Know in advance there are two options, if you want to eat here …read more..
1. Book a table online ... There is a cancellation policy, so you will need to put down a credit card and around 15 Euro per person to hold the time/date. You will have access to a sit-down table and a waiter and full-plated menu and fancy tapas.
VERY IMPORTANT ... Know by sitting at a table with a reservation, you will pay 3 - 5 times the price for the same tapas on the bar side!
2. Show up and get a seat in the bar area for tapas. This is first come, first serve and there was a line of around 5 people when the restaurant opened at 1 p.m. It probably wouldn't be a problem getting a bar area or table if you show up 15 - 20 minute earlier. Otherwise it's a free for all.
We would have preferred the bar side and less money ... however, we had a little one in a stroller so we didn't want to jockey for a spot. Had we known showing up a little early at the opening time was so easy, we'd have done that.
The waiters are all older in the restaurant side and act pretentious ... as fine dining waiters do. They have little patience ... aren't very friendly ... and are very brusque. They act like they are you doing a favor by waiting on you. Also, be prepared to speak Spanish.
The food here is good to average. It's expensive (on the fine dining side) I would imagine the food is the same quality ... just smaller portions on the bar side. We didn't try it. On the sit-down side, things get pricey and you have to order larger portions.
We ordered:
- Iberico Ham ... 20 Euros. They brought a big plate. There was no smaller order. It was very good. Not the best that we had but better than anything you'd get in the US.
- Croquettes ... 12 Euro. Another big order size with no smaller available. These were the best Croquettes we had in Seville. Fried perfectly with a very loose and cheesy filling. Almost like a breadless grilled cheese sandwich.
- Cuttle Fish ... 12 Euro. This was pretty bad. It was like eating giant strips of rubber with no taste. Way too chewy and hardly any batter. It was served with no nipping sauce and was like eating a basket of small tires.
- Creamed Spinach ... I have never tasted anything like this. It was like eating spinach blended with cream with church insence mixed it. I'd imagine a basket of poppuri soaked in salt water would taste similar. It was not great, although very unique. For 8 Euro, a big pass.
- Cheesecake ... Not great. Tasted like a square of sweet cheesecake with strawberry jelly on top. I can't imagine you couldn't find something similar in a supermarket for much cheaper than the 6 Euro price.
Overall, the atmosphere was nice. It was immaculately clean inside and it didn't really look as ancient as you'd expect. It looked like a Spanish restaurant you'd expect. However the food was pretty average compared to other restaurants in Spain. We saw the table next to us both got steak and left it about 3/4 eaten, so it couldn't have been fantastic as they didn't look like the GLP1 type.
This is one you must hit in Seville, just because it's so famous. It's on a cute street. However, don't expect it to be the best food you try in Seville and if you can do the tapas bar side, you'll probably have a better experience than in the formal dining room area.