JOSÉ TAPAS & SHERRY BAR José Tapas Bar, Bermondsey Street, opened in 2011 as José Pizarro’s first solo restaurant, following his time as executive chef at Tapas Brindisa near Borough Market. It was designed as a small, informal Spanish bar, inspired by the busy tapas bars of Barcelona and Andalucía, with a changing blackboard menu, sherry by the glass and no reservations. A few months later, Pizarro opened his more substantial restaurant, Pizarro, further along Bermondsey Str

ANDANZA Andanza — meaning “fortune” or “fate” in Spanish — opened in late 2020, launched by Danny Kwiatkowski and Carl Botwright, the team behind The Rose pub directly opposite. The site had previously been a William Hill betting shop for more than 30 years. As everyone says to the owners: “I hope your gamble has paid off!” It certainly seems it has. The restaurant’s Basque-inspired menu was originally led by head chef Paulina Irzyk, formerly of Marylebone’s Lurra. Master ham

CAPOTE Y TOROS HAM & SHERRY BAR Capote y Toros South Kensington opened in 2011 as part of Abel Lusa’s successful Cambio de Tercio restaurant group. He aimed to recreate the atmosphere of a traditional Andalusian taberna, bringing a little of Cádiz, Jerez de la Frontera, and Sevilla to London’s Old Brompton Road. The intimate bar quickly became known for its remarkable selection of sherries, originally numbering more than 100, alongside an excellent selection of Spanish tapas.

TABERNA MANOLO CATECA Tucked away in a corner alleyway, this hidden gem gives you the feel of being a local. Taberna Manolo Cateca dates back to 1920, when the Escobar family established a small despacho de vinos, a traditional wine shop. In 1952, it became Taberna La Goleta, a popular local bar specialising in wines from Huelva and the Jerez region. In August 2013, Manuel Rodríguez Navarro, better known as Manolo Cateca, took over Taberna Manolo Cateca Sevilla, giving the c

ASADOR BEDUA Asador Bedua Zumaia stands beside the Urola River, just outside Zumaia, in a beautiful old house with a long history. The building was once part of a medieval riverside trading area, where iron from the nearby Iraeta forge was brought down to the old Bedua quay for transport. The restaurant itself began around 1948, when the great-grandmother of the present family started serving simple food to visitors arriving from Zumaia by boat or bicycle. Her potato tortilla

LA CEPA DE CÁDIZ MÁLAGA This excellent local bar serves beer, wine and Manzanilla sherry, along with traditional chicharrones, a selection of cheeses and specialities from the Sierra de Cádiz, cured meats from Extremadura and an impressive variety of tinned seafood and other preserves. Bringing a little taste of Cádiz to the heart of Málaga, this charming tapas bar feels like home for gaditanos (people from Cádiz) and a great place for visitors to discover the region’s tradit

Marbella isn’t the easiest place for a traditional tapas bar crawl, as many bars are spread out. However, we were pleasantly surprised by what we found during an evening stroll in mid-January as we looked for the best tapas bars in Marbella. Marbella’s layout is rather unusual, with its bars and restaurants spread across different areas rather than concentrated in one place. This means a tapas crawl can involve a fair amount of walking. There's plenty of variety, from traditi

RESTAURANTE ESCÁNEZ We returned to an old favourite, Restaurante Escánez Garrucha, overlooking the fishing harbour in Garrucha on the Almería coast. Francisco (Paco) Escánez Collado established the restaurant in 1982 as a modest, family-run business. In 2004, Paco expanded the restaurant by acquiring the adjoining premises, doubling its capacity and creating a spacious dining room overlooking the Mediterranean. Over the decades, Restaurante Escánez has built an excellent repu

VENTA EL TORO Venta El Toro, Santa Lucía near Vejer de la Frontera, is a small, discreet, countryside Venta without any pretensions. Originally little more than a place to stop for a drink, the family business gradually developed into a traditional Andalusian venta. It became a popular meeting place for locals and visiting bullfighters, after whom it was named. The restaurant's reputation grew further thanks to María Luisa (Maruja) Gallardo’s cooking, whose celebrated eggs an

CASA EGEA Among Mojácar Playa’s many restaurants, Casa Egea stands out for authentic Spanish cooking, fresh seafood, and traditional tapas. This long-established, family-run restaurant is situated just off the beachfront road. It also has an attractive glass-enclosed terrace Established in 1995, Casa Egea is a long-standing family-run restaurant in Mojácar Playa, with a three-generation culinary tradition. Over the years, it has built a loyal following among locals and visit