20 Jun Eating tapas in Granada
Next stop, Granada.
After eating tapas in Seville, Cadiz, Cordoba and Ronda I had the opportunity to try three places in Granada and a little fast food since I was in a hurry to see as much as I could from the city.
I never thought to write down the name of the fast food so I will have to look for it using google maps but in the end I consider this a cheap, clean, good meal that can fill you up and keep you satisfied for a long time.
The places I tried in Granada were:
• Los Diamantes
• Bar Avila
• Bar La Riviera
From the start I want to mention one thing that I find extremely important. I am sure that Granada has excellent places to eat. Almost any city has them. When reading my reviews you must understand that I am only focusing on those specific restaurants, bars, bodegas where I ate.
It is very hard for me to judge an entire city after tasting 3-5 meals in it.
According to Trip Advisor Granada has 1398 restaurants. So in reviewing these particular three you can’t possibly cover all that Granada has to offer.
But what I’m trying to do is something else. I am trying to reach as many restaurants as possible from a certain category.
I never aimed this blog to be an exclusive one. Or geared towards high spenders. I believe that everywhere on this planet you can find local restaurants. Small bars, bodegas. Filled with locals, filled with laughter, filled with good food or having a signature dish.
That is my aim. To search the internet before going on a trip, to talk to people, to locals and ask their favorite spots. And from those places to try and sample as many as I can.
All while remaining in the cheap to medium prices category.
Because even though I said it countless of times, yes great food is adding so much more to your trip but only if you are not paying a fortune on it.
If for example I would have paid 30 eur for a meal in Andalucia in my 15 days there I would have spent about 900 eur extra (I only eat 2 meals each day). Just on food. Looking for local bodegas, restaurants I averaged around 20-25 eur/day. That brought me to let’s say…375 eur for 15 days. That’s a difference of 525 eur. Again, just on food.
Since many people asked me how I choose my restaurants I will write a simple, small post in which I will try to cover the steps I take each time when choosing a restaurant.
Reading this many people will roll their eyes thinking that it is too much planning or it is too difficult but travelers like me will surely understand me.
So having this covered we can move with the reviews for Granada.
1. Los Diamantes-1294 reviews on Trip Advisor-83rd of 1399 restaurants in Granada.
A little heads up before starting the review. On Friday when I started writing this article there were only 1398 articles (like I wrote above) on Trip Advisor. On Monday as I resumed writing one more popped in. That to show only that it is nearly impossible to sample even 1% of them but rather pick a few and try your luck.
If you are looking for Los Diamantes on your radar two places will pop out. This place where I ate and Bar Los Diamantes.
I don’t know if they are together, owned by the same people, etc but for reference the restaurant I will review today is situated on Plaza Nueva 13.
Seeing how many good reviews this place has on Trip Advisor I chose it to be my first meal in Granada after a few hours of walking thru the city.
The place is big, well bigger than the places I got used to in Ronda for example or even in Seville.
When I entered the location I had a moment of hesitation, like others around me due to two things. One, the place was full but not like I used to. You see all the bars, bodegas I tried before had an empty space in the middle or small high tables around which people gathered to eat. Here you have long tables, very long tables, and you can sit there and eat with anybody.
The second problem was that due to a leak in the ceiling water was pouring near the front entrance so a few of the places near the bar, etc had to be free.
Dismissing these things since I was hungry I walked to the end of the bar and managed to secure a chair after someone left so I was ready to order.
Thinking back now I must confess that maybe I wasn’t that inspired on my visit there but frankly I thought the prices for the dishes were a bit high. You can find their website here so you can check for yourself the prices.
In this place I ordered a dish, a side this, drank a bear and received a small tapa plate complimentary from the house.
The main dish, which was the shrimps, did not impress me much. I ate delicious shrimps in other places, one of them in Ronda for example, not to mention the special Osteria in Venice.
So as far as this dish goes I think it was acceptable and that’s all.
My biggest surprise came from the side dish. Simple green tomatoes with olive oil on them and salt. Amazing. Make that AMAZING. So yes I did find a thing I enjoyed much here.
As far as the price goes I can say that from my point of view and compared even to the most expensive place in my trip that far this is expensive. 20 eur for some shrimps, a side of tomatoes and a beer is a bit much. Even more, if you read my reviews from Seville and Ronda or Setenil you know that I had amazing meals at almost half that price.
I am in doubt whether to rate this place or no. I realize that it has many good reviews and it could be my mistake for not ordering something else.
One thing I know. I wouldn’t give it another try if in Granada again. Not even for the tomatoes.
2. Bar Avila-846 reviews on Trip Advisor-32nd of 1399 restaurants in Granada
Situated on Calle Veronica de la Virgen 16 Bar Avila is a smaller place, but a place I found enjoyable. After my experience with Los Diamantos I found this place to be better. At least in my opinion.
The place is not big and when I went that evening to eat I saw a few free places so I managed to sit at the bar and order something to eat.
I ordered a main here and two tapas. The bar (like others) has a one tapa one free beer policy so that way I enjoyed two beers after my meal.
The prices are decent and I enjoyed the tapas. One of them I found delicious, the beans tapas while the cod left me somehow in doubt. The fish was very good but I did not enjoy the sauce. The tomato sauce felt a bit off so I left most of it on the plate. The fish however was very good.
One thing that popped in my eyes in Granada was the fact that many of the customers were tourists.
While in Seville, Cadiz, Ronda the locals were the main customers in the places I tried in Granada it felt like more tourists then locals.
Anyway if ever again in Granada I think I’ll try this place one more time. If only for the beans tapa.
3. Bar La Riviera-1048 reviews on Trip Advisor-56th of 1399 restaurants in Granada
I had doubts upon entering this place even if it holds good ratings on Trip Advisor. It was filled with tourists, the music was loud, and it was poorly lit.
The place is biggish in size and the staff is ok.
I tried two tapas here and received two free beers but I frankly wasn’t impressed with my meal.
Yes, the prices are cheap. Not the cheapest in my trip and yes they include beer but I did not enjoy the quality of the food.
Even if Los Diamantes is rated lower on Trip Advisor I can honestly tell that the food was better. Only if I think of the tomatoes side dish.
Clearly not a place for me and I wouldn’t try it again if in Granada.
Before I end this article I must tell you that I am sorry that I didn’t remember the name of the restaurant in which I ate a very good kebab. I tried looking for it on google maps but without any luck.
From what I remember from Plaza Nueva you continue on Calle Reyes Catolicos for a bit and stumble upon this place.
At 5 euro for the kebab and Pepsi I found it of good value for the traveler on the budget.
This concludes my post from Granada and on my next installments I will focus on food and accomodation in Nerja and a delicious restaurant in Malaga.