body of the fish itself, which is usually only available in the dining room. Fabulous presentation and flavour, but I honestly can’t think of a dish we’ve tried here that wasn’t exceptional. Tempura baby leeks from their garden? Almadraba red tuna tartare? Their exquisite tortillitas de camarones? I think it’s safe to say you can’t go wrong here.

We were also fortunate enough to have Fernando show us around the restaurant’s substantial bodega (150 sq metres, with over 400 wines), and talk to us about the joys – and a few pitfalls – of the restaurant business. His genuine enthusiasm and love of food and wine shows itself in every aspect of the experience. I love that he is passionate about sherry wines, and also about working with the abundance of local products that he has available. Fernando is a modest chef, preferring to be behind the scenes, but his food deserves centre stage. El Faro is a “must do” if you are ever lucky enough to be in El Puerto de Santa María.