This new tabanco, run by Enrique Meléndez and his young team, has been created to be a typical neighbourhood bar with the focus on regional wines, including a good selection of sherries, and a traditional tapas menu. Inside the bar is light and airy, with fresh white walls, pale wood floors and light green tables and chairs, which extend out onto the side walk terrace.

The croquetas are a must have and come as a selection of bacalao, spinach and puchero. We also loved the grilled lagartito (pork) and solomillo al whisky montadito. The menu offers both tapas and raciones, and portions are generous. Service is very friendly and helpful. A very welcome addition to the barrio.

Bread/Service Charge: 1.20€ PER PERSON

Doña Maria Coronel 17
Tel 854 64 07 80
Open 12.30 – 17.00 / 20.30 – midnight
€ € €

Food 6 | Wine 7 | Service 6 | Ambiance 7

marinated sardine on toast

croquetas: spinach & pinenuts, bacalao, puchero & hierbabuena

montadito de solomillo al whisky

chocos fritos (cuttlefish)

tortillitas de bacalao

grilled largatito (pork)

owner Enrique Meléndez

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After having walked past this bar countless times over the years, I eventually stumbled into it almost by accident back in 2018, with a nudge from a “regular” standing in the doorway who saw me dithering and told me the tapas were really good. Turned out to be a great choice. So much so that I almost hesitate mention it, as it’s the kind of bar that tends to get overrun by tour companies looking to sell an “authentic” experience. It’s not actually as small as it appears from the outside, with about half a dozen tables, and as many upturned barrel “tables”, giving it a classic look, and a small dining area in the back. There’s a stack of sherry barrels behind the long bar area with plenty of space behind for the staff to comfortably work. Definitely a locals neighbourhood bar and a fun vibe.

There’s a good selection of wines, including some excellent sherries (the house sherries come from Gutiérrez Colosía), which is perfect for the food on offer, traditional charcuterie (from quality producers Lazo and Joselito), preserved fish by Herpac, cheeses and montaditos (toasted filled buns). We’ve loved everything we’ve tried there.

Bread/Service Charge: 0€

San Luís 101
Tel 615 966 682
Open 12.00 – 16.00 / 20.00 – midnight
Sunday 12.00 – 16.00
€ € €

Food 7 | Wine 7 | Service 7 | Ambiance 8

chicharrones de Cádiz
mojama (cured tuna loin) by Herpac

chorizo Ibérico de bellota (Joselito)

caña de lomo Ibérico de Bellota

morcilla de hígado

pringá montadito

lomo al jerez with jamón and cheese
chorizo picante

Manuel Soto (owner), Rocío & Andrés

topping up the barrels

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Updated November 2024

Bodega Abolengo is a cosy and typical bar de barrio (neighbourhood bar) offering a good selection of charcuterie along with a few traditional hot tapas, mostly stews. You’ll also find some excellent regional wines, including sherries. There are a few tall tables inside next to the bar, and a couple more outside, and often it’s standing room only with locals enjoying a drink and a snack. Very friendly service.

Bread/Service Charge: 0€

Fernández y González 12
Tel 667 55 59 10
Open 12.00 – midnight Monday – Saturday
Closed Sunday
€ € €

Food 6 | Wine 7 | Service 7 | Ambiance 6

white wine by José Estevez

salchichón & caña de lomo

chicken meatballs

carne con tomate

Carlos & Jesús

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Since opening in 2017 Francisco Palacios’ Bodega Palo Santo has become a clear neighbourhood favourite. The combination of fab food, friendly service and welcoming atmosphere can’t be beat.

It is a typical “bar de barrio”, with a pleasant ambiance and nice views of the Plaza Gavidia, including a side walk terrace that has expanded since they pedestrianised the square. The tapas and platos are generous, and good value for money. Favourites include their fritos, especially the pavía de bacalao and lagrimitas de presa, but the daily stews are also delicious. Also try the grilled meats, the beef meatballs with mushroom and foie sauce and lovely grilled chipirones with spicy pipirrana. Nice wine list, including some very good sherries. Check it out.

Bread/Service Charge: 1.30€ PER PERSON

Plaza de la Gavidia 5
Tel 854 700 892
Open 12.30 – 17.00 / 20.00 – midnight  Tuesday – Saturday
12.30 – 17.30 Sunday
€ € € €

Food 7 | Wine 6 | Service 7 | Ambiance 7

verdiales

ensaladilla de pulpo

croquetas de jamón

scrambled egges with mushrooms, truffle oil and jamón

foie and mussels en escabeche on toast

tomato and melva salad

espinacas con garbanzos

grilled chipirones with pipirrana, squid ink sauce, smoked fish mayo

montadito with solomillo al whisky topped by jamón

chocos fritos

breaded bacalao

grilled king prawns over a base of quinoa and couscous,
with pimentón mayo and salsa verde

salt cod buñuelos

crispy crêpes filled with chipirones en su tinta

pavía de bacalao

gambas al ajillo

lagrimitas de presa Ibérica with mozárabe mayo

beef meatballs with mushroom and foie sauce

arroz with foie and carrillada

carrillada Ibérica

grilled presa Ibérica with jamón and potatoes

ice cream chocolates

cava and lemon sorbet

Team Palo Santo
Daniel, Antonio, Arturo, Pedro & owner Paco Palacios

Paco Palacios

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Updated April 2025

Note: In March 2025 Ana & Ángel announced that they would be shutting their doors and moving on to other adventures. I leave this here as a lovely memory of so many good (and delicious) times spent with these two over the last (almost) ten years. I wish them both the best of luck but know I’ll be seeing them around.

I first met Ana & Ángel at their tiny location in Calle Castelar back in 2016 and it was love at first visit. In 2018 they moved to their present spot, just a stone’s throw from the famous Metropol Parasol (aka The Mushrooms) and also just off buzzy plaza Cristo de Burgos. What looks like a small bar from the outside leads into a spacious dining area at the back, open to the kitchen, all cleverly designed by Lugadero Architects. There are also a few tables out on a pedestrian side walk terrace with a pretty view of San Pedro church.

Sherry wines continue to be the speciality, though there is a good selection of other Spanish wines too. I used to marvel at what Ángel could concoct from his tiny kitchen in the old place, so as expected, now that he has free reign over a proper kitchen the menu (which changes seasonally) continues evolving as he spreads his culinary wings. Meanwhile Ana has also extended her front of house territory with lovely well-trained staff. Dream Team.

Must tries: the oysters in manzanilla sauce, delicious tempura artichokes, delicate courgette carpaccio, fabulous whole fried fish, creamy and crispy cod fritters and whatever happens to be seasonal. The grilled bone marrow with steak tartare is outrageous, loved it paired with an old amontillado. Don’t feel shy about asking for wine pairing recommendations – whether you’re a sherry novice or a total nerd let Ana be  your guide. Also check out the daily specials. Fab desserts too.

Bread/Service Charge: 1.25€

Mercedes de Velilla 4
Tel 613 014 610
Open 13.30 – 16.00 / 20.30 – 23.00
Tuesday – Saturday
€ € € €

Food 9 | Wine 10 | Service 9 | Ambiance 9

welcome!

exquisite sherry wines

there’s beer too!

crusty sourdough with anchovy and caper butter

assorted cheeses

creamy partridge paté with Sevilla orange marmalade

boquerones en vinagre with avocado cream, topped with chopped nuts

oysters in a buttery manzanilla sauce

mussels de la casa

croquetas de la casa – these ones are jamón

buñuelos de bacalao in egg yolk sauce

sea urchin with lime

sea urchin croquetas in panko

chef Ángel grating mojama (air cured tuna) onto our salad

courgette carpaccio with goat cheese foam, pistacios, pomogranate

braised leeks with mussel carbonara sauce and prawn carpaccio

grilled morcilla with slow poached egg yolk

ajoblanco with salmon tataky

ajoblanco with salmón and mango

payoyo cheese

that TOMATE filled with tuna paté

grilled asparagus with red pesto and alioli

tempura courgette flowers filled with bacalao brandade

seared mackerel with teriyaki and mangetout

artichokes in tempura with romesco sauce

confit artichokes with prawns and salsa marinera

warm scallop & prawn rocket salad with pomegranate seeds

presa Ibérica with Cafe de Paris herbed butter sauce

carrillada cannelloni with truffle sauce

braised leeks with prawns and mussels

whole fried sea bass

duck tataky with shaved frozen foie, rocket and mushroom salad

beef tenderloin topped with grilled foie and oloroso sauce

beef bone marrow topped with steak tartare

grilled jabalí (wild boar) with umami bomb bulgur wheat risotto

bbq pork ribs with roasted veg

three-chocolate mousse

crumble

peaches in wine, chantilly, mango and strawberry ice cream

sweet and salty cheesecake

strawberry cheesecake

lemon meringue pie

co-owners Ángel & Ana

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Updated March 2025

Say hello to my local. This little place is about five minutes away from where I live, and it’s fabulous. I have to thank Jaime from Bodegas Faustino González in Jerez for this “discovery” several years ago, after he told me where I could find his spectacular wines (all en rama) in Sevilla. Turns out I can actually find over 200 (!!!) different sherries here, all available by the glass at very reasonable prices. A veritable sherry temple.

The bar began life back in 1920 as a small wine “despacho” and became Taberna La Goleta in 1952. The current owner, Manuel Rodríguez Navarro (nickname: Cateca) took over the space in 2013, maintaining the original features as well as recovering a beautiful beamed ceiling that was hidden behind plaster, though he did modernise the “Urinario” by replacing the saloon-style doors with a solid wooden one. It’s quite small inside, not much more than a “hole-in-the-wall”, but the space is well-used and the preserved Triana tiles are stunning. Outside there are a few tall tables in the pedestrian street.

The speciality, and my main reason for going there, is the huge range of sherries of every type. I feel like a kid let loose in a candy store in here but usually I leave it up to Manolo to decide for me.  They also offer a good variety of charcuterie, cheeses, mojama and other preserved fish, montaditos and a small selection of traditional tapas. Some with a twist, like the tortilla with hierbabuena and the housemade “chicharrones especiales”, similar to those from Cádiz, but with a “toque Sevillano” and made exclusively for the bar by Carnicería Roiz. There are also a few daily specials. The staff are super friendly, helpful (they know their sherry) and keen to talk about the bar, or really just about anything. Love this place. A lot.

Bread/Service Charge: 0€

Santa María de Gracia 11
Tel 657 590 509
Open 11.00 – 16.00 Monday – Saturday
€ € €

Food 7 | Wine 10 | Service 8 | Ambiance 9

owner Manolo “Cateca”

impressive sherry list

the auxiliary list

new wine fridge!

there’s cold beer too!

paleta Ibérica

mojama (cured tuna) and fried almonds

boquerones en vinagre

Gabriela manzanilla (perfect with that mojama)

toasted pringá montadito

paleta Ibérica

smoked salmon with piquillo pepper and onion salad

caracoles (seasonal)

Levante & Poniente manzanillas

toasted prawn montadito with alioli

cheese cured in pork lard

Cantabrian anchovies

“chicharrones especiales de Sevilla”

smoked sardines on toast with red pepper salad

Urium fino and manzanilla en rama

tortilla with hierbabuena

papas aliñá con melva

marinated pork liver with onions

payoyo cheese

spinach with garbanzos

tomato soup with hierbabuena

pisto with egg

manzanilla Deliciosa

carne con tomate

carne mechada

chicken livers in amontillado sauce

cabrales cheese

caña de lomo & morcón

spicy chorizo montadito

queso viejo

the house vermouth

the “urinario” with new door

recovered high beamed ceiling

belén (nativity scene) in a sherry barrel

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Updated May 2025

I almost don’t want to tell you about this place, but as it’s not in the centre of town it’s unlikely to be “spoiled by sudden popularity”. Also, it’s been here (well, there) for over 25 years, so it’s not exactly a hidden gem. You walk into La Doma and are immediately transported from the bleak grid of Los Bermejales apartment blocks into a small village tavern, which also just happens to have an exceptional bodega. The main D.O. types on offer here are: Rioja, Ribera del Duero, Somontano, Extremadura, Cádiz, Cava and Sherry (the latter poured directly from the barrel).

And the food is as traditional and tasty as anything you could find in the best quality village bars of Cádiz. I particularly love the massive cheese and cured meat display that greets you when you first walk in. That alone makes you want to stay. Or in my case, move in. Be sure to try the grilled meats, the grilled asparagus and the fabulous tomato and tuna belly salad. Very much worth the bus ride (and that’s not something you’ll hear me say often).

Bread/Service Charge: 0€

Polonia, 2
Los Bermejales
Tel 955 641 562
Open 13.00 – 16.00 / 20.00 – midnight Tuesday – Sunday
€ € €

Food 8 | Wine 8 | Service 8 | Ambiance 9

chilled manzanilla with olives

one of the regulars, helping himself to a top up

pan & picos – no charge!

Chema slicing jamón

tapita of jamón with fino

jamón Ibérico de Bellota

big, fat and juicy grilled setas

caña de lomo Ibérico

morcilla de Burgos with roasted piquillo peppers

tomato salad with tuna ventresca

solomillo al oregano

grilled asparagus

cochifritas

grilled abanico Ibérico and chips

lomo de orza with chips & fried eggs

grilled presa Ibérica

selection of cheeses (aka dessert)

Carlos, Demme, Ale & Eloy

still life

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Updated June 2017