Tag Archives: wine

Anyway Wine Bar

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Although it hasn’t been open long, this little wine bar has a very traditional feel, as if it has been here for years. I wasn’t able to stop long this visit, but we enjoyed a chat with owner David Camino, for whom the bar is obviously a labour of love. We also enjoyed a glass of fabulous manzanilla sherry and a wonderful PX based sparkling Rosé, as well as some excellent cheese and jamón Iberico (and bonus! David is a professional jamón cortador). The menu is small, mainly charcuterie and aperitifs, although there are some main courses too and, of course, an excellent wine list. Will definitely be back for a longer visit next time I’m in Málaga.

David hosts regular wine tastings, and is also happy to set up a personal one, either in Spanish or English. I really think this is a place to watch.

Paseo Reding 15
Málaga
Tel 951 076 734
€ € €

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Food 7 | Wine 8 | Service 8 | Ambiance 7

owner David Camino

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Taberna El Gallo

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Updated May 2017

Taberna El Gallo is the only one remaining of three that were originally opened in the 1930s, with their own small bodega (still existing) supplying finos and olorosos from the DO Montilla Moriles. The atmosphere and style of that time has been preserved in the bar, which seems very much one for the locals. Normally I’d choose to hang out at the bar, but if your feet are tired you can opt to sit at a table in the back section, which are actually two small dining areas. I love the little “call buttons” above each table, which I first assumed were no longer in service. But when I asked one of the waiters he gave me a demonstration – they still work loud and clear! – though the fellow at the next table, clearly a regular, told me that the waiters hate them and prefer you to just shout PEPE!!!!! in the direction of the bar. Heh.

The first time I saw this place I knew that it was My Kind Of Bar, but we only had time to stop in for a quick fino. More recently we made sure to try the tapas – and we loved them. Nothing fancy, just simple good fritos (the stews will have to wait for a winter visit) and an excellent salmorejo. I was especially impressed by the berenjenas fritas here, which came as crispy skinny frites (rather than the more usual chunky sticks or slices) and were NOT served with gacky sweet molasses squirted all over them. Some of you may not agree with my 4-orange rating here, but for me it’s about the over-all experience, and El Gallo is a place I will always make time to visit when I’m in Córdoba.

Maria Cristina 6
Córdoba
Tel 957 471 780
€ €

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Food 8 | Wine 8 | Service 8 | Ambiance 9


call buttons

“un medio” of fino, or half of a quarter of a litre “un cuartillo”

battered prawns

japuta en adobo

battered cod

breaded prawns

salmorejo with jamón and quail egg

berenjenas fritas (aubergine frites)

flamenquín cordobés with chips



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Updated May 2017

Café de Estraperlo

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Updated September 2017

On the edge of the artsy Soho barrio and a stone’s throw from the Plaza Marina and Málaga Port, this hip and cosy café-bar in a charming little square couldn’t be in a better location. And since construction was completed last year on the Roommate Valeria next door, the square and terraza are more inviting than ever. Open for breakfast, and then for charcuterie snacks and drinks afternoon and evening, along with cocktails, Café de Estraperlo has that perfect neighbourhood bar feel and it’s one of my favourite places to stop in for a glass of wine and a chat. Rumour has it that tapas may soon be happening. Meanwhile you can enjoy the relaxed vibe and also the local art on the walls, which changes on a regular basis.

Plaza Poeta Alfonso Canales 4
Málaga
Tel
€ € €

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Food 7 | Wine 9 | Service 9 | Ambiance 9

estraperlo (2)

cafe estraperlo (2)Beer O’clock!

estraperlo mark joseco-owners Mark & José

estraperlo (3)

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Updated September 2017

Bodega José María

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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
€ €

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Food 7 | Wine 6 | Service 7 | Ambiance 7

jose maria (7)

jose maria

jose maria chanqueteschanquetes with fried egg and chips

jose maria swordfishgrilled swordfish with roasted peppers

jose maria carrilladatender rosemary carrillada (pork cheeks)

jose maria (6)

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Saint Germain

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Updated August 2018

Just off the Gran Vía near the Cathedral, Saint Germain is the kind of place I might have walked right by (and probably have done on previous visits to Granada) if not for the guidance of long-time resident, composer-musician and bon vivant John @benzo8. Noteworthy for its original tapas and extensive selection of wines, Saint Germain is also the only Proust-themed bar I have ever been to. There are photos, framed texts and other memorabilia pertaining to the famed French novelist on practically every surface that isn’t occupied by wine. Which is everywhere else. Wine bottles on the bar, in buckets, inside cabinets, on wall shelves, even caged inside a “chicken coop”.

It’s a cosy dimly-lit place with two small bar sections inside and a little sidewalk terrace. We mostly stuck with the complimentary tapas, though on one occasion ordered a house speciality, their own herbed beef saladilla, which is outstanding. Owner Juanjo is a whiz with sauces and his tapas are as interesting and innovative as they are delicious. Just go and leave yourself in the staff’s very capable hands when it comes to food and wine recommendations – you won’t be disappointed. Clearly popular with the locals, it fills up fast so try to get there early if you can. Fabulous wines, delicious tapas, wonderful ambiance – and excellent value for money.

Postigo Velutti 4
Granada
Tel 958 20 00 37
€ € €

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Food 8 | Wine 9 | Service 8 | Ambiance 8

saint germain (7)

saint germain (8)wine cabinet

saint germain chilled wineswine on the bar

saint germain salmorejocomplimentary garlicky salmorejo

potato salad and tripe with garbanzos (complimentary)

saint germain patecomplimentary housemade chunky paté

saint germain fishy piggycomplimenary delicious spicy fishy stuff on toast… and a piggy cracker

saint germain tapa 1complimentary mystery tapa 1

saint germain tapa 2complimentary mystery tapa 2

crusty hot toasted saladilla filled with herbed beef, manchego, jamón

saint germain winesrecommendations from our barman

saint germain tomTom!

saint germain wines (2)wine on the wall

saint germain caged wineswine in chicken-coop style cages

saint germain (6)

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Updated August 2018

Cantina La Estación

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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

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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 burgercalamar & prawn burger in squid ink bun with seaweed alioli

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

cantina estacion pipirranapipirrana with bacalao, smoked evoo, tapenade

cantina estacion presapresa Ibérica with mushroom sauce

cantina estacion (2)

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

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Pato Rojo

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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
€ € €

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Food 9 | Wine 9 | Service 10 | Ambiance 9

pato rojo barjam-packed bar

pato rojo fritosfritos variados

pato rojo albariñoa very nice albariño

pato rojo langostinoslangostinos a la plancha (complimentary)

pato rojo anchovyCantabrian anchovy with evoo (complimentary)

pato rojo boqueronesboquerones fritos (complimentary)

pato rojo gambas rebozadasbattered prawns (complimentary)

pato rojo joseJosé pouring beer

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

pato rojo rejosfried rejos – baby octopus tentacles (complimentary)

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

pato rojo rosadachocos fritos (complimentary)

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

pato rojo salmonsmoked salmon (complimentary)

pato rojo scallopgrilled scallop with barely cooked prawns and salmon

pato rojo ventrescatuna ventresca (not ours)

pato rojo carabinerosgrilled carabineros (not ours)

pato rojo seafood plattermixed seafood platter (not ours)

pato rojo orujoorujo (complimentary)

pato rojo jose rachel ricardoDream Team: José, Rachel & Ricardo

pato rojo (17)the red duck

pato rojo busy barbusy buzzy bar

pato rojo dining areadining area

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Puerta de la Victoria

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Updated August 2018

puerta victoria
This relatively new bar a minute’s walk from the main square was recommended to us by Juan Hidalgo during our visit to the bodega, and turned out to be the best food experience of our Sanlúcar break. The bar is traditionally styled with lots of wood, sherry casks and shelves full of glasses and bottles, but doesn’t go overboard with the “fake antique” look, and there’s a little terrace in the pedestrian street outside, which was very pleasant on a relatively mild summer’s day.

There’s a nicely balanced menu with tapas ranging from 2 – 3.5€ (with one exception – a splendid stuffed & fried choco al amontillado for 4.50€). And I dare say that the tortillitas de camarones are every bit as good as at the better-known Casa Balbino around the corner. I’d like to go back with more friends to try some of the raciones (larger plates). Very good wine list with lots of options by the glass.

Calle de la Victoria, 7
Sanlúcar de Barrameda
Tel 956 365 925
€ € €

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Food 7 | Wine 7 | Service 6 | Ambiance 6

puerta victoria (3)

puerta victoria jamon quesojamón Ibérico and Payoyo cheese

salpicón de mariscos

puerta victoria tortillitatortillita de camarones (prawn fritters)

puerta victoria tortillita arttortillita art

chocos fritos

puerta victoria (8)carrillada (Iberian pork cheek)

puerta victoria choco amontilladochoco frito al amontillado with jamón and fried egg

puerta victoria bar

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Updated August 2018

Taberna Der Guerrita

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Updated August 2018

Taberna Der Guerrita came highly recommended as one of *the* bars to check out in Sanlúcar. The bar is rather nice, pleasantly rustic without overdoing it, and with a local neighbourhood feel. The tapas menu is modest in size – be sure to have the mojama (air-dried tuna), some of the best I’ve had anywhere. And as you might imagine, there was a very good wine list with many good by-the-glass options at very reasonable prices.

Der Guerrita is well known for its “sacristy” (in the sherry world a section of a bodega used for special wines), a room/shop adjacent to the bar used for holding catas (wine tastings) hosted by owner Armando Guerra.

Calle San Salvador, 34
Sanlúcar de Barrameda
Tel 697 826 096
€ € €

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Food 5 | Wine 8 | Service 5 | Ambiance 7

guerrita bar

guerrita mojamamojama (air-dried tuna)

pan-fried butifarra

guerrita carne salsapork in sauce

guerrita champis jamonmushrooms filled with bacon

pincho moruno

gambas al ajillo

guerrita wine tasting

guerrita nook

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Updated August 2018

Quitapenas

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quitapenas

There are four Quitapenas locations in the Málaga area. This one is located in Málaga city, just off the Calle Larios. Excellent seafood and very efficient service. Wines from the Quitapenas bodega are on offer, as well as from the rioja and rueda regions.

Calle de Marín García 4
Málaga
Tel. 952 602 357
Quitapenas Website
€€

quitapenas bar

quitapenas conchas finas, musselsconchas finas and steamed mussels

quitapenas rosada and gambasbreaded rosada and battered prawns

quitapenas bacalaofried bacalao (salt cod)

quitapenas jibiajibia (squid)

quitapenas calamarestender calamares

quitapenas door