Casa Moreno |

Casa Moreno

It took me almost 18 years to finally go into Sevilla’s oldest and best loved ultramarinos (grocery store) and bar, Casa Moreno. Well okay, not entirely true. I’ve walked in a couple of times but it felt so intimate and SPANISH – and like I had stepped through a portal to the 1940s – that I felt too obviously a guiri to comfortably stay. But this week I went with my Spanish friend Maria, who is also a neighbour of the bar (she runs the fabulous Maspapeles on nearby calle Zaragoza) thinking that with her I wouldn’t stick out so much. I needn’t have worried. As soon as I was seated at the end of the long crowded bar I felt right at home. The service was friendly and efficient and the food was excellent quality.

I should point out that the tapas are made from things that you can buy in the store – there is no full kitchen – so mostly cured meats and cheeses and various high-end tinned goods (anchovies from Cantabria, duck mousse…), though there are also a few pre-prepared foods like tortilla and stews. It’s a great place for a light lunch or to start off your evening tapeo. Lovely clutter everywhere, lots of tauromaquia memorabilia, stacks of tins and boxes, baskets of legumes … and I was very impressed by the wines on offer by the glass.