O CURRO DA PARRA Santiago de Compostela, located in Galicia, northwest Spain, is a historic city famous as the final destination of the Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James) pilgrimage. Known for its stunning UNESCO-listed Old Town and Romanesque Cathedral, which houses the tomb of St. James, it is a major spiritual and cultural hub. O Curro da Parra is located in the old part of town in the historic city centre. It is very close to the old market, the Mercado de Abastos de

EL GATO NEGRO TAPAS Michelin Bib Gourmand Simon Shaw opened El Gato Negro Tapas in an empty former pub in Ripponden in 2005. With a view to good luck and a nod to a favourite old shop in Madrid, he named it El Gato Negro (Spanish for the black cat). Strangely, it later transpired the pub had been called the Black Cat many years before. El Gato Negro’s move from the Pennine village of Ripponden to Manchester has proved a great success story. Simon, whose love of Spanish fo

MADRID TAPAS BARS IN THE CALLE DE JESUS AREA The Plaza de Jesús and its extension, the Calle de Jesús, is a street with many bars, mainly filled with locals, near the Prada Museum and other historic sites, and a good spot for lunch after visiting the museums, etc. On a Thursday lunchtime in February, we had a stroll to a tapas bar for drinks. CERVANTES Plaza de Jesús 7, 28012 Madrid +34 914 29 60 93 We did not eat here this time, but it is a very good cerveceria offering typi

It is not easy to have a tapas bar crawl in Marbella, at least, not in the strict sense of the term, as the bars are not very close together. So we were pleasantly surprised with our evening stroll in mid-January. The town’s geography is quite peculiar, without a clearly defined old town or centre, which means there can be a bit of walking between bars. There are various styles here, including tapas and pintxos, markets and seafood cuisine, from traditional small wineries to

MUSEO DEL JAMÓN A few of these Museo del Jamón tapas bars are scattered around Madrid, and this one at Carrera San Jeronimo 6 is our particular favourite. They all offer an eclectic mix of traditional Spanish food, centred on ham, bread, beer & wine. This place can be a godsend for those concerned about how much they spend. A beer and a ham & cheese bocadillo (roll) can be bought for around €1; you cannot beat that. If you have more money, try one of the less expensive Jamón’

SABOR One Michelin star Sabor, founded by Nieves Barragan and José Etura, is just off Regent Street in the little foodie enclave of Heddon Street. Sabor means flavour in Spanish. The restaurant has three distinct areas: the bar and counter on the ground floor, and El Asador on the first floor. The first two are walk-in only, and at El Asador, you need to book. Sabor was awarded One Michelin Star in 2018. We arrived at 7 pm on a Saturday and, after a short wait, were given

We spent a few days in Alicante City in October. Arriving late on Saturday night, we checked into our hotel and then headed to GASTROBAR DISTRIKT 41 Michelin Plate IIO Calle de Navas, 41, 03001 Alacant, Alicante +34 965 181 426 www.distrikt41.es This is an extraordinarily buzzy and busy bar/restaurant with modern décor and a great ambi e nce. It is run by two chefs originally from the Netherlands. They have a contemporary à la carte menu with a few Central European influen

LA COSMO Michelin Bib Gourmand La Cosma is the younger sibling of Dani Carnero ’ s La Cosmopolita. It has a more modern vibe and setting, but still serves big-flavoured Andalucian cooking without any gimmicks. We enjoyed an excellent early dinner, sitting at the long bar looking into the open kitchen. We started with some excellent bread. Ostras (oysters) La Gilda atún, tomate, piparra y anchoa (a new take on the Gilda, the iconic pintxo inspired by actress Rita Hayworth,

TABERNA LA NIÑA DEL PISTO This is one of our favourite bars/restaurants in the old town of Marbella. You will find it hidden, down a small, narrow pasaje (passageway), but you won’t if you don’t pay attention to where you are going. This authentic Andalusian tapas bar is always busy with locals and tourists alike and is reputedly the oldest tapas bar in the Marbella area. The bar area inside is very traditional, beautifully decorated, with many photos of bullfighting scenes

CAPOTE Y TOROS HAM & SHERRY BAR We returned to the little offspring of Cambio de Tercio, where you will find this lively little tapas bar specialising in sherry and Jamón and serving other delicious tapas. From the small menu, you can try: The wonderful 5J Cinco Jotas Jabugo Jamón Ibérico de Bellota. The patatas bravas here are served in all three of their restaurants and tapas bars. Tiny new potatoes are topped with a smooth tomato bravas sauce and a luscious dollop of spi