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THE 'TAPAS'
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Although perhaps not the most outstanding feature of local cooking, the tapas served free in all the province's bars to wash down a glass of wine or a beer are a tasty symbol of Granada, stimulating the senses and remaining in the visitor´s memory. As miniature cooking , tapas are the most informal yet varied and tasty way to have lunch or dinner out. kitchens delight their customers tastebuds with little plates of stewed snails, Andalusia style potatoes, fish in batter and meat in sauce to name but a few, in more or less hearty portions.
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TAPAS BARS
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Poke around the Plaza del Carmen-Calle Navas, Campo del Príncipe, Plaza Nueva-Calle Elvira, and Albaicín-Sacromonte for Granada's most colorful twilight hangouts. Also try the bars and restaurants in the arches underneath the Plaza de Toros (Bullfighting Ring), on the west of the city and a bit farther from the city center. For a change, check out some Moroccan-síyle tea shops, known as Teterís, these first emerged in Granada and are now equally popular in Seville and Málaga, particularly among students. The only catch is that they can be expen sive, so do check the price of your brew before you order. The highest concentration is in the Albaicín, particularly around Calle Calderería Nueva where, within a few doors from each other.
El Almirez (Navas 8, Puerta Real) serves local tapas like calabaza frita (fried pumpkin). La Tana (El Placeta del Agua, Centro) has great wine to accompany its savory tapas (ask the staff for recommendations). The food is simple, fresh and filling. Off Calle Navas in Plaza Campillo is Chikito (El Plaza del Campillo 9, Puerta Real 958223364), best known for its tasty sit-down meals, but the bar is an excellent place for tapas. The place is usually packed, so additional tables are set up on the square in summer. Moroccan-run AI-Andalus (El Elvira, Centro) serves tasty tapas, including bite-size falafel and other veggie options. La Taberna de Baco (El Campo del Príncipe, Realejo) fuses Ecuadoran and Andalusian flavors. El Pilar del Toro (Hospital de Santa Ana s/n, Albaicín) is a bar and restaurant with a beautiful patio. The popular Bodegas Castañeda (Elvira 6, Centro 958226362) serves classic tapas, as well as baked potatoes with a choice of fillings. Bodega Peso la Harina (El Placeta del Peso de la Harina, Sacromonte), on a square right at the entrance of Camino de Sacromonte, prepares tapas not to be missed. Southeast of Granada's cathedral, Café Botánico (Málaga 3, Centro 958/271598) is a modern hot spot with a diverse menú that includes an interesting twist on traditional cuisine for a young, trendy crowd.
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GRANADA CUISINE
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Granada cuisine is just as varied and tasty as the tapas. It is a style of cooking with a great Arabic inheritance , heavy on spices, rich in soups and pottages and especially sweets. Produce from the fertile plain surrounding Granada is the basis of many traditional local dishes, like soft broad beans fried with cured ham, bunches of stuffed Swiss chard, thistles, pipirrana salad, and the ubiquitous gazpacho. A famous speciality of the provincial capital is Sacromonte Omelette, a dish not suited to delicate palates as it is made from marrow, cooked brains, bulls testicles and eggs.
The cold winter climate ushered in by the white topped peaks of the Sierra Nevada lends itself to heavy dishes designed to comfort body and soul. The best example is the traditional Olla de San Antón, so robust that it is only eaten during two weeks of the year. Few parts of the pig escape from the pot: the ears, the tail, the fat, the blood and innards, the trotters�all accompanied by dry beans, rice and fennel. Typical dishes from the Marquesado and the Altiplano are mushy pudding gachas with pepper, bread dough migas, Seguro style lamb stew, and garlic fried veal.
Alpujarra cooking is a tourist attraction in itself. Trevélez cured ham is a institution, cured in the highest village in the Iberian peninsula. Its renowned quality has made it famous and it is now in high demand on the ever demanding Japanese market. This delicacy never goes amiss in the district´s most famous dish, the Plato Alpujarreño, a speciality which is completed with pork sirloin, chorizo sausage, black pudding, fried eggs and Andalusian style potatoes. It is heavy going and should really be washed down with a rosé from the Contraviesa, or if you wish, with one of the more elaborate brews that some brave winemakers have turned into a success among local people.
The Tropical coast also provides Granada with great fish and seafood . The shrimps, crayfish and white Motril prawns are of exceptional quality, and they just need a quick dash under the grill to make their taste sublime. Fish like red snapper, white bream, sea bream and soul are also exquisite when grilled or salted. Not to mention sardines roasted on skewers or in moraga.
The fantastic climate of coastal Granada favours growing subtropical fruit like chirimoya, avocados, mangoes and carambola. Any meal should really be rounded off with a shot of Rum from Motril, of surprisingly good quality given that it is made so far from the Caribbean. |
DESSERTS
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Honey and spices are the essential ingredients of Granada dessert making, inherited from the Moors. Paradoxically, the sweets made by nuns in closed convent are even more renowned: bizcochada sponges, moll eggs, buttery mantecada biscuits and fruit compotes. The tocinillo de cielo desserts from Guadix, doughnut-like roscos from Loja and figgy pan de higo from the Alpujarras are delicious. And it is worth visiting Santa Fe just for the little Pionono sweets, named after a pope. |
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WHERE TO EAT
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Ruta del Veleta. It's worth the short drive 5 km (3 mi) out of town to this Spanish restaurant, which serves some of the best food in Granada. House specialties include carnes a la brasa (succulent grilled meats) and fish dishes cooked in rock salt, as well as regional dishes like jabalí es tilo mozárabe (wild boar cooked with apples). Dessert might be cuajada de leche de oveja y helado de miel (sheep's-milk curd with honey ice cream). Cenes de la Vega, Ctra. Sierra Nevada, Km 5.4, on road to Sierra Nevada 95S486134 No dinner Sun in summer.
Carmen de San Miguel. Hidden down a lane near the Alhambra Palace hotel, this hillside villa with a spacious dining room and classic Andalusian summer terrace would be worth a stop just for its view over the city. Happily, the food also gets high marks. Look for habas a la granadina (broad beans with mint and prawns) and pichón asado con anís estrellado y puré de castañas (roast squab with aniseed and chestnut sauce) or, better yet, order the sampler menú. El Plaza de Torres Bermejas 3, Alhambra 958226723 No dinner Sun.
Cunini. Around the corner from the cathedral is Granada's best fish house, where seafood is displayed in the window at the front of the tapas bar. Both the pescaditos fritos (fried) and the parrillada (grilled) fish are good choices, and if it's chilly you can warm up with caldereta de arroz, pescado y marisco (rice, fish, and seafood stew). There are tables out- doors in warm weather. Pescadería 14, Centro 9 58250777 Closed Mon. No dinner Sun.
Sevilla. Since 1930 this colorful, central two-story restaurant has fed the likes of de Falla and García Lorca. There are four picturesque din ing rooms and an outdoor terrace overlooking the Royal Chapel. There's a small but superb tapas bar; the dinner menu includes Granadino fa vorites like sopa sevillana and tortilla Sacromonte, as well as more elabo rate dishes. El Oficios 12, Centro 958221223 No dinner Sun.
Velázquez. Tucked into a side street one block west of the Puerta de Elvira and Plaza del Triunfo, this cozy, very Spanish restaurant has long been popular with locals. At street level, the brick-wall bar is hung with hams; the intimate, woodbeam dining room is upstairs. House specialties include zancarrón cordero a la miel (lamb with honey) and lomitos de rape (braised monkfish medallions). Emilio Orozco 1, Triunfo 958 280109, Closed Sun.
Reservation Charming accommodation in Granada |
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