When we were first researching tapas bars in Sevilla, Eslava came up on numerous searches as one of the "best" in Sevilla, as both a restaurant and a tapas bar side-by-side. It was also recommended by both my Spanish teacher and a friend of ours at school, so after a day trip to nearby Itálica, we headed that way from the bus stop. The mid-February day was perfect for sitting outside in the sun at one of the few hightop tables and enjoying these delicious tapas.
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| Carrillada Ibérica Estofada |
We started our meal with a couple of cañas and the very nice waiter telling us everything on the menu in Spanish. We had a hard time making out everything he said, so we went with the two menu items we knew, the Carrillada Ibérica Estofada and the Solomillo con Salsa de Cabrales.
The Carrillada Ibérica Estofada is a stew of pig cheek that you may recognize from my other tapas posts. This had perfectly tender pieces of pig cheek that were cooked in a medley of flavorful stew juices with pieces of potatoes. A nice way to start off what turned out to be one of the best meals yet in Sevilla.
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| Solomillo con Salsa de Cabrales |
When I ordered the solomillo, I asked the waiter which was the best and of course he said that all of the choices were good, but he leaned us towards ordering the Solomillo con Salsa de Cabrales. Solomillo is an extremely popular cut of pork here in Sevilla and is found on almost every menu. This particular solomillo was made with cabrales, a type of blue cheese from northern Spain. The sauce was so rich and creamy that we soaked up every last bit with our bread.
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| Huevo sobre Bizcocho de Boletus |
The highlight of the meal was the Huevo sobre Bizcocho de Boletus. This beauty is an actual award winner for Eslava in 2010 and is definitely worth more than the three euros we paid for it. This dish has a base of a savory sponge cake with a divine mushroom cream-based sauce, this all added on top of an expertly-made sherry reduction sauce and then topped with a poached egg yolk. This is a match made in heaven. All of the components worked wonderfully together and were in sync with my tastebuds. It is a dish that leaves you wanting more.
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| Boquerones |
The boquerones were also a must only because we have not had enough of these bite size anchovies while in Spain. These were fried to perfection and it did not take long for this plate to be empty. Only leaving us almost full... almost.
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| Jamón Ibérico |
My husband has been in his ham heaven here in Sevilla, but it seems that there are so many other choices to eat, that it often get put on the side burner, knowing that it is always available. So, as our last dish at Eslava, we ordered a ración of Jamón Ibérico and it was amazing. It is hard to get a bad piece of jamón while in Spain, but this was just what the ham doctor ordered. The saltiness and the earthiness combined with the perfect amount of fat in each slice of ham made this a great ending to a great meal.
I highly recommend trying Eslava as a Spanish treat for tapas when in Sevilla. I am looking forward to eating more for next week's edition of Tapas Thursday. Until then...
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