Bodega José María

Posted on August 3, 2015 by Shawn

jose maria (1)
This is a fun little neighbourhood sherry and tapas bar just outside the market in Carmona, and very pleasant to sit outside in the “plazueleta” in the cool of the evening. It was a bit of a quick stop so we asked our friendly waiter for recommendations. We skipped the snails (house speciality), but enjoyed an excellent carrillada with rosemary (seriously good), a generous and tasty grilled swordfish, and finished with chanquetas and chips (just okay). Cheap and cheerful, and I’d come here again.

You can also buy the house wines, and manzanilla, by the litre to take home. And apologies for blurry night pics, but it was night time.

Dominguez de la Haza 1
Carmona
Tel 637 557 571
€ €

Food 7 | Wine 6 | Service 7 | Ambiance 7

jose maria (7)

jose maria

jose maria chanquetes chanquetes with fried egg and chips

jose maria swordfish grilled swordfish with roasted peppers

jose maria carrillada tender rosemary carrillada (pork cheeks)

jose maria (6)

KGB

Posted on February 19, 2015 by Shawn

Updated August 2015

kgb

KGB is just off Calle Larios, in the same spot where michelin super-star chef Dani García first started off the gourmet tapas scene in Málaga with La Moraga, and later Manzanilla. Up until recently run by Cordobés michelin-star chef Kisko García, KGB continues to offer fusion gourmet tapas with an every-changing selection of internationally-influenced dishes. New management will continue to spy-out new influences.

The menu hasn’t changed much, just a few tweaks here and there. Missing is the bulltail burger, served with a killer “au jus” mayonnaise, but it can still be found across the street at Wendy Gamba (also run by the KGB group). Favourites here include the innovative takes on patatas bravas and flamenquín, and the glazed pork rib taco.

The decor is modern, with clean lines and plenty of light from the big windows, contrasting nicely with views of the old traditional street outside. It’s busy and buzzy, so be sure to get there early to grab a spot at the bar.

Fresca 12
Málaga
Tel. 952 226 851
€€€€

Food 7 | Wine 8 | Service 7 | Ambiance 7

kgb (2)

kgb (3)

kgb botani Botani

“gastrobar estado puro” inspired patatas bravas

kgb mackerel blow-torched mackerel with soy, lime and herbs

kgb prawns king prawns in bric pastry with mint

croquetas de puchero

Ibérico stuffed chipirón (squid)

kgb (10) pork cheek burger with mayo and gorgonzola cheese

kgb cochinillo cochinillo onna bun with curry sauce and rocket

Iberian “pizza”

flamenquin flamenquín

kgb ribs glazed ribs with cabbage and avocado cream

kgb (1)

kgb (4)
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Updated August 2015

Garum 2.1

Posted on December 10, 2014 by Shawn

Updated September 2015

With a name like Garum 2.1 Bistronomic Tapas Bar it’s a wonder I went in at all. Actually, I had walked in on a couple of occasions during previous visits to Córdoba but didn’t feel inclined to stay. Something about, well, the name. And the outside walls festooned with posters of their “prize winning” tapas. But it kept being recommended to me so I finally decided to give it a go. And I’m happy I did.

Despite its über-hip name the bar is quite traditional on the inside, with dark wooden furniture and slate floors. Not so traditional is the expanse of original Roman wall on one side of the room – quite a cool feature. There is also an upstairs dining area (which I forgot to pop up and see – oops).

The menu offers both tapas and raciones, with the tapas at rather high “bistronomic” prices. Not sure how the larger plates compare in terms of value for money, but the tapas we tried were good quality with some nice innovative touches. I especially liked the TNT potatoes, which lived up to their name. Good service and some very interesting wines on offer. And be sure to try the oxtail churro with chocolate sauce. Really.

San Fernando 120-122
Córdoba
Tel 957 48 76 73
€ € € €

Food 8 | Wine 9 | Service 7 | Ambiance 7

garum dining area (2)

garum roman wall Roman wall

garum cheese complimentary cheese & almonds

garum berenjenas fried aubergine with salmorejo and scrambled eggs

garum pulpo fried hake fried hake

garum px

garum papas tnt potatoes TNT with hot sauce, wasabi and fried chilis

garum presa presa Ibérica with potatoes, scrambled egg, jamón

garum pulpo (1) tender octopus with pig ear

garum pulpo oxtail churro oxtail churro with chocolate sauce

garum dessert mystery dessert! can’t remember what it was…

garum stairs

garum dining area (1)

garum entrance

Updated September 2015

Bar Santos

Posted on December 10, 2014 by Shawn

Updated February 2017

It’s easy to dismiss Bar Santos as just another of the many touristy bars around the Mezquita, but one look at the impressive display of massive tortillas just inside the door will tell you that you are in for something special. In spite of its location it still manages the look and feel of a little neighbourhood bar with just one table inside and standing room only at the bar.

Their trademark dish, a 30-egg tortilla de patatas, is served by the slice for 2€ and goes great with either a cold beer or a bowl of salmorejo. A typical sight at midday is people sitting along the cathedral wall with plates of tortilla. Makes a great start to a tapeo.

Magistral Gonzalez Francés, 3
Córdoba
Tel 957 48 89 75
€ € €

Food 8 | Wine 7 | Service 8 | Ambiance 8

bar santos bar

bar santos corner

bar santos tortillas (1) 30 eggs & 5 kilos of potatoes in each one

bar santos tortilla slice

bar santos tortilla beer slice of tortilla with beer

bar santos salmorejo salmorejo topped with chopped egg and jamón

the menu

bar santos photos

bar santos tortillas (2)

bar santos founded 1966

Updated February 2017

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

El Tostón

Posted on September 15, 2014 by Shawn

el toston

Super rustic looking and all that, I thought I’d pop in for a snack. The complimentary tapa was two pimientos de padrón on bread. Okay, I guess. I snapped two other photos of anchovies on bread and a rather nice looking revuelto… but you know, the barman was borderline rude and was clearly giving me the “guiri treatment” while he snacked non-stop and chatted with friends at the end of the bar. You probably don’t want to go here.

Bernardo Lopez 11
Jaén
Tel
€ € €

Food 5 | Wine 5 | Service 3 | Ambiance 5

el toston (3)
el toston pimentos my complimentary tapa

el toston anchovies anchovies on toast with caperberries (someone else got this)

el toston revuelto nice looking revuelto

el toston (2)

Bar Pacos

Posted on September 15, 2014 by Shawn

bar pacos

Bar Pacos (not to be confused with Casa Paco) can be found on the ground floor of the Hotel Puerta de la Luna. The bar is simply decorated, a bit dark but a pleasant enough space with quite a lively atmosphere, particularly for the middle of August.

As is typical in this part of Andalucía drinks came with a complimentary tapita, but less typically you could choose what you wanted from a good-sized courtesy menu (the complimentary tapas shown here were for two people). We had saquitos de bolognese, costillitas de orza (pork preserved in manteca), and chistorras with potatoes and a fried egg, all of which were fabulous. The menu proper was mostly raciones, but some dishes were also available as tapas. We tried a bacalao al ajo arriero (cod with garlic, peppers and onions), which was excellent, and a rather indifferent fried suckling pig. Overall a good eating experience.

Hotel Puerta de la Luna
Canonigo Melgares Raya, 7
Baeza
Tel 953 747 019
€ € €

Food 8 | Wine 8 | Service 8 | Ambiance 8

bar pacos frito bolegnese fried filo with bolognese and blue cheese sauce (complimentary)

bar pacos ribs orza pork ribs “de orza” (complimentary)

bar pacos eggs chistorras egg, chistoras & potatoes (complimentary)

bar pacos bacalao arriero bacalao al ajo arriero (peppers, garlic, onions)

bar pacos cochinillo fried cochinillo (baby pork belly)

Bar Navarro

Posted on September 14, 2014 by Shawn

navarro

Bar Navarro was recommended by many as an absolute must-go-to fried fish place with the best acedias (small sole) in the universe. Possibly such high praise contributed to a degree of disappointment by raising unrealistic expectations. The bar itself was a rather ordinary neighbourhood bar just outside the old town, and nothing wrong with that per se, but they could at least have cleared away the detritus of earlier meals from the next tables. Also, serving the manzanilla a plastic “jerry-can” might be quaint, but to me it just added to the can’t-be-bothered ambiance. There’s a bar section with a few tall tables along one side of the L-shaped space and a “dining” area in the other. It’s all self-service.

So we had to try the acedias, of course, and they were actually quite good, though not especially special. The chocos were tough and chewy – I would’ve sent them back but didn’t get the sense that the barman cared that much. We also had the tapaculos (a flat fish similar to sole), which were delicioius – I would definitely have again if I came back. Authentic? Yes, I suppose so, whatever exactly that means. Not sure that’s quite enough though.

Menacho 28
Sanlúcar de Barrameda
Tel
€ €

Food 5 | Wine 4 | Service 4 | Ambiance 4

navarro bar the bar

navarro acedias acedias (small sole)

navarro chocos chocos (cuttlefish)

navarro tapaculos tapaculos (curiously translates as “butt plug”)

navarro dining room “dining” area

Bar Arturo

Posted on August 28, 2014 by Shawn

Updated August 2015

Bar Arturo is your typical no-frills, family-run biz, with paper table cloths and kitch decor (intentional or otherwise). It will no doubt be busy when you arrive, with a varied clientele of families, couples and groups of friends.

I have been in love with this place since I was first directed to it last year, and have been back a couple of times since then. But my last visit was marred – in fact ruined – by some of the worst service I’ve ever experienced. We were actually shocked when the manager told us off for politely asking if we’d been given the correct order (still convinced we hadn’t been). And the rudeness continued until we finally gave up and left. Very sad and unfortunate when something like this happens. I won’t be back.