La Bodeguilla Tapas in El Puerto de Santa Maria Spain

Updated July 2017

I fondly remember my first visit to La Bodeguilla back in the winter of 2013 – they had me at “crujiente de Ibéricos”. And while I was waiting for this amazing tapa I was given a complementary starter of lovely stewed lentils with chorizo. I happily slipped into a food coma after getting back to my hotel for a much needed siesta. Much later that evening I went back as I had been informed (via Twitter) that I’d missed that bar’s star dish – the tostada with jamón. A tostada? Special? Well, okay. Since it came so highly recommended I was ready to give it a go, and frankly a tostada was just about all I was up for after such a hearty lunch. And I was not disappointed. I had the half-portion of a slice of toasted country bread drizzled with garlic-infused olive oil, rubbed with fresh tomato and topped with top quality jamón that was slightly warm after being placed on top of hot toast, along with a glass of local Garum red wine. Heaven!

On another visit we were invited to a sherry pairing event, held in one of the dining rooms, which was spectacular and left me wanting to go back even more. This time we got to sit out on the terrace, which was lovely (sorry, no photo – will have to go back again!). This is a real family-run place, with chef-owner Borja in the kitchen and his family also helping out – his mother looked after us on our most recent visit. A must-go place in El Puerto for delicious homestyle cooking, excellent wines, and wonderful friendly service.