Seville Food and Travel Guide: Tapas, Jamón Ibérico and Salmorejo

Seville, the sun-soaked capital of Andalusia, may be the spiritual home of tapas. Eating here is a social, standing-up, bar-hopping affair, where you order a few small plates with a glass of cold fino sherry, then move on to the next spot. The flavors are bold and southern: cured pork, garlic, olive oil and the catch of the day from the nearby coast.

What to eat

• Jamón ibérico — acorn-fed cured ham, sliced paper-thin; the bellota grade is the prize.
• Salmorejo — a thick, chilled tomato cream topped with egg and ham, richer than gazpacho.
• Pescaíto frito — lightly fried fish, from boquerones to cazón en adobo.
• Espinacas con garbanzos — spinach with chickpeas, a Moorish-rooted Seville classic.
• Solomillo al whisky — pork tenderloin in a garlicky white-wine sauce.

Where to go

Cross the river to Triana, the old ceramics and flamenco quarter, where the market and surrounding bars serve excellent, unfussy tapas. Back in the center, the lanes around the Alfalfa and Santa Cruz neighborhoods are dense with historic taverns. Aim to eat late, the local way, as kitchens fill up well after 9pm.

A practical ordering tip: know your portion sizes. A tapa is a small taste, a media ración is a half plate, and a ración is a full sharing plate, so order by size depending on how many bars you plan to visit.

A useful heads-up: many of Seville's best old-school bars chalk their tapas on a wall or hand over a Spanish-only list, so photographing the menu to translate it makes it easy to order beyond the few dishes you already recognize.

Pace yourself, follow the crowds of locals, and let one tapas bar lead you to the next.