After enjoying success with their Luz y Brasa restaurant in Ceuta, siblings Ana and Manuel Martín have chosen Sevilla for their next location. Opened in late 2024 the corner space is bright and welcoming with two main dining rooms and a semi-open kitchen on one side. There’s also a small side walk terrace.

They specialise in char-grilled dishes with the focus on quality products, including fresh fish brought in from Tarifa, vegetables and select meats. We really enjoyed the tostas (marinated sardine with goat cheese and grilled tuna loin) as well as the “bolitas” selection. These are round crunchy croquetas and on this occasion we had three types: crab, gambas al ajillo and a very special camarones filled version. Main dishes are generous, so bring your appetite (or a few friends) with you. The char-grilled whole wild sea bass was delicate and delicious, served with a plate of grilled mixed vegetables. Tender lagartito Ibérico came with perfect chips.

Service is friendly, knowledgeable and professional. With María Díaz (whom I’ve known for years) as FOH I’d expect nothing less. The wine list is still “in progress” but already has a nice range of regional and national choices. Recommended.

Bread/Service Charge: 1.50€ PER PERSON

López de Arenas 2
Tel. 652 189 529
Open 13.30 – 18.00 / 20.30 – 1.00 Thursday – Saturday
13.00 – 18.00 Sunday
€ € € €

Food 9 | Wine 7 | Service 8 | Ambiance 8

marinated sardine tosta with goat cheese and tomato purée

char-grilled tuna tosta with garlic-parsley olive oil

bolitas: crab / gambas al ajillo / tortillita de camarones

char-grilled wild sea bass with grilled vegetables

char-grilled lagarta Ibérica with chips

FOH María Díaz and owner Ana Martín

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After close to 30 years as co-owner of the famed Antigua Abacería de San Lorenzo, Ramón López de Tejada has moved on and his first new project is Gran Café España, which opened last spring (2024). A prime location just a stone’s throw from the Plaza del Duque and La Campana, the well-lit L-shaped corner spot has a long bar (with both bar stools and tall tables) to one side and a dining area on the other. It is Ramón’s tribute to the great sevillano cafés of the past but with a clear nod to the present. Décor is elegant but casual, with a playful use of mis-matched antique mirrors, chandeliers and with dark blue velvet curtains that feel both warm and welcoming. I have to say that after the cosy super-rustic Abacería I was a bit surprised by this “new look” and at first wondered if it was geared towards the tourist trade, given the location. But after several visits now I can see the appeal to locals as well.

The menu offers a range of exquisite charcuterie and cheeses (Spanish, French and Italian), oysters and caviar, as well as hot dishes (tapas and raciones). Some of the house specialities include the crazy delicious patatas arrieras (crispy potato topped with “salsa Gran Cafe” and gambas al ajillo), tender lamb pincho moruno, steak tartare (prepared at your table) and excellent croquetas de jamón. Be sure to check the daily specials – on our last visit we had a gorgeous stew of Judiones de La Granja with its “sacrements” (chorizo, morcilla, pancetta). The extensive wine list includes several sherries and both national and international references. Service is professional and friendly.

Open for breakfast, which ranges from a simple tostada to the full “Gran Café España”.  Special attention is paid to the coffee here.

Be sure to look out for regular tasting events.

Bread/Service Charge: 0€ (picos, regañá, etc on the menu)

Javier Lasso de la Vega 14
Tel. 955 48 07 91
Open 9.30 – 22.30
Breakfast 9.30 – 12.30
All Day Kitchen 12.00 – 23.30
€ € € €

Food 8 | Wine 8 | Service 8 | Ambiance 8

jamón Ibérico de bellota

“sobao pasiego” topped with sobresada ibérica and anchovy

vermouth

puff pastry filled with chorizo and gorganzola

buttery “emparedado royal” with novillo roast beef

patatas arrerias

steak tartare prepared at your table

calamares fritos

grilled lamb pincho moruno

battered hake

judiones de la granja with chorizo, morcilla, pancetta

cheeses: Pajarete and Savel

owner Ramón López de Tejada

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Updated September 2025

De La O is Manuel Llerena’s new restaurant on the Triana bank of the river. It occupies a long, rather narrow space, with a small terrace out front overlooking the river. The decor is modernist, one wall being of polished wood slats, the other of alternating sections of brick and a vertical garden, making for a nice ambiance – Manuel, a former architect, designed the interior himself.

Foodwise the emphasis is on local product and seasonal specialities (descibed as “cocina de origen”), with both fish/seafood and meat dishes. We started with a silky chicken paté with a pumpkin jam and orange zest, followed by langostines in a light crispy batter with a slightly spicy mayo sauce. We were less impressed by the “croquetas” wrapped in gambas de cristal (too chewy), but the main fish dish, an espeto of sea bass with vegetable tallarines in ceviche was excellent, as was the abanico (pork) with baby potatoes. Overall an enjoyable experience.

Bread/Service Charge: 1.60€ PER PERSON

Paseo Nuestra Señora de la O 29
Tel 954 339 000
Open 13.30 – 16.00 / 20.30 – 23.00 Tuesday – Saturday
13.30 – 16.00 Sunday
Closed Monday
€ € € €

Food 7 | Wine 7 | Service 7 | Ambiance 7

chicken liver paté, pumpkin jam with orange zest

king prawns in crispy pastry, spicy alioli

“croquetas” with gambas de cristal

whole chargrilled lubina (sea bass) en espeto

chargrilled abanico (pork) with black garlic alioli

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Enamórate de Sevilla (Fall In Love with Sevilla) is the name of the latest tasting menu being offered at Restaurante Ispal (Grupo La Raza) created by their new chef Jorge Manfredi. I had been invited to try the original tasting menu when Ispal first opened in 2018 and while they have kept about 30% of the previous chef’s menu, the rest is by Manfredi, and I think is an improvement. Also new is a much expanded wine list, which now boasts over 400 Andalusian wines.

It’s a “kilometre 0” menu, with locally sourced products and reinterpreted dishes that are based on traditional Sevilliano recipes, divided into four parts: Vamos de Tapeo!, Vámanos a la Feria, Paseo por Sevilla and Desserts. We started off with a vermouth cocktail and had some wonderful wine pairings throughout.

The tasting menu is 59€ per person, 89€ with wine pairing and 109€ with the premium wine pairing. For more information have a look at their website. There is also an a la carte menu. Photos of the premium wine pairing meal below (full disclosure: I was invited by Ispal to try the menu, but all views are my own).

Plaza San Sebastian 1
Tel 955 54 71 27
Open 13.00 – 16.00 / 20.30 – midnight
Closed Monday
€ € € € €

chef Jorge Manfredi with Pedro Sánchez-Cuerda, director of Grupo La Raza

VAMOS DE TAPEO!

selection of breads with a melted “candle” of pork fat and smoky pimentón

boquerones al vinagre cones – sherry vinegar ice cream

Retinto beef tartare, jamón oil, panko

The Origin of The Tapa… oxtail, paladu, broth

VÁMANOS A LA FERIA

oysters with manzanilla “rebujito”

queso a la romana, salmorejo inside puffed cracker topped with jamón

fritura sevillana

deconstructed papas con chocos, with broth

PASEO POR SEVILLA

gambas al ajillo Ispal style

sopa de picadilla with a Korean touch, egg fritter

bacalao con tomate with deconstructed Los Palacios tomato – exquisite

almadraba tuna tarantelo encebollado

pluma Ibérica (pork shoulder) in whisky sauce with black truffle

DESSERTS

orange, extra virgen olive oil, honey

chocolate textures

petit fours

premium wine pairings

Updated February 2020

After five years in Los Remedios (where I first met him), chef Javier Abascal’s Lalola Taberna Gourmet moved to the chic Hotel Palacio Conde de Torrejón in 2019. Renamed Lalola Restaurante it is located inside a spectacular plant and light filled patio, open and spacious, with a clever geometric “ceiling” reminiscent of Arabic tiles that creates playful shadows throughout. There’s a separate entrance to the restaurant in calle Marco Sancho around the corner.

Javi is known as el Rey de la Casquería (king of offal – it sounds better in Spanish) and comes up with some surprising combinations, always delicious, so don’t be afraid to try anything that may seem a bit out of your comfort zone. There are also more familiar dishes, with the menu offering a wonderful selection of pure Andalucía. For me the ever-changing croquettes, a speciality of Javier, are always fabulous, also check out the rice of the day and, of course, the grilled meats. Because of the seasonal menus some of what you see here may not be on the menu when you visit, but there will be something equally delicious to enjoy.

Aside from the regular menu there is also an Ibérico Tasting Menu, which takes you through several courses of pork heaven paired with wines. Excellent value, especially as all the pork products come from Arturo Sanchéz, one of the best Ibérico producers in the country. The wine list is well thought out, with a good selection of sherry wines. Be sure to save room for the amazing blue cheese cheesecake (though the jamón baklava on my last visit was also outstanding). Service is professional and attentive.

Bread/Service Charge: 2.50€ PER PERSON

Conde de Torrejon 9
Tel 955 13 83 59
Open 13.30 – 16.00 / 20.30 – 23.30  Tuesday – Saturday
€ € € €

Food 9 | Wine 9 | Service 9 | Ambiance 9

gildas Ibéricas

caña de lomo and salchichón from Arturo Sánchez

starters: buñuelo de bacalao, jamón croqueta, chicharrón de cádiz
topped with scallop tartare

ensaladilla with king prawns and fried eggssolomillo Ibérico de Bellota tartare with whisky sauce

ensaladilla de longaniza Ibérica with aguardiente, herb olive oil and shallots

pringá gyozas

langoustines with castañetas (pork sweetbread) sauce curry biscuit

smoked sardine on toast, sun dried tomatoes

buñuelos de bacalao topped with melted pork jowl

black pudding empanada

grilled tuna belly with fresh tomato frito

boned lamb with Ibérico sauce, pine nuts and poached egg

sautéed boletus topped with seared foie

rabbit kidneys with mushrooms and fried potatoes

razor clams in Ibérico sauce

arroz Ibérico with jamón, presa, asparagus, topped with papada

abanico Ibérico aged 30 days in jamón manteca

grilled abanico

presa Ibérica with potatoes and padrón peppers

grilled abanico Ibérico with gnocchi, boletus

pluma Ibérica de bellota

abanico Ibérico

buttery dijon potato purée (served with above abanico)

35 day aged pluma Ibérica de Bellota

tomahawk

grilled abanico Ibérico

Presa Ibérica by Arturo Sánchez with artichokes and jamón oil

blue cheese cheesecake

dark chocolate cake

panna cotta Ibérica
el bocadillo más fino del mundo
bombón de chocolate y jamón ibérico

jamón baklava with pistachio ice cream and white chocolate crumble

chef Javier Abascal

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Updated December 2024