Dobleve

  We’ve just begun getting a wave of visitors in Granada, our friends Brad and Felicity were just here for a week and I remembered I hadn’t written any suggestions on places to eat in our own town!  Here’s some of our favorite places for lunch and dinner, I’ll cover going out for tapas in a later post.

Azafran – 958 22 68 82, Paseo de los Tristes 1.  In the lower Albayzin a few blocks from our house, Azafran (Spanish for “Saffron”) serves up dependably great food.  They have indoor seating and outdoor terrace seating in Paseo de los Tristes (with an incredible view of the Al-hambra), don’t get thrown off by the fact that the rest of the terrace options are the usual tourist fare.  The food is well prepared and modern Spanish, elegantly presented.  The prices are expensive but not overly so, expect to pay 12-15e for a main dish.  Some of our favorites are the ensalada remojón (a traditional Granada salad with cod, seasonal fruits, hard-boiled quail eggs and palm heart), crepes rellenos, cous-cous, paella and chuletas de cordero (small lamb chops)

Puerta del Carmen – 958 22 37 37, Plaza del Carmen 1.  Across the plaza from the Ayuntamiento (city hall), Puerta del Carmen is lavish inside and serves a lively lunch and dinner crowd at the tables and bar.  Dress is somewhat fancy, I suspect many of the city officials pop over here for a quick tapa.  They have the full range of Spanish food, from salted fish and meat to salads to grilled meat and fish, all of it excellent.  Some of our favorites are the ensalada “Puerta del Carmen”, the caprese salad, the mils-hojas (alternating layers of goat cheese slices and mango, drizzled with honey) and the Solomillo de Buey (thick and tender beef steak topped with a piece of foie-gras and port reduction sauce, ask for it to be cooked al-punto).  It is also on the expensive side with main dishes in the 15-20e range.  It gets crowded for both lunch and dinner, I’d recommend a reservation.

Paprika – 958 80 47 85, Cuesta de Abarqueros 3.  Just off Calle Elvira near Puerta Elvira, Paprika serves modern Spanish fusion food in a wonderful cozy atmosphere.  They typically have specials, we’ve never had a bad one.  We also like the saquitos (small pasta filled with gorgonzola cheese and with a surprisingly good lemon flavored sauce) and any fish they have.  The food is underpriced in my opinion, most dishes are 8-10e and are so flavorful and perfectly prepared you’d expect to pay more.  If you stop here at night be sure to go around the corner and see the archway Puerta Elvira, its stunning at night.

El Aji – 958 29 29 30, San Miguel Bajo 9.  In Plaza San Miguel Bajo, Aji serves a mix of european food.  You can sit outside in the plaza or inside the restaurant across the street.  We’ve not had a bad meal here but I don’t have any specific recommendations for what to order.

Botánico, 958 27 15 98, Calle Málaga 3.  Located a block away from Plaza Trinidad and next to the university’s botanical garden, Bótanico offers a wide range of food from mexican to indian to spanish.  You can sit outside next to the gardens or sit inside.  Some of our favorites dishes are the Secreto Iberico (small pork strips and pate, if you like pork you’ll love this), any of the salads, any of the tuna dishes, any of the indian dishes.

Kirin – 958 26 00 96, Calle Párraga 9.  If you’re in the mood for a sit-down sushi meal this is the place to go in Granada.  The menu can be a bit overwhelming, we stick to the sushi nigiri and sashimi and some of the entrees and skip the various meal combos.