Pamplona/Iruña is the historical capital of Navarre/Navara in the former Kingdom of Navarre. It was a medieval Basque kingdom until Castile annexed it in the 16th century. The city is famous worldwide for the running of the bulls during the San Fermín festival, which is held annually from July 6 to 14. This festival was brought to literary renown with the 1926 publication of Ernest Hemingway's novel, The Sun Also Rises. We stayed at, CASA OTANO BAR RESTAURANTE Bajo, Calle de

12 TAPAS Michelin Bib Gourmand The menu at this great little spot, recently awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand, is not very extensive, but the quality is outstanding. The tapas here are reinterpretations of traditional dishes like migas, aioli shrimp montadito, and salmorejo, but with a thoroughly modern touch. We had the 8-course Menú Degustacíon at €35 per person. Foie al Palo Cortado sobre torta de anís y naranja amarga (foie with Palo Cortado on aniseed and bitter orange

TABERNA LA SORPRESA On a short trip to Cádiz, we stopped at Taberna La Sorpresa for a few tapas and a glass of the local sherry wine. This Taberna is a very underrated hidden gem. It is quite particular in that the tapas and platos here highlight fresh fish rather than the mainly fried seafood found in other parts of Cádiz. Go here once you have had enough fried food and want to try something unique to the area. We started with a couple of copas of manzanilla, followed by sar

PALOCORTADO This excellent restaurant is situated outside of the crowded old town area of bars and restaurants and is well worth a visit. We arrived early for Andalucía at 8.15 pm, and it was empty, but when we left at 10.15 pm, it was full to bursting, as is the way in Málaga. It is an excellent spot for an aperitivo; we had a fabulous palocortado cocktail to begin the evening. There is also a superb wine list. Once settled in, we began our meal with G azpachuelo cremoso

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 that 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 Spanis

LA AZOTEA Michelin Plate IIO UPDATED DECEMBER 2024 The branch in this review is now closed , but they do have two similar, excellent branches here. LA AZOTEA Calle Conde de Barajas 13, 41002 Sevilla +34 955 11 67 48 www.laazoteasevilla.com/es LA AZOTEA VINOS & TAPAS Calle Mateos Gago, 8, 41004 Sevilla, Spain +34 955 69 78 88 www.laazoteasevilla.es @AzoteaSevilla This is a review of the previous venue. A cosy and intimate tapas bar and restaurant just a five-minute walk

RESTAURANTE EL CAMPERO Michelin Plate IIO Barbate, a rather scruffy fishing village on the southern coast of Spain near Cádiz, has been catching bluefin tuna using the same methods for over 3,000 years. This traditional method, almadraba, is famous throughout Spain for catching the country's most popular tuna. The almadraba season runs from May to June. Small fishing boats attached to giant round nets float in an ever-widening circle in the narrow Strait of Gibraltar betw

CERVECERIA CATALANA Michelin Plate IIO A return to this restaurant in April 2022 for a few tapas when Covid-19 restrictions were still in place. All tables were spaced out, and the bar area had plastic shields. A nchoas escalivar. V ieira y gambas . The restaurant was not as busy as on previous visits, which is understandable given the COVID-19 restrictions. A previous visit in more convivial times. This is an excellent spot for tapas at the bar or a full-blown meal in th

ROSARIO VARELA During our visit to Granada for the Premios Andalucía de Gastronomía 2022 (The Festival of Andalusian Gastronomy 2022), we had a couple of free nights and spent our second one here. Due to the still-in-play Covid-19 restrictions, there was no standing/eating at the bar, and everyone had to be seated. This is a little Local pearl in Granada. We went on a relatively quiet Sunday evening, when many other bars were closed, but still had to wait 10 minutes for a tab

TABERNA LA TANA During our visit to Granada for the Premios Andalucía de Gastronomía 2022 (The Festival of Andalusian Gastronomy 2022), we had a couple of free nights and spent our first one here. Due to the still-played Covid-19 restrictions, there was still no standing/eating at the bar, and everyone had to be seated. We waited 20 minutes for a table outside. The restaurant is a very cosy, tiny, crowded, and noisy taberna on a side street. There are three tables inside the