8 Best Restaurants in Andalusia, Spain

Located southeast of Granada's cathedral, this modern hot spot is a world apart from Granada's usual traditional tapas bar. It attracts an eclectic crowd of students, families, and businesspeople with a diverse international menu, including Mexican fajitas, poke bowls, and Thai cod. The good-value lunch menu offers three courses plus a drink for €14. Seating is outside on the pleasant sidewalk overlooking the Botanical Garden or inside in two sizeable dining areas.

Just off the main road opposite the Hotel Colón, this small and cozy bar has established itself as one of Ronda's best for tapas, wine, and artisan beer. Local Ronda wines are a specialty here—in fact, they're the only ones available, although with more than 100 on the wine list, you'll be spoiled for choice; ask the waiter for recommendations and which tapas to pair them with. Tapas (from €2) include fideos negros con chipirones y alioli (black noodles with baby squid and garlic sauce) and a mini beef burger with foie gras. This atmospheric place with wood-paneled barrel ceiling and wine bottles lining the walls is popular and fills up quickly, so arrive early (1:30 pm or 8 pm) to get a seat.

The crowds gathered outside this local favorite off the Alameda de Hercules may be off-putting at first, but the creative inexpensive tapas (from €4) are well worth the wait—and so is the house specialty, the Basque dessert sokoa. Try delicacies like the cigarro para Bécquer (cuttlefish in a filo pastry cigar) and yema sobre bizcocho de boletus (egg atop a mushroom sponge). Tables at the tapas bar can't be booked (a call will get you a reservation at the next-door Eslava restaurant); to help avoid a wait, visit between 12:30 and 1:30 pm or between 5 and 8 pm.

Also known simply as Casa de Vinos (Wine House), this place, up a pedestrian street just behind Plaza Nueva, is a must for Spanish wine lovers. The cozy interior is reminiscent of a ship's cabin, with wood paneling lining the walls along with more than 150 bottles of Spanish wines. A different wine is featured each week, and vermouth and sherries are on tap in barrels behind the counter. Choose from tapas (€3.50–€6.50) or cold meats, cheeses, and pâtés, served on 11 different types and sizes of boards (€10–€25). The house board includes three cold meats, goat cheese, and two pâtés.

This lively bar (with a sister branch on Plaza Nueva) is a big favorite with locals and draws crowds whatever the time of year. Specialties include fried fish and seafood—try the surtido de pescado (assortment of fried fish) to sample the best—as well as sesos (fried lambs' brains). No reservations are taken and seating is inside or outside with views of the Plaza de Bib-Rambla, so arrive early (1:30 pm or 8 pm) to be sure of some bar space or a tall table outside. Even when it's crowded, the service comes with a smile.

This very small, quintessentially Spanish bar, with no seats and numerous photos of matadors and flamenco dancers, seems out of place surrounded by the tourist shops and overshadowed by the Mezquita, but its appearance—and its prices—are part of its charm. Tapas (from €2.50) such as albóndigas en salsa de almendras (meatballs in almond sauce) and bocadillos (sandwiches that are literally "little mouthfuls") are excellent in quality and value, while the tortilla de patata (potato omelet) is renowned and celebrated both for its taste and its heroic thickness. When it's busy, drinks and food are served on plastic and you often have to eat outside on the street.

Down a side street off the Avenida de la Constitución, this historic bar (formerly a wine store) takes you back to 19th-century Seville, and it is still run by descendants of the family that established it in 1850. Locals pack the place at lunchtime, when popular dishes include menudo con garbanzos (tripe with chickpeas) and albóndigas de choco (cuttlefish croquettes). The wine list is, as you would expect, extensive. There are two bar areas: the largest fronts the store and looks out onto the street, and the other is home to huge ceramic wine barrels and tiled walls.

Just a few minutes' walk from the Plaza de las Tendillas and opposite the lovely San Miguel Church, this popular tapas spot—also known as the Casa el Pisto (Ratatouille House)—was established in 1880. You can choose to squeeze in at the bar and dine on tapas (from €3) or spread out a little more on the patio decked with ceramics and bullfighting memorabilia, where half and full portions are served. Legendary toreador Manolete is particularly revered here. The menu is one long list of typical local dishes, so expect to find oxtail, salmorejo, flamenquín (bacon-wrapped pork loin that's breaded and fried), and, of course, pisto (ratatouille), plus the daily special stew.