Category: tapas

Adiós Bodega San José

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I wish this would stop. I mean, I know nothing lasts forever but there are just too many wonderful tapas bars shutting down. The latest tragic loss is the amazing Bodega San José, which I really only got to know a few years ago. This time it’s a combination of landlord greed and Covid that made the Bueno family decide to shut its doors after almost 80 years, though the bar itself is much older. When the family first came to Sevilla from Santander they opened a few locations, the first one being El Punto in Puerto Osario, which closed in 2007. Bodega San José was the last one standing.

Anyhow, I just found out about this today after that lovely photo of Nicolás Bueno and his mother Rosario (who worked in the bar until the final day, making her amazing boquerones en vinagre) popped up this morning in my Instagram memories and so I put it up in my Stories. Then I got a message from someone telling me the bar was about to close. In fact, the final day of the lease is April 30th but then I found out the bar stopped functioning on the 18th. I had just been there a couple of days before and was happy to see Rosario there, but nobody mentioned anything about closing. So this has come as quite a shock today. I went over to see for myself and saw the doors shuttered and everything gone from the outside, the signs, everything. So much loss this past year.

San Lorenzo 2020

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san lorenzo 2020

Today is the Día de San Lorenzo. In case you don’t know, the martyr San Lorenzo was put to a slow and painful death on top of a large gridiron with live coals beneath it and, the legend concludes that, after enduring the pain for a very long time he made his famous cheerful remark, “I’m well done on this side. Turn me over!”.

This is the first time in over five years that I haven’t attended the hectic San Lorenzo Day festivities at the Antigua Abacería de San Lorenzo. Because of Covid, Ramón and Carmen took the decision not to reopen their bar until September. In any case, this celebration is not one that lends itself to social distancing. The place is packed all afternoon long, standing room only, with Ramón passing around platters of grilled flesh (sardines, chicken legs, sausages, etc) with everyone drinking a punch from Huelva called ponche alosnero.

It’s always a crazy time and I miss it. <3

Open in August!

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Every year I write up a list of bars and restaurants in Sevilla that will be open in August. Used to be that almost every place closed, shops too, and Sevilla was quite a ghost town. In some ways I kind of liked that. Broke things up a bit, with a change of rhythm. Everything slowed down appropriately, in terms of The Heat. But the past few years there have been throngs of hapless HOT tourists wandering all over town, tour guides risking heat stroke taking out group after group, all defying the weather. It was getting crazy. It WAS crazy.

And now it’s crazy in a different way.

Anyhow CLICK HERE to see the August 2020 list. These are all independently run places and they can all use our support. So if you’re hungry in Sevilla these are some great bars and restaurants to go to that are also doing well with Covid health and safety protocols. Also some good take-away and home delivery options. 🙂

Tourism & Gastronomy

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On Thursday (July 12) I was fortunate enough to be one of the invitees to the Southern Tourism Meeting session on Tourism and Gastronomy (quite an honour, as I was, as far as I know, the only non-Spanish person present), a recognition of the growing importance of food tourism to both these sectors.

The venue was in what is now the Carriage Museum (since 1999), which was built during the 16-17th centuries as a Carmelite convent, and later served as the seat of the Spanish-Cuban Institute of History. Once a landmark, it was overshadowed by the apartment blocks of Los Remedios in the 1940s.

The event was hosted by local newspaper, the ABC, and introductions were made by editor Javier Rubio. The first presentation was given by Marcos Tarancón, of the Fundación Cruzcampo, showing their project to convert the old Cruzcampo factory in Nervión into a new tourist attraction for the city with cafés, restaurants and a large open garden space. The second was by Irene de Castro for Gonzalez Byass and the V Tio Pepe Festival, coming up in August at their bodega in Jerez.

This was followed by two round table discussions chaired by Isobel Aguilar of GURME.es, the first featuring local restauranteurs Juanlu Dorado (Cañabota), Juan Gómez (La Azotea), and Gonzalo Jurado (Tradevo) on the challenges of operating in a city with large numbers of tourists, and the second with Benjamin Lana of Madrid Fusión and Iñigo Iribarnegaray of San Sebastián Gastronómika, two cities that have become well known for food tourism.

Afterwards there was an opportunity to meet some of the participants, and other friends in the hospitality industry, over snacks and coffee.

Thanks as always to ABC Sevilla and sponsors of the event (CaixaBank, City Expert, CitySightseeing, Fundación Cruzcampo, MA Abogados) for a useful and interesting morning.

Viña Galvana by Delgado Zuleta

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This week I was invited to a cata for this year’s edition of Bodegas Delgado Zuleta’s D.O Cádiz white wine Viña Galvana. Delgado Zuleta is of course best known for its sherries (it’s said to be the oldest bodega in the marco de Jerez), especially Manzanilla La Goya, but also produces local white wines.

The 2017 Viña Galvana (85% Palomino Fino and 15% Moscatel) is a fresh, light wine with a bright pale gold colour and a touch of fruitiness, and pairs well with fish and seafood. Really a perfect summer wine. The label pays tribute to one of Sanlucar’s most popular events, the annual horse races on the beach which take place every August. The cata was presented by Jorge Pascual, the Director-General of Delgado Zuleta and enologist José Antonio Sánchez Pazo, with promotion by @ProbandoGastro.

The event was hosted by Cinta Romero and her team at La Cochera del Abuelo, who also provided a light post-cata lunch. Thanks to everyone who helped organise this very pleasant event.