On the other side of the Guadalquivir river from our La Macarena neighbourhood in Seville is the historic Triana neighbourhood. One of the main attractions there is the Mercado de Triana (Triana Market).
The market is adjacent to the Triana Bridge and was built in the 1800’s atop the ruins of Castillo De San Jorge, the grisly headquarters of the Spanish Inquisition.
Walking around the stalls, the sights and smells reminded us of our St. Lawrence Market back home. But here there were more sit-down eating and drinking options, and some novel things such as fancy snacks served in cones, and whole feathered birds hanging on hooks.
On arrival we were pretty hungry for lunch after a long Saturday morning of walking. We hunted down a tapas bar in the market called La Casa Fundida which we’d read good things about online.
When we arrived, they weren’t very busy and we snagged a good table inside. By the time we left all the tables had filled up, including the overflow ones in the hallways outside. Most of the customers were locals, with only a few fellow tourists.
Most places we’ve visited only have Spanish menus and the staff speak little English. But aside from a bit of confusion at one cafe, we’ve had few problems ordering successfully using our limited Spanish, mostly due to some previous research, some common sense, and a little timely help from Google Translate on Josie’s phone.
We bypassed the fondue options and went with the Papas Arrugás (“wrinkly” boiled potatoes, a specialty of the nearby Canary Islands, served with nice sauces), Guacamole con Nachos (no translation required), Ensalada Griega (Greek Salad) and Salmorejo (a cold soup similar to Gazpacho, thickened with bread).
Everything was very delicious and the service was fast and friendly. These four tapas-sized plates (enough to fill us up) with two beers cost €14, roughly $21 CAD.
One nice discovery on our visit to Seville is Cruzcampo Sin, an alcohol-free beer sold almost everywhere that Josie can drink safely without aggravating her allergies. The beer snobs on RateBeer.com might have given it a one-star rating, but it tastes pretty decent with food and lets Josie enjoy the tapas culture without having to drink boring water or sugary juices and sodas that cost three times as much as a beer.
We’ve found pretty decent food at a number of places on our trip, but this little restaurant is probably near the top of the list for a fun, casual and tasty authentic meal.