Lowe

Calle Angel Ganivet, near Calle Navas

So, we came across Löwe after reading that it had won the best tapas award 2016. We sat outside on All Saints' Day, which meant that Granada was very quiet. Our attentive waiter had lived in London for three years and was politely dismissive of our Spanish. We drank good seco white wine, beer and cava and the tapas was so good we stayed for a long time.

We had:

spicy chicken goujons
Beef croquettas
Stuffed courgettes filled with chicken
Warm iberico jamon cooked like bacon on toast
Deep fried goats' cheese (as an extra freebie - not even with drinks)
Deep fried monkfish
More beef croquettas which we were again given without drinks after being asked for our favourite

Scores:

Service - 9
Size - 8
Quality - 9
Loos - 9/10
Ambience - 8
Returnability - 9

El Tabernacio

Calle Navas

This small bar is dedicated to all things Semana Santa. Its walls are lined with Holy Week posters; the music is the solemn yet funky processional marches. Candles and wax abound.

We went early in the day, just as it had opened. The friendly though gruff proprietor duly gave us a tapas but being alone in the place was a little creepy so we ran away.

Tapa: cheese and tomato paste on bread with olives.

Service: 6-7
Quality: 4
Size: 5-6
Ambience: 5
Loos: 6
Returnability: 4

Bodegas Castenada

This bar is a Granadino institution. All wood panelling, artifacts from its proud past and an enormous bull's head mounted on the wall, la Bodegas is where the locals go to drink. And boy, do they drink. Cervecas and vinos  are one thing, but the house drink here is "calicasas", an incredibly potent vermut-and-sherry-based concoction topped up with various squirts  from random bottles. It is hugely drinkable and highly dangerous - two should be the maximum for any sane person  (TapasPig's companion had four one night. That did not end well). The place is a frantic hive of activity, with staff bellowing orders and the cooks working flat out to deliver the traditional tapas and the huge platters of ordered raciones.  No visit to Granada is complete without attending this place at least once but it is almost always rammed - elbow your way to the bar, fight for a spot and defend it for as long as you can! The tapas and service are variable and the loos aren't good but it's all worth it for the experience of a traditional, crazy tapas bar in all of its pomp. The service, quality and nature of the tapas is hugely variable (and sometimes you randomly don't get any) but don't let that put you off!

Examples of tapas:

Garlic mushrooms
Spicy tuna goo on bread and olives
Jamon, queso, bread and olives
Ensalada Rusa
Spanish tortilla
Ratatouille
Crabstick mayo salad

Quality: 5-8
Size: 6-8
Ambience: 8-9
Loo: 5
Returnability: 8-9

Bar Poë

Calle Verónica de la Magdalena 40
Open daily 8pm-2am, tapas served until 12:30

http://www.barpoe.com/

Bar Poë is something of a legend. Its own website bills it as "world-famous" and that is perhaps something of an understatement. A favourite of students of all nationalities, locals and random tourists attracted by its constant appearance in guidebooks, this small bar is run by English expat Matt and his Angolan wife, Ana. Matt is the front man, ruling his domain from behind a bar which is large for the available space, whereas Ana cooks up delicious and fresh food from a set carta of tapas from which the purchaser of a drink can make their choice.  The tapas is unusual for Granada, being of an international bent and with sometimes surprising spicy heat! The coconut chicken curry and the pork skewers were particularly outstanding but all of the food we tried on our two visits was fabulous. Matt was welcoming, segueing from Spanish to English with ease, and the ever changing crowd of the global youth Diaspora meant for a very lively atmosphere. The place is only really let down by disappointing boys' loos and, a probably unfair niggle, the difficulty of getting to the bar to collect the tapas due to the thronging hordes of students.

Tapas is a set menu from which selections are made. We had:

Pork and pineapple skewers
Chicken in coconut sauce with polenta
Chicken in spicy Thai sauce
Brazilian blackbean and pork stew
Spicy piri-piri pork stew

Service: 7-8
Size: 8
Quality: 9
Loos: 6-7
Ambience: 8
Returnability: 9

La Botilleria

Just off Calle Navas/Rosario

"The Globe Place"

This is an enduring favourite - a buzzing bar full of locals, excellent and friendly service, quirky decor, loos larger than the average London flat, superb tapas and a wonderful location. Many happy hours and much vino blancos have been consumed on numerous visits to this welcoming and gastronomically special place.

Inside, the bar area is all dark wood furniture, decor made of used bottles and wine crates, and quirky touches, such as the enormous globe situated by the entrance to the loos. And what loos! Spacious, decorated like an Italian pastiche, and always well-supplied  with paper (sometimes a rarity). There is a restaurant area at the back, but the tapa is too generous for us ever to have needed to order food. The service is friendly and once, when we exhausted their tapas repertoire, we were asked to choose our favourites as we continued. The wine is excellent and far too drinkable.

Example tapas:

Hot lomo (thin-sliced grilled pork) on bread
Hamburguesitas (mini pork hamburgers) and homemade chips
Ensalada Rusa (fish, egg and potato cold salad)
Meat stew and chips
Something delicious that was effectively a homemade Findus Crispy Pancake

Service: 8-9
Quality: 9-10
Size: 8-9
Ambience: 8-9
Loo: 9-10
Returnability: 9-10

La Bicicleta

Plaza Pescadaria (off Bib Rambla)

We were excited when this little bar opened up as previously it had looked pretty boring. The decor changed completely and it turned into what looked like a smart spot, with tables outside in a nice little sun trap.

But what a disappointment. The sign on the wall loudly proclaims tapas and, set where it is on a confluence of roads where great tapas abounds we expected good things. This was not to be.

With our first order came, eventually, a plate of bad olives and cheap crisps. With our second drinks came.... nothing. Disappointed, we left. We returned however, in case that day had been an aberration. It was not. We have also spied repeatedly on what people were getting with their drinks as we passed by to better places. Yep, olives and crisps. What a waste of a great spot.

tapas: horrible olives and crisps. And nothing else.

Service: 3
Size: 2
Quality: 2
Loo: 6
Ambience: 5
Returnability: 1

530 Romanilla

Plaza Romanilla - also known affectionately as Donkey Hotes Square: hence "The Donkey Place"

Plaza Romanilla is a lovely square off the cathedral and tucked behind the market at St. Agustin, just a stone's throw from the more touristy Plaza Bib Rambla. Romanilla seems to be more where the locals go, and many of our favourite tapas bars are here. Restaurant 530 Romanilla is an enduring favourite, with a classy interior, superb tapas, a long row of tables outside in the sun and friendly if abrupt staff. We will be found here at least once on every trip to Granada, no matter how short, and will usually stay for a significant number of refills of beer, good vino blanco seco or more recently their crisp and delicious cava.

From the vast selection of tapas we have had here, the following are notable:

hamburguesa (mini hamburgers)
calamari
abondigas (meatballs)
garlic clams
sliced fried potato with egg and peppers
chicken goujons
lomo (pork loin) on bread
Russian salad
Anchovies on avocado and bread
mussel croquetas
jamon e queso croquetas
slices of manchego
tempura prawns

Service: 8
Quality: 8
Size: 8
Ambience: 8
Loos: 7
Returnability: 9

Well worth a visit and then a meander around the other bars nearby. Admire the Donkey statue! We have also bought food here which has been good quality, though expensive.