Bartolomé de Medina 21
Tel 955 72 22 60
Open 13.30 – 17.00 / 20.30 – midnight
€ € € €

Food 9 | Wine 8 | Service 8 | Ambiance 8

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La Gallina Bianca is another excellent addition to the Grupo GMI (Gusto Made in Italy), a family-run venture now with six restaurants in Sevilla (four Italian and two Mediterranean). The charming and spacious location on Santa María la Blanca, just on the edge of Barrio Santa Cruz,  is lovely and the service is attentive and helpful. Fresh pasta and Neapolitana pizza made with quality Italian ingredients, as well as a great selection of salads, charcuterie and housemade desserts.

COVID update: At the moment La Gallina Bianca, Maccheroni Alfalfa, Maccheroni & Co and Gusto are open, but “GMI a casa tua” is offering their delicious Italian menu for home delivery. In their “ghost kitchen” as well as in the restaurants, attention is being paid to strict hygiene standards while maintaining a cosy and comfortable ambiance.

Bread/Service Charge: 1€ PER PERSON

Santa María la Blanca 15
Tel 954 98 82 67
Open 13.30 – 16.00 / 20.00 – midnight
Closed all day Tuesday and Wednesday lunchtime
€ € € €

Food 8 | Wine 8 | Service 8 | Ambiance 9

charcuterie and cheese platter

housemade focaccia and sourdough bread

arugula, mushroom, walnut & parmesan salad in a crispy parmesan bowl

aubergine parmigiana

tagliatelle bolognese

pizza Neapolitana

spicy sausage pizza

spinach filled ravioli with genovese pesto,
buffalo mozzarella creme and roasted cherry toms

spaguetti with broccoli, pancetta, parmesan

grilled lamb chops

bonet piemontese
(like a chocolate flan with cocoa, egg, rum, amaretto cookies)

classic tiramisú

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Updated August 2020

Gusto Ristobar is the latest from the GMI Group (Gusto Made in Italy), who run what I think are three of the best Italian restaurants in town: L’Oca Giuliva, Maccheroni & Co and Pane & Vino. With Gusto they are trying a new concept. Located in front of the Cathedral’s Puerta del Perdón it is clearly geared to attracting visitors with its sidewalk terraces and “quick lunch” snacks, along with a variety of Italian, Spanish and American dishes on the bar menu.

The upstairs restaurant is open from 7.30 pm daily and offers an everchanging selection of fresh pastas, fish and meat dishes (Spanish and Italian), and authentic paella (expect to wait 30  minutes). Some of the restaurant dishes are also available downstairs at the bar, but as it’s still early days – Gusto has been open less than a month – there is still some experimenting going on to see what works best.

As always with the family-run GMI group, the design of the bar and restaurant is super stylish and distinctly Italian, with a lot of attention to detail. I love the upstairs dining room with its huge windows and balconies looking out on the Cathedral.

Alemanes 23
tel 954 500 923
Bar: 8.30 – midnight
Restaurant: 19.30 – midnight
€ € €
GMI Group Website

Bar
Restaurant
Food 8 | Wine 8 | Service 8 | Ambiance 9

downstairs bar area

bar area and stairs

quiche, cheeses and cured meats

pastas and salads

Mari-Loli serving wine

pizza slice “especial de la casa” with black olives, tuna & artichokes

tagliatelle carbonara

huevos rotos (fried eggs) with crispy fried potatoes and jamón Ibérico

herbs

fruit flan

cheeses

chalkboard menu

upstairs dining area

upstairs dining area

front sidewalk terrace

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Bar
Restaurant

Maccheroni & Co was the second Italian restaurant started by Grupo GMI (Gusto Made in Italy), which began in Calle Harinas before making a move in 2011 to more chic digs in up and coming Calle García de Vinuesa, which is filling up with gourmet food and wine shops and trendy boutiques.

The food here is super fresh and beautifully presented, and the service is very good. There’s a great selection of salads, pastas and pizzas. Everything is fresh and fabulous. You’ll also find some delicious fish and meat dishes. Buon appetito!

Garcia de Vinuesa 26
Tel 954 501 015
Open: 13.30 – 16.00 / 20.30 – midnight
€ € €

Food 8 | Wine 8 | Service 8 | Ambiance 8

baby spinach with grilled speck, shaved parmesan and pinenuts

rocket, mushroom and parmesan salad…

… with edible parmesan bowl

buffalo mozzarella with tomatoes and rocket

mushroom, Italian sausage and extra cheese

pizza messicana with sausage, peppers and chilis

pizza diavolo

gnocchi with gorganzola and walnuts

parmesan cheese

co-owners Franco & Fabrizia

the bar and open kitchen

dining area

the bodega

cosy fireplace

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Updated February 2019

Since L’Oca Giuliva first opened in 2009, husband & wife team Franco Rostini and Fabrizia Innocenzi, along with brother Massimiliano Innocenzi, have expanded their Little Italy in Sevilla empire, which includes Maccheroni & Co, Maccheroni Alfalfa, La Gallina Bianca, as well as their mediterranean concept Gusto, and now two new projects – Il Piscolini, a mediterranean-style fish restaurant, and organic café Bio Mio.

My personal favourite is still L’Oca Giuliva, with its extensive menu featuring fresh pastas that are made in house daily, lovely salads, grilled meat and fish dishes, light-as-air wood-oven-baked Neapolitan pizzas (in my opinion, the best in town) and wonderful desserts, all served in a cosy & comfortable atmosphere with attentive & friendly service. There’s a good selection of Italian wines too.

To be honest, you can get the same high quality food at their other three Italian locations, it’s just that L’Oca Giuliva is across the street from my first home in Sevilla and I have a lot of fond memories attached to this place, and the lovely people who run it. During an extended lockdown due to the pedestrianisation of Mateos Gago, they took advantage of this extra down time to give the restaurant a fresh makeover and to also revamp the kitchen, installing a new wood-burning oven. And now with a pretty side walk terrace that doesn’t have to be up against parked cars.

You are spoiled for choice with their pastas and pizzas, though I like things on the spicy side, so the diavolo and messicana pizzas are favourites. Sometimes I go there just for a salad and some of their gorgeous focaccia, but it’s also great for meat and fish lovers. What else can I say? Five oranges…

They also offer a daily lunch menu that is excellent value.

Bread/Service Charge: 1.50€ PER PERSON

Mateos Gago 9
Tel. 954 21 40 30
Open: 13.30 – 16.00 / 20.00 – midnight
Closed Thursday
€ € € €
*vegetarian friendly

Food 9 | Wine 8 | Service 8 | Ambiance 9

 black olives with orange peel

wilted spinach salad with “speck” (Tyrol ham) and parmesan

ravioli filled with spinach and ricotta, bolognese sauce

pizza diavola

orecchiette al pesto calabrece

caprese salad

mushroom and italian sausage pizza

tortellini filled with meat in a cream, nutmeg, sausage & paresan sauce

messicana pizza with spicy sausage
rich brandy-soaked tiramisu

fresh fruit with vanilla icrecream

chocolate cake

Owners Franco & Fabrizia

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Updated August 2021

I first discovered Porta Rossa, founded in  1991 by Florence native Massimo Sardelli (d. 2021) and Sevillano Juan Manuel Balón (aka Piru), about 30 years ago at their original location in Pastor y Landero. A wonderfully cosy spot that became my go-to place to celebrate birthdays (a tradition that has recently been revived). In 2001 they moved to larger and brighter digs just around the corner, but maintained the comfortable ambiance and excellent service.

The menu includes cheese and charcuterie plates, antipasti, pasta dishes, a selection of risottos and carpaccios, along with excellent fish and meat dishes. All the fresh pastas are made on the premises, and there’s not a pizza in sight. Love the asparagus in pastry starter, and the wonderful gnocchi with gorgonzola sauce. The grilled turbot in a pink peppercorn cream sauce and Galician beef tenderloin in a black peppercorn and vodka sauce are a couple of personal favourites. But I really think it’s hard to go wrong here, so just bring your appetite and enjoy. The wine list is a pleasant mix of Italian and Spanish references. Love this place a lot.

Arenal 5
tel. 954 216 139
Open 14.00 – 15.30 Tuesday-Wednesday-Sunday
14.00 – 15.30/ 20.45 – 22.45 Thursday-Friday-Saturday
€ € € €

Food 9 | Wine 9 | Service 8 | Ambiance 8

starters & olives

asparagus & cheese in pastry with cheese & asparagus sauce

artichoke crepes with mascarpone and parmesan sauce

spinach salad with bacon and green apple

rocket salad with mushrooms and shaved parmesan

tomato and buffalo mozzarella salad

Angus beef carpaccio with parmesan shavings

melanzane alla parmigiana

ravioli filled with minced boletus & pine nuts
with a cream, rosemary and parmesan sauce

spinach & cheese gnocchi and ravioli with butter sauce

gnocchi with gorgonzola cheese sauce

turbot

grilled beef sirloin with arrugula and green peppercorn sauce

escalopine milanese

grilled beef sirloin with slivered potatos and seta mushrooms
in black pepper & vodka sauce

 birthday treat!

Juan Manuel Balón (aka Piru)

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Updated May 2025