Cadiz
General information about Cadiz
Arriving in Cadiz by train, bus or car can be a bit off putting as you may have to pass through an area with a large number of factories although now by road there is an impressive bridge approach before you get to the narrow stretch of land surrounded by the sea where Cadiz sits.
The first part you may go through is the modern part with larger hotels and the long beach called Playa Victoria then as you head towards the bus and train station you are heading into the old part which is the area that I prefer.
There are taxis at the station and buses run round the edge of the old part and run up to the new beach area, tickets can be bought on the bus or a card given multiple journies can be purchased from some outlets.
The city is a popular destination for Spanish holidaymakers and those from other European countries are in a minority except when one of the numerous cruise ships docks for the day, although this is changing as more people get to hear about the delights of the city.
Cadiz is divided into barrios (areas) including El Populo, La Vina and Santa Maria and exploring the narrow streets and squares of these is part of the joy of staying in the old part of the city.
Hotels in Cadiz
Most of the city’s hotels are in the new part of the city, in the old part there are a handful of small boutique hotels, the exception is the Parador, but plenty of hostals therefore it may be worth looking at short let apartments. Hotels rates in the city are high in the summer as it is a popular destination for Spanish holidaymakers.
There are now more apartments available in the old part so check out www.booking.com. On recent visits we have rented two different apartments owned by the same person called Little Arboli & Little Sopranis, both apartments are beautifully appointed and in great locations and are also very well managed. There will soon be another to add to the group a duplex apartment next to the Central Mercado.
The Parador de Cadiz was recently totally rebuilt and has a fantastic location on the edge of the Caleta beach, the style may not be everyone’s cup of tea but the views are great.
Hotel Patagonia Sur, C/Cobos 11, is a newly opened hotel in the old part which is very handy for trains, buses and boats. It is easy to walk to all areas of the old town and there are good connections to the new part. Rooms are on the small side but well appointed and staff friendly, the breakfast included in the room rate is excellent
Hotel Las Cortes de Cadiz C/San Francisco is a conversion of the historic building where the first meeting of a Spanish parliament was held, the rooms were very well appointed but rather small as is common in the few boutique hotels in this part of the city.
Hotel Boutique Convento, C/Santa Domingo 2, is a recent opening in what was an old convent, friends stayed there recently and were very impressed. It is in an excellent location for people arriving by train, bus or car.
Restaurants & Tapas Bars
Plaza San Juan de Dios – Barrio Del Populo
El Ajibe, C/Plocia 25 is a very smart tapas bar and restaurant which is in every guide book. We found this early on in our Cadiz visits and on recent visits have loved the food and the service, now it is a must for future visits.We visited twice during our most recent visit and enjoyed top notch food & hospitality..
La Bodeguita de Plocia, C/Plocia 9, one of many places in this street for eating this is always busy with a mainly local crowd. The tapas are good and it is very popular with the locals, definitely worth a visit.
La Cepa Gallega, C/Plocia 9, we found this on our most recent visit and cannot believe we have never visited it before. A hidden gem, very popular with locals, great wine selection and cold meats & cheeses. Mainly open during the day except for Friday & Saturday, now a fixture.
Garum, C/Plocia 6, was a first time visit for us and would certainly return, we only tried the tapas but the menu del dia gets excellent reports.
Destino, Plaza San Juan De Dios, is part of the Velez group of restaurants and bars, we really enjoyed Destino whether for breakfast or a late night glass of wine. It is very popular especially at lunch time when it offers a special menu.
El Chicuco, Plaza San Juan de Dios 16, is a lovely grocers and wine shop with a bar area attached. They have an excellent selection of cold meats and cheeses and some very good wines by the glass. This visit we also tried some hot dishes and they were all excellent. Staff run a great place that seems even more popular than on previous visits. A must for any visit to Cadiz and a real favourite.
Cerveceria La Barra, Plaza San Juan de Dios, a new addition to the square with a wide selection of beers on draught and in bottles, friendly service.
Casa Angelita, C/Nueva 7, another new addition and had read good reports of the food, we enjoyed the dishes we tried so definitely one for a return visit.
Alamar, C/Plocia 8, has been around for some time but this was our first visit and only for a glass of wine but the free tapas of Tortillitas de Camarones was a pleasant surprise. One to be revisited on a future occasion.
Muelle Uno, Av 4 de Diciembre 32, this smart bar opposite the tourist office on the front was a new find. Good range of wines and cold tapas and friendly service it is worth a return visit.There are two parts the left hand doing food and wine the right hand being a late night haunt for drinks.
Casa Rafael, C/Corneto Sotto Guerrero, had read good reports and visited during our recent stay. Very popular with locals, not the most friendly but good tapas and very reasonable prices.
Centro
Taberna La Sorpresa, C/Arboli 4, a few years ago we noticed it down a side street because of the number of people outside. It is a real gem, a small family run bar which is very popular with the locals and the few tables in the back are in demand. It is now our regular haunt, the staff are lovely, there are excellent wines, sherries and lovely dishes to try, the speciality being tuna. Some changes in staff but still enough old faces to make it a must.
Central Market, Plaza Libertad, this is an old fashioned market that has recently had a makeover. It has retained all the old fashioned stalls for meat, fish and vegetables but round the perimeter there are food stalls offering a wide variety of foods. The offers include meat, cheeses, seafood, Argentinian empanadas and loads more as well as a wide variety of wines and beers. DKY one of the outlets has good fish and seafood choices. Also La Garnacha has an excellent wine selection and also some good tapas including cold meats and cheeses. Check out the opening hours as they vary from summer to winter particularly in the evenings.
La Majara, C/Libertad 12, a new place outside the market, we only stopped for a drink but were impressed withe the service and the dishes on offer, definitely one to re-visit.
Freiduria Las Flores, Plaza Topete 4, this is a great place to try fried fish and seafood either as tapas while standing at the bar or in bigger portions at the tables inside and outside. A real locals haunt as well as attracting visitors to the city.
El Canon, C/Rosario 49, another good find on a recent visit, this is a lovely bar that has an excellent selection of tapas and wines. We returned on our most recent visit aon several occasions and it was excellent.
Taberna La Manzanilla, C/Feduchy 19, is a sherry bar which has not changed in generations I suspect, the owner is incredibly helpful and you can buy the sherries to take away. A great place to bump into locals you may know from other places.
Bar Zapata, Plaza Candelaria 1, a great find on our most recent visit, a lovely small bar run by a very pleasant couple and with some excellent wines and food on offer. It has now become a favourite.
Casa Lazo, C/Barrie, a good old fashioned bar very busy with locals, very friendly staff and a good range of wines, tapas are fine but not outstanding.
Cafe Levante, C/Rosario 35, a lovely cafe bar with friendly service and some good wines. We found this on a previous visit and returned and loved the atmosphere in the evening, try the small Moroccan pastries they are delicious.
Barrio de la Vina – Old Port Area
El Faro, C/San Felix, this is a Cadiz institution, it is a smart bar and restaurant with tapas available at the standing only bar. Great to return and enjoy the smart service and excellent tapas, planning on trying the restaurant next visit.
Taberna Casa Mantega, C/Corralon de los Carros, try the cold meats and cheeses served on wax paper, these with a chilled fino sherry, a wine or a beer surrounded by the bullfighting memorabilia make this a great stop.They now have two more places opposite, the one directly opposite doing fried fish & seafood dishes.
Plaza de Mina
Cumbres Meyores, C/Zorilla 4, opposite Aurelia is an excellent meat orientated tapas bar and restaurant, great staff always busy, but worth squeezing in ! We have only ever eaten at the bar but I am surprised by the negative comments about the restaurant so perhaps stick to the bar. The carrillada, beef stew, is just the best, a tapas served with roast potatoes it is is knockout. Still as good as ever.
Plaza San Francisco
Casino, Plaza de San Antonio 15, is part of the Velez group and we tried this for the first time recently for a drink in the modern bar restaurant area. The menu looked interesting and will be a definite to try on our next visit. The original part of the building contains a smart restaurant and is a stunning piece of Moorish architecture.
Plaza de Falla
Bar Veedor, Calle Veedor, is essentially a local grocers shop with a tapas bar. It has large sherry barrels on the walls and a local clientele. The tapas are not outstanding but for some local character give it a try.
New Town
Even though we stay in the old town a visit to the New Town and a walk along the Playa Victoria is a must. This part of town is packed with places to eat and drink therefore do some research if you are spending time here Barra Siete was one mentioned by friends.
Chiringuito Bars are great places to sit on the beach during the day or to watch the sunset over the old town. The names of the bars seem to change and the facilities improve and are a must for a visit to this part of town.
Drink
Sherry can only be produced in the area lying between Jerez, El Puerto and Sanlucar so this is certainly the area to sample this. Fino is the dry sherry drunk chilled and delicious with seafood, however when it is produced in Sanlucar it is called Manzanilla and is even drier due to the location.
There are mores types of sherry produced including, Oloroso, Amontillado and Cream, what every UK household used to drink at Christmas, so visit one of the bodegas and learn much more and in the meantime enjoy tasting some of the many Fino’s available.
There are some excellent red wines being produced in the Cadiz area including Garum, Barbazul, Taberner and Vara y Pulgar. I am not a great fan of the local whites especially Barbadillo which uses the palomino grape but there are other local whites using different grape varieties including Barbazul Blanco which uses chardonnay grapes.
Cadiz also has a microbrewery called Maier, they produce five different types of beer, manily in bottles but one at least on draught. Readily found in many bars in the city you can also visit the brewery.
Culture
The whole of the old part is wonderful for just wandering, explore the various barrios, stroll along the beach but also fit in a visit to the Camera Obscura at the Torre Tavira, it is well worth the climb
The Oratory of La Santa Cueva, C/Rosario is easy to walk past and I had on many occasions until someone stopped and said it was the most amazing sight in the city, two totally different chapels and some wonderful Goya frescos – a hidden gem.
El Puerto de Santa Maria
Across the bay from Cadiz and reached either by boat or train, this is a lovely spot for a day out with a number of historic buildings. There are two bodegas which you can visit, Osborne and Terry, where you can find out about the history of sherry making in the town. There are loads of places to eat and drink around C/Misercordia or try Romerijo, Plaza Herreria, famous for it’s seafood, although it can be pricey. If you take the boat back to Cadiz, there is an excellent bar just by the ferry.
Jerez
A short train or bus journey from Cadiz, Jerez is well worth visiting for a day out to wander round the town and possibly visit some of the many sherry bodegas. The train station is a ten to fifteen minute walk from the centre.
There is a group of old fashioned sherry bars called Tabancos, to explore these you do a Tabancora, they include Tabanco San Pablo, C/San Pablo 12, Tabanco El Pasaje, C/Santa Maria and Tabanco La Bodega, C/Arcos. Any of them should have a map showing the other locations, they vary in size and style from just a few locals sipping sherry surrounded by huge barrels, to ones doing some tapas and the odd burst of singing, to ones that seem to do a wider range of food. One great thing they have in common are the wonderful sherries.
Bar Juanito, C/Pescaderia Vieja 4 is a Jerez institution, either sit on the terrace or the lovely dining room through the bar, excellent service and food, the artichokes are a speciality.