One of the advantages of having visitors is that it forces you to make time for a few more tapas, not that it actually takes much persuasion at all! The first mini tapas run involved La Bodeguilla (calle Antonio Millón), Sevillano (calle Chaparil) and El Tapeito (calle Chaparil), very little walking involved.
La Bodeguilla, as always, top class. The atmosphere is good, the service very good and the range of tapas is excellent. And you also get olives with your drink and tapa.
Although all the tapas are great here, one of my favourites is the pinchito de pescado – fish on a stick – because of the divine sauce on the fish.
Sevillano served up their usual quality tapas and, along with several other places now, do a chorizo al infierno – a chorizo sausage cooked at your table.
As usual, Sevillano was packed, inside and out.
Our third bar was El Tapeito. It has become quite popular but I am still not convinced on this one as some of the tapas are not, in my view, quite up to scratch, certainly not up to the standard of the previous two bars by quite a way.
Included in our array of tapas were mussels. The mussels were tightly closed and almost took a chainsaw to get them open, something I am reliably informed is due to the fact that a number of places now take the easy option and microwave the mussels. This type of ‘cooking’ means they remain closed. Firmly.
Once opened, the mussels were not the firm, meaty molluscs one normally sees but were slimy and almost runny objects. Presumably, once again, a result of microwave cooking. Personally I wouldn’t have eaten them, but each to their own and the one who did eat them suffered no ill effects the next day.
For anyone contemplating a ‘tapas run’ at the western end of town, a very good one would be:
Jaime (calle Jaén), Los Pescaitos (calle Chaparil), round the corner to Pepe Moles (Prol. Antonio Millón), across the road to Taller de la Tapa, up to Sevillano (calle Chaparil) and finish in La Bodeguilla (calle Antonio Millón).