Eslava – Seville

Having heard about a very good buzz surrounding this place, we decided to make a reservation in their restaurant (as they also have a tapas bar, but it’s usually very busy); the staff let us in, as they prefer to keep the door locked between the outside causal area (for which they don’t accept reservation) and their more sophisticated dining space.

The dining area was quite small, but very intimate and the service was very professional and friendly at the same time; our main waiter, in his 60s or similar, was speaking a perfect English and that was incredibly helpful in choosing the appropriate dishes.
The wine of the evening, was a bottle of red Rioja Luis Canas Reserva, from 2010, that went perfectly with our food and was served at perfect temperature.

Before our first order arrived, we were given ham croquette that was very flavorsome, crispy on the outside without being too oily; although it is a staple dish in Spanish tapas, this was cooked to perfection and given a fine dining twist to it.

As appetizers, we’ve chosen two of their most famous creations, that won the award for the best bite in a national food competition: Cigarro para Becque and Huevo sobre bizcocho de boletus y vino caramelizado.

The Cigarro, was essentially a cigar-lookalike roll filled with squid ink, served with aioli; the taste was particularly delicious and the flavor was exploding in your mouth, being complimented by the aioli sauce.

The egg appetizer instead, was a slow cooked egg yolk on boletus cake, which is their own creation and contains mushrooms tartar; the taste was interesting and the egg yolk was mixing very well with the mushroom taste.

As the night went on, our main courses arrived: fish of the day and Estofado de carrillada ibérica al vino tinto.
The fish was a grilled filet steak of blue fin tuna, served with wasabi. The tuna was simply the freshest fish I’ve ever tasted, with a very intense flavor that took my mind back to the sea and the wasabi was not too strong, but very creamy and the combination matched perfectly.

The Estofado de carrillada ibérica al vino tinto – Pork cheeks stew cooked in red wine, was once again a great surprise. The meat was very tender, melting in the mouth, the flavor was intensely complimented by the red wine reduction; it was served with chips, their own fine take on such a popular but delicious side dish. In addition to all of this, the gravy/wine sauce was simply amazing.

We went on and shared the dessert, a chocolate and orange tarte; although I am not a dessert person, the chocolate was very rich and not overly sweet and the orange taste was matching perfectly, alongside the cream on which it was served.

Overall, it was a very good night, great dining experience and the food was simply top level.
Going to Seville and not stopping here, would be a disastrous mistake; we are already thinking on when to book our next stay in the city, to try their famous tapas bar.
Food Quality: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Value for Money: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Service: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Verdict: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Categories: Restaurant review, Spain