Food and drink

The Spanish cuisine is abundant in regional specialties. In Andalusia and along the entire Spanish coast fish is eaten frequently. In the mountains and inland, besides fish, meat is also eaten frequently. A common factor is found in olive oil, garlic, onion and tomato. 

Andalusia is famous for its delicious pastry, a heritage from the Jews and the Muslims. Enjoy with a freshly brewed cup of coffee, black (solo), with hot milk (café con leche), with a drop of milk (cortado) or with brandy (carajillo). 

Breakfast
A Spaniard does not eat a lot of breakfast, usually a cup of coffee with some pastry. In a lot of bars you can order a bocadillo (roll) in the morning or a tostada, a roasted roll. You specify what you want on your roll, for example cheese and tomato, meat or jam. Together with a freshly pressed orange juice and a coffee, this makes a tasty breakfast.
Ofcourse in Casa Espalanda we serve an extensive breakfast (see accommodation).

Menu del Dia
Once it was obligated by law to provide a cheap lunch for a worker, nowadays the Menu del Dia (=daily menu) is still everywhere available. It is a simple but tasty 3-course choice menu, often including bread and 1 drink, only available from approx. 2 pm until 4 pm (not during the weekend). This is the main meal of the Spaniards and very recommendable to get into the Spanish eating hours. A Menu del Dia generally costs about € 7,00 - € 12,00.

Tapas
Let's not forget the famous tapas. These are little snacks of fish, meat, vegetables or mini salads, which you eat at the bar with a glass of beer, wine, sherry or softdrink. Tapas are usually eaten from 5 pm until 10 pm in the bars, but is often available the whole day. In the province Granada you mostly still get a free tapa (= single) with your drink, varying from olives, cheese, ham, tortilla, meatstew or fish. In the villages the tapas portions are so big, that combined with bread, you have an entire meal! Because the Spaniards eat dinner very late, the tapas serve as a "bridge" between lunch and dinner. In our village Nigüelas there are also a number of bars which serve free tapas with the drinks. 

The word tapas comes from tapar (cover). In former days a glass of drink would be covered with a little saucer with olives, ham or cheese, to still the appetite and to keep the flies out of the glass. The tapas culture probably origins from the Moores. For as in the North-African cuisine we also know the combination of tiny snacks, which we share and eat together: the mezze. In the course of time tapas have become a way of life. A lot of Spaniards go to a tapas bar after work to chat with each other while enjoying a glass of sherry and one or more tapas.
Unfortunately the tapas in touristy places and bars are not always for free anymore, and have to be paid for, just like in the rest of Spain.

Dinner
Spaniards eat very late at night between 9 pm and 11 pm. This is mainly due to the hot summers: late in the night it starts to cool off so that they can sit outside and eat. However in most restaurants you can eat from 8 pm on.
The first course is often a green salad or soup. Especially in hot wheather the gazpacho, a cold refreshing tomatosoup, is very nice. 
In winter vegetables are eaten warm (grilled or roasted), in summer there are mostly salads.
For dessert you can usually choose from flan (caramelpudding), ricepudding, fresh fruit or icecream.

Fish
In large parts of Andalusia fish (pescado) is a een essential part of the local cuisine. In restaurants at the beach, freshly catched sardines are grilled next to your table on a charcoal fire, and served with lemon and salt, you don't need much else ! (besides a nice drink). A lot of fish is grilled with a.o. garlic or put into a stew. From the sea is most commonly eaten: shrimps, squid, cod, tuna, salmon, crab, lobster and various kinds of shellfish.

Meat
As far as meat concerned, mainly eaten in Spain are pig, chicken, lamb and goat, and to a lesser extent beef and veal. The meat is grilled, or put into a stew or sausage (for example chorizo, salchichon or morcilla, the Spanish version of black pudding).  The specialty in the mountains is the famous Serranoham.

Beer
Spaniards like beer (cerveza) very much, it is available everywhere, just like in England in various volumes or in bottles. The most widely known brands are CruzCampo, San Miguel and Alhambra. In supermarkets and in some bars there are also foreign brands for sale (like Belgian and English beer).
Legado de Yuste is the first (and only) Spanish abbey brewed beer. 


Wine
Wine is also a popular drink, there is red (tinto), rosé (rosado) and white (blanco). The quality varies from light and plain to strong and complex, but there is always good wine for a reasonable price. Mostly the house wines (vino de la casa) are good and affordable, but this is a matter of taste. For more information about Spanish wine, we refer you to the website of Vinos de Jerez.

Cava is something special. This is a very friendly priced Spanish champagne and is available in brut (dry) or semi-seco (half dry). The brut has a very nice fruityness and is not too dry. Lovely to end the day with, sitting on our roofterrace, together with some tapas, before you have your dinner.

Sherry
"If I had a thousand sons, the first humane principle I would teach them should be, to forswear thin potations and to addict themselves to sack (sherry)." (William Shakespeare, Henry IV, part 2).

The sherry (jerez) is most wellknown Andalusian wine, exclusively made in the area of Jerez in the province Cádiz. What makes this wine so unique, is the method of fermenting (solera), a lot of sun and chalky soil. Especially in the fresh-dry manzanilla from Sanlúcar de Barrameda, you can taste the briny effect of the sea. This wine is perfect to drink with fish or seashells.
There are a lot of kinds and brands of sherry, each with its own taste and character, from light to strong and from crispy dry to very sweet. For information about the kinds of sherry we refer you to the website Vinos de Jerez. 

Water
In Spain the tabwater is potable, but it does not always taste good because of the high amount of chalk and sometimes bleachy taste. The tabwater in Casa Espalanda tastes neutral and is well drinkable. In restaurants you can ask for tabwater or mineralwater in a bottle. You can also buy water in most stores, kiosks and petrol stations. 

Prices
Although the prices have increased in Spain since the introduction of the Euro, the price level of food and drink is much lower than in the UK.
A Menu del Dia costs you around € 7,00 - € 12,00 , often including one drink. Coffee costs approx. € 1,10, beer € 1,40 and a glass of wine approx. € 1,50. The prices in the villages are lower than in the cities and on the beach. For a main course with meat or fish you pay between € 10,00 and € 15,00 , also depending on the area.
These prices are guidelines, more expensive or cheaper is ofcourse possible.

In Casa Espalanda we gladly tell and teach you about the Spanish cuisine. We can give you tips about nice and good restaurants in the area.
In travelguides (see travel info) there is often a food-and-drink- list with most commonly dishes.
We also offer cooking and tapas workshops, see activities.

Dinner and lunch time
It always takes some adjustment for Northern-Europeans to get used to the Spanish  openinghours and dinner/luch time. Breakfast can be ordered until approx. 11 am. The lunch (for example menu del dia) is available between 2 and 4 pm. At night the restaurants often do not open before 8 pm, especially not in the villages. In Granada-city it is possible to eat something on any given time because this is a touristic city. Spaniards themselves do not eat before 9 pm, most of time it starts to get busy about 10 pm.

Casa Espalanda offers you various kinds of drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) as well as homecooked Spanish dinners a few times a week. Also see accommodation for more information about food and drink.