In this guide
💡 The Short Version: Tapas are small plates eaten standing or sitting at a bar, ordered as a tapa, a half portion or a full portion: at Casa Ricardo the same dish is €3.20, €9.00 or €15.00. The bars named by the most publishers are El Rinconcillo (19 sources), Bodega Santa Cruz (15), Casa Morales (13) and Bodeguita Romero (12). The dish the lists name most is spinach with chickpeas (28 sources), then the pringá roll (28) and salmorejo (24). Or book a tour: the Seville Tapas Crawlad is from €68.82 for 3 hours.
📊 The evidence behind this guide. This pass reads 140 list pages about tapas, taverns and historic bars, and counts the ones from 13 English and 18 Spanish publishers: the newspapers, magazines and travel writers named in where to eat in Seville. Seville-only, Spain-only and tour-operator sites are not counted. The dish counts come from all 350 food list pages read for that guide. Counts are publishers, not pages, and the English and Spanish counts are shown apart. How the guides are made
How tapas work
Visita Sevilla, the city’s tourism office, describes tapas as small dishes of homemade and traditional specialities, or surprising chefs’ creations, and the custom as strolling among monuments, stopping at a bar for a tapa and moving on to a second tapa in another bar (Visita Sevilla). Bars list each dish in up to three sizes: a tapa, a half portion (media ración) and a full portion (ración). Casa Ricardo prints all its dishes in the tapa and ración format, with the half portion between, and calls its prices indicative and subject to change.
| Dish at Casa Ricardo | Tapa | Half portion | Full portion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ham croquetas, solomillo al whisky, flamenquín with Persian sauce, aubergine with cane honey | €3.20 | €9.00 | €15.00 |
| Tuna with alioli, garlic prawns | €3.50 | €9.50 | €16.00 |
At Las Teresas, Lonely Planet says tapas are served at the bar only and the tables are for larger portions. At El Rinconcillo the tapas bar takes no reservations, only the restaurant does.
The classics
The counts are the publishers that name the dish, with the split by language.
| Dish | What it is | Sources | English | Spanish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Espinacas con garbanzos | Spinach with chickpeas, a Moorish-influenced dish spiced with cumin; El Rinconcillo’s adds coriander, ginger and cloves | 28 | 12 | 16 |
| Montadito de pringá | A small bread roll of stewed meats | 28 | 9 | 19 |
| Salmorejo | A cold tomato and bread cream | 24 | 11 | 13 |
| Solomillo al whisky | Pork sirloin in a whisky and garlic sauce | 18 | 10 | 8 |
| Cola or rabo de toro | Oxtail stew | 18 | 9 | 9 |
| Cazón en adobo | Marinated and fried fish, usually dogfish | 18 | 4 | 14 |
| Carrillada | Pork cheek in sauce | 17 | 7 | 10 |
| Ensaladilla | Russian salad: potato, tuna, peas, carrot and egg under mayonnaise | 17 | 4 | 13 |
Lonely Planet calls the ensaladilla the “litmus test” of a bar. The spinach with chickpeas is also a Lent dish: see Semana Santa in Seville 2027.
Spinach with chickpeas. Photo: Xemenendura, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
The bars
The count is the number of publishers that name the bar on tapas and tavern lists. The dish column is the one the lists most often attach to it.
| Bar | Where | Sources | English | Spanish | Dish the lists name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Rinconcillo | Calle Gerona 40 | 19 | 10 | 9 | Spinach with chickpeas, Iberian ham |
| Bodega Santa Cruz (Las Columnas) | Calle Rodrigo Caro 1 | 15 | 4 | 11 | The pringá roll |
| Casa Morales | Calle García de Vinuesa 11 | 13 | 3 | 10 | Pork cheek, anchovies |
| Bodeguita Romero | Calle Harinas 10 | 12 | 3 | 9 | The pringá roll, oxtail |
| Las Golondrinas | Calle Antillano Campos 26, Triana | 11 | 5 | 6 | Spinach with chickpeas, ham |
| Bodega Dos de Mayo | Plaza de la Gavidia 6 | 9 | 5 | 4 | Marinated fish, solomillo al whisky |
| Las Teresas | Calle Santa Teresa 2 | 8 | 3 | 5 | Iberian ham |
| Casa Ricardo | Calle Hernán Cortés 2 | 7 | 1 | 6 | Ham croquetas |
| La Brunilda | Calle Galera 5 | 6 | 5 | 1 | |
| Mercado de Triana | Calle San Jorge, Triana | 6 | 2 | 4 | |
| Casa Moreno | Calle Gamazo 7 | 5 | 1 | 4 | |
| El Disparate | Plaza Alameda de Hércules 11 | 5 | 1 | 4 |
The hours, the history and the booking rules of these bars are in where to eat in Seville.
Montaditos de pringá, small rolls filled with stewed meats. Photo: Tamorlan, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0.
Five bars to start with
El Rinconcillo
Calle Gerona 40 · open daily from 13:00 · closed the first fortnight of August · Cited by 19 sources (10 English, 9 Spanish) · elrinconcillo.es
The bar says it is the oldest in Seville, trading since 1670. Go for the spinach with chickpeas and the ham. A table in the restaurant can be booked on +34 954 223 183; the tapas bar cannot.
El Rinconcillo on the corner of Calle Gerona. Photo: CarlosVdeHabsburgo, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Casa Ricardo
Calle Hernán Cortés 2 · Tuesday to Saturday 13:00 to 16:00 and 20:00 to 00:00, Sunday 13:00 to 16:00 · closed Monday · casaricardosevilla.com
The menu above is the cheapest way to see how the sizes work: order two tapas of different dishes before committing to a portion. Book by phone on +34 954 38 97 51, Tuesday to Sunday from 10:30 to 13:00.
Bodega Dos de Mayo
Plaza de la Gavidia 6 · open daily · bodegadosdemayo.com
Full portions run from €9.50 to €13.50 on the menu: revuelto de bacalao (scrambled eggs with cod) at €10.00, puntillitas de marea at €13.50 and a courgette carolina at €9.50.
Las Teresas
Calle Santa Teresa 2 · open daily 10:00 to 01:00 · lasteresas.es
The menu lists Iberian ham, loin and black pudding, and solomillo al whisky. Stand at the bar for tapas.
Las Golondrinas
Calle Antillano Campos 26, Triana · familialasgolondrinas.com
Open since 1962 and run by the Arcas family since 1980, the main Triana bar on the lists.
Fried fish
Fried fish comes from a freiduría, a fried-fish shop, which Visita Sevilla compares to the best fast-food places in the city. It is served in paper cones, and the dishes include anchovies, hake, cod, roe and cuttlefish. Adobo, fish marinated before frying, is perhaps the star, usually dogfish but also grouper or anchovies. Visita Sevilla says it suits spring and summer evenings (Visita Sevilla).
Fried anchovies and beer at a street table in Seville. Photo: Marta, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
The Freiduría Puerta de la Carne, at Calle Puerta de la Carne 2, dates itself to 1928. It prices its cones per 250 g and per kilo: chicken croquetas €5.50 and €22.00, baby squid €11.00 and €44.00, anchovies in adobo €8.50 and €34.00, hake fritters €9.00 and €36.00, adobo €10.00 and €40.00, cod €11.00 and €44.00, cuttlefish €12.00 and €48.00. The shop says its own prices prevail.
Plan the rest
Where to eat in Seville has the Michelin tables, the markets and the places that have closed. Seville food tours compares the tapas walks and cooking classes with their prices, and the Triana tapas walk with a flamenco show is in flamenco shows in Seville. To fit meals to the sights, see Seville in one or two days. Where to stay in Seville compares the areas, and hotels near Seville Cathedral lists the hotels round El Rinconcillo and Casa Morales.
Common questions
What is the best tapas bar in Seville?
El Rinconcillo is named by the most publishers on tapas and tavern lists, 19 in all (10 English, 9 Spanish). Bodega Santa Cruz is next with 15 (4 English, 11 Spanish), then Casa Morales with 13 and Bodeguita Romero with 12. El Rinconcillo calls itself the oldest bar in Seville, trading since 1670.
How much do tapas cost in Seville?
At Casa Ricardo, a tapa of croquetas or solomillo al whisky is €3.20, a half portion €9.00 and a full portion €15.00. Bodega Dos de Mayo prints full portions from €9.50 to €13.50, and the Freiduría Puerta de la Carne sells fried fish in 250 g paper cones from €5.50 to €12.00.
What is the difference between a tapa, a media ración and a ración?
They are three sizes of the same dish. A tapa is a small plate, a half portion (media ración) is bigger and a full ración is the largest, meant for sharing. At Casa Ricardo the same dish costs €3.20, €9.00 and €15.00.
What are the classic tapas in Seville?
Spinach with chickpeas (espinacas con garbanzos), the pringá roll, salmorejo (a cold tomato and bread cream), pork sirloin in whisky sauce (solomillo al whisky), oxtail, pork cheek, Russian salad and marinated fried fish. Spinach with chickpeas is the dish the lists name most: 12 English and 16 Spanish publishers.
Do you need to book tapas bars in Seville?
El Rinconcillo takes reservations only for its restaurant, not for the tapas bar. Casa Ricardo takes bookings by phone from Tuesday to Sunday, 10:30 to 13:00. Most bars are taken as you find them.
Is there a tapas tour in Seville?
Yes, several. The Tapas Crawl with 10 tapas and 4 drinks is from €68.82 for 3 hours, and the 4-stop Tapas, Taverns and History Walking Tour is from €77 for 3.5 hours. Food tours are compared on the Seville food tours page.
