Where to eat

By Emma Jones, TravelMail

Last updated at 18:04 28 August 2002


Granada's relaxed and informal atmosphere becomes most apparent at meal times. There are restaurants of note, but it's the free tapas on offer in most local bars (with the purchase of a drink) that fills most stomachs here.

Bodegas, such as Bodega Castanada - the self-proclaimed oldest tapas bar in Granada - around the lively Plaza Nueva tend to be the most touristy (and therefore the least generous).

Those in the Albaicin offer more traditional house specialities including offal at El Aixa (Upper Albaicin) and snails with cabbage at El Aliatar and El Ocana (both Upper Albaicin), while the lively University district centred around Calle San Juan de Dios, Calle (and Plaza) Gran Capitan, and Plaza Einstein offer a basic but generous range of toasted bagels and bocadillos (sandwiches).

It's also the hub of most late-night bars and clubs.

Restaurants

Restaurant Sevilla (Calle Oficios 12, Tel : 58 22 12 23)

Situated opposite the entrance to Capilla Real (Royal Chapel), this is one of Granada's few surviving pre-war restaurants and a former haunt of local playwright Lorca.

The owner's have tried hard to preserve the flavour of the restaurant, offering regional dishes tasty enough to make it one of the most famous restaurants in Granada.

Expect to pay around £20 a head. Book in advance in the summer months especially if you want a table on the terrace.

Cunini (Calle Pescaderia 14, Tel: 58 25 07 77)

Restaurant, tapas bar and seafood shop, this 'Merisquería' near the cathedral is made hard to miss by the fresh lobster swimming in the window tank.

The tapas bar offers a cheaper, but equally tasty version of the restaurant's upmarket menu.

Mirador de Morayama (Calle Pianista Garcia Carrillo 2, in the Albaicin, Tel: 58 22 82 90)

Some of Granada's restaurants make the best of the magnificent views and this is one of them.

This 16th century mirador boasts a great vantage over the Alhambra from its wood and tiled interior and vine-covered terraces.

It's best know for the sweet homemade desserts made in the Convento de Santa Catalina de Zafra at the bottom of the hill.

Casa Juanillo (Camino del Monte 81, Sacromonte District)

For Alhambra views at a cheaper price, the Casa Juanillo at the lower end of the price-bracket serves hearty no nonsense Andalucian dishes at reasonable prices.

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