ANDALUSIA - CÁDIZ - EL FARO

Miguel Renoir Spanish Guides
Sep 19
2 min read

Updated: Sep 20

EL FARO

This hidden treasure, tucked away in the old fishing quarter of Cádiz, offers authentic Spanish dining.

A locally popular family-run Restaurant. Nicely set-up tables and unpretentious cuisine, featuring outstanding fish and seafood dishes. In the past, we have eaten in the Restaurant and the bar area.

It's a different place post-COVID. The bar has been revamped with three new rooms, each the size of the original. I miss the hustle and bustle of people and the theatre. Great food and drink, lovely service, and it is very popular.

In September 2025, we ate in the Restaurant area and had the following dishes,

Patata guisada a lo pobre (poor man's stewed potato with spices and parsley).

Lubina marinada (marinated seabass).

Atún y adobo (red tuna, seasoned with EVOO and salt, and a light foam of Cádiz-style marinade (with sherry vinegar, garum, cumin, oregano, and garlic).

Erizo relleno de gambón (sea urchin shell filled with large shrimp tartare, seasoned with garum (fermented fish sauce), a cream made from the sea urchin's own roe (huevas), and an espuma (foam) of oxigarum.

Pesca grande de la semana (large catch of the day, which was corvina en salsa de jerez y almendras (Stone Bass (which looks like a large sea bass) in an oloroso sherry sauce with almonds).

Lomo de lubina, alga condium y berberechos (seabass loin, condium seaweed and cockles).

Canutillos rellenos (filled cannoli)

Helado de vainilla con Pedro Ximénez (vanilla ice cream with Pedro Ximénez).

To drink, we had Adernats Brut Nature copas and an espresso martini.

Lopez de Heredia Viña Tondonia Reserva 2012

All the food was excellent and seemed to have improved since our last visit. Service from the amazing Mauricio was friendly and informative.

On a previous visit, we ate in the bar area. We were in a small queue outside before it opened. They were keen to fill up the tables in other rooms rather than be at the bar, which didn't have the little boat with the seafood in or much behind it.

You must come prepared to stand up all night propping the bar; there are no barstools. Don't arrive before 9 pm, or you will be dining alone.

Remember that, like most places in Cádiz, most tapas here are deep-fried, for which Cádiz is famous. It is believed that fish and chips originated in this area. From the bar, we ordered the following,

Tortillitas de Camarones (crisp chickpea flour wafer, studded with the minuscule shell-on shrimp).

Judiones con salmón ahumado.

Boquerones fritas.

Chocos fritas.

Albóndigas de ternera con rabo guisado al oloroso.

The Restaurant has traditional decor.

The bar gets very busy, so try to secure your spot and stay put! It is filled with well-heeled locals at the weekend.

Book ahead and specify the tapas bar – you'll get to try more things this way. The service was brisk and friendly on this quiet day in February, a day after the fiesta had concluded.