That Seville is famous for its tapas is a well-known fact. But the city also happens to be riding on a burgeoning culinary wave and, instead of just limiting itself to culinary tradition, it has jumped onto the internationally inspired bandwagon of carefree, innovative and excellent process of reinvention, as well as implementing novel techniques and flourishes of modernity.

Lalola – A Gourmet Tavern
I should perhaps dare introduce this restaurant as one of the best in Seville. Tasting the creations served up in this self-proclaimed “gourmet tavern” is well worth the long walk, as it is located far from the bustle of the city centre in the quarter of Los Remedios. Lalola is the domain of chef Javier Abascal, a youngster you are sure to hear about in the coming years. And, it’s just as well. His menu is an ode to his four loves – quality product, cooking over a slow fire, reminiscences of Sephardic cuisine and offal, which has its own section on the menu, allowing you to taste anything from boned pig trotters with creamy potatoes to beef sweetbread with aniseed  crumble and bamboo or monkfish foie gras. But, it doesn’t stop there, as the other shared dishes provide another surprise – organic chickpea hummus, La Vera red peppers and sesame, tuna tartare and algae noodles… Average ticket: €20 per head.

Mercado Lonja del Barranco – Variety For All Tastes
Go inside Mercado Lonja del Barranco and you can watch dapper gentlemen arriving in what is possibly the trendiest spot in Seville, with its Nordic, vintage aesthetic. Quite a shock after having strolled through the old Jewish quarter and come across a religious procession in the Triana neighbourhood. But, it rocks, as its taste lies in the variety. And, here, there is variety in abundance, highly recommendable for the hesitant, for foodies eager to taste a bit of everything and for parties of guests. Mercado Lonja del Barranco offers over 150 dishes, both local and international. Here, it’s no easy task deciding from among such a broad selection. I can recommend dipping into the seafood section and trying the typical shrimp omelette. Likewise the gourmet salmorejo stand, where you can taste the different varieties of this local speciality, and the cut ham stand… Tickets from €3.

Séptimo Wine Bar
Séptimo, because seven is a lucky number. And, Isabel and Floriant, the Hispano-French couple who run this locale, seem to have hit the jackpot. Some luck in it, of course, but you can’t detract from their job well done, driven as they are by a tireless passion, which you notice as soon as they start talking about a tuna fish in the kitchen with a sparkle in its eyes. Indeed, they have managed to continually fill to capacity their small, inviting premises ever since they first opened just over a year ago. Their offerings are gourmet tapas, “inspired by whatever”, accompanied by “whichever wine goes well”. That is how Isabel puts it and she adds, in the Sevillian accent we have grown to love, “we make our own style of tasty food”. Hats off to their duck pie, marinated tuna or tartare, the three dishes they rate as the star items on the menu and which are virtually always in stock, while the rest of the offerings are seasonal. Now, for instance, you can taste a marvellous sautéed artichoke with pumpkin, field mushrooms and presa ibérica (Iberian shoulder of pork), highly tender lamb nuggets in sweet potato sauce and the pièce de résistance – a milk torrija (French toast) served with a ball of ice-cream likely to make you shed more than one tear. Average ticket: €20 for two.

Perro Viejo – International Fusion
There just had to be a hipster sanctuary in Seville, and that is Perro Viejo. Located in the heart of the Andalusian capital and inaugurated just two years ago, this stunning, three-storey tapas bar features ultra-cool, ultra-modern, ultra-gorgeous interior design – everything is wood, iron and greenery, clearly inspired by an industrial aesthetic. Here, the tapas are a blend of tradition and international fusion (there are distinct Thai, Japanese and Peruvian influences in their cuisine), with the emphasis on new culinary trends, as evinced in their exquisite Japanese butterfish tataki, pulpo a feira (Galician-style octopus) with migas, organic egg and Iberian broth, glazed pork dumplings with chilli vinaigrette, charcoaled papas bravas (spicy sautéed potatoes) and ceviche (lemon-and-garlic marinade). All of this livened up with a great wine list and, above all, spectacular cocktails. Average ticket: €40 for two.

Book your Vueling to Seville and gear up to savour the best gastrobars in town.

Text by Laia Zieger of Gastronomistas.com

Yet another year has passed and Galician cuisine is still on the ascendancy, having earned recognition in the Michelin Guide, one of the most prestigious and demanding in the world. Twelve restaurants in Galicia have earned that distinction, a tribute to their culinary talent. But, we’re going to focus on three of them, which happen to be in A Coruña. We’ll talk about the rest another time. Some overlook the sea; others, the green countryside. Some are inspired by cutting-edge trends; others, by tradition. All of them however, have a unique flavour – a markedly genuine, Galician flavour.

Alborada
(Paseo marítimo Alcalde Francisco Vázquez, 25. 15002 A Coruña)
Chef: Iván Domínguez

This restaurant is located on the seaside promenade skirting A Coruña, halfway between the Tower of Hercules and the Castle of San Antón. It is done out in modern, elegant fashion, with two dining-rooms overlooking the Atlantic, and a third, more secluded, private one. The decor is a blend of fine woods, cork and ironwork, as befits the luminosity of the spacious interior.

The fare on offer at Alborada is based on local Galician produce, particularly fish and seafood, prepared using current techniques. This is haute cuisine, which was awarded a Michelin star in 2010. The menu always features the day’s fish and seafood, accompanied by tasty vegetables in season. Lobster, crayfish, scallop, sea bass, hake, sole… the star is the sea. There are two menus of the day – the “classical” menu, featuring dishes that chart the restaurant’s evolution, and the “tasting menu” spotlighting the chef’s latest, most surprising creations. To round off the experience, Alborada also offers a wine list with over 600 items.

Árbore da Veira
(San Andrés, 109 bajo. 15003 A Coruña)
Chef: Luis Veira

Árbore da Veira is just a few paces from the water’s edge, so ideally you should let yourself be enveloped in the sea breeze. The ambience is warm, relaxing and spacious. There are few tables, light wood finish and furniture inspired by Nordic design. The tables are sans tablecloths and the crockery is stunning, with unique, handmade pieces. This is a happy world. Their chef, Luis Veira, takes you on an alluring culinary adventure. Drawing on the most innovative techniques, the gastronomic experience is designed for the pleasure of the senses. Veira’s motto is to forge ahead, and to integrate new techniques and produce, particularly if it comes from the sea. The result is an array of splendid, signature-cuisine dishes, albeit grounded in the Galician tradition.

A word of advice: here there is no à la carte, but a dynamic offering of two new and attractive menus of the day – “Raíces” (Roots), which includes 8 snacks, 10 main dishes and 8 desserts, and “Árbore”, made up of 8 snacks, 15 main dishes and 8 desserts. Quite a mouthful! In the end, you’re looking at some 30 culinary creations to be consumed in one session. And, the produce is in season, especially from the sea (6 of the dishes are based on seafood) and estuaries of Galicia – oysters, crayfish, scallop, periwinkles and codfish offal. As an alternative, the chef likes to offer the odd meat dish, with Galician beef and porco celta (Celtic pork ham) being his mainstays. The dishes – or “mouthfuls”, as Luis tends to call them – vary in terms of the market and his inspiration. When it comes to the wine list, Árbore adheres to the same approach – around 250 items which include 30 DOs (designation of origin), both Spanish and international, although Galician wines are dominant. The selection, renewed every three months, is impeccable and designed to combine with the chef’s stunning dishes. There are two matches proposed – in the mouth with 8 wines and on the palate with 12.

A Estación
(Estrada da Estación, 51. 15660 Cambre, A Coruña)
Chefs: Beatriz Sotelo and Xoán Crujeiras

This restaurant lies 15 km from the centre of A Coruña and is striking for its siting, as it occupies the canteen and storeroom of an erstwhile train station. We found the refurbished interior captivating, particularly for its lighting. During the day, the dining-room is bright and lively, with glazed fronting on both sides, as in the old train coaches. By night, the salon turns intimate and elegant, with small points of light evocative of the dinner atmosphere on the Orient Express.

The master-chef tandem base their approach on a combination of technique and creativity, passion and delicacy, sea and mountain. They also share a preference for sourcing local produce, but with a view to the future. The dishes at A Estación point to a harmony of culinary experience, knowledge and recollections. The menu features dishes for snacking and sharing, with starters, fish and meat in season, and tastings that may optionally match wines and are renewed each month. Produce here is always in season, traditional, organic, proximity produce sourced from local cooperatives or small producers.

A Coruña offers a host of incentives to captivate you and one of them is their cuisine. Come and taste the creations of their leading chefs. Check out our flights here.

Text by Turismo A Coruña

Images by Alborada, Árbore da Veira

Named after a monk –Émilion, a sort of Robin Hood – this locality lies some 38 kilometres from Bordeaux, from which it can be reached by either car or train in about half an hour. By strolling through its steep, cobbled streets, the visitor becomes immersed in history… and wine. The aroma of Bacchus wafts through the whole town, located among vineyards planted with the Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon grape varieties.

You can soak up most of its charms in a single day, but I assure you that you will want to stay there forever. Much of Saint-Émilion’s history lies buried in the earth, conjuring up a past full of Masonic societies and secret grottos swathed in an air of mystery, adding to the appeal of this World Heritage Site town.

Subterranean Worlds

A must-visit sight is the Monolithic Church, the largest of its kind in Europe. Carved out of a cliff, you cannot possibly imagine its sheer size from the outside. This architectural jewel also houses catacombs where the ancient nobles were buried. Guided tours are available in various languages and tickets can be purchased at the tourist office. They are well worth getting. The guided tour in Spanish always starts at 12 a.m.

If you are an enthusiast of underground worlds, you can also visit a number of wine cellars, notably the Chateau Cardinal Villemaurine, Clos des Menuts and Maison Galhaud, to name but a few. In all, there are over 100 châteaux where you can taste all kinds of wines with the DO Saint Émilion. A word of warning – during the tastings, remember to spit out the wine from time to time, to avoid it going to your head and having to regret something you did the day before.

Strolling Through the Town

The area surrounding the town offers picture postcard scenery and romantic walks. Strolling up and down the steep streets holding hands with your partner makes for what feels like an obstacle race over uneven cobblestones, as if it were a metaphor of love.

Your stroll will lead you to the Gate de La Cadène, an archway separating the upper part of the town, home to the wealthy classes, from the lower part, inhabited by the peasants.

In the Middle Ages, Saint-Émilion was defended by a fortified enclosure, the wall stretching some 1,500 metres. Access to the town was via six gates – the Porte Bourgeoise in the north, Porte Brunet in the east, Chanoines and Saint-Martin in the west, and Porte Bouqueyre or Bouquière and Sainte-Marie in the south. The Porte Brunet, which leads into the vineyards, is the only one which has been preserved virtually intact. It is well worth coming to this side of the town where all you can hear is the sound of bird song.

Another monument visible from most of the town is the King’s Tower. You can visit the top for €1.5 and soak up the views, which leave you speechless.

Macaroons For Afternoon Tea

Before Ladurée reinvented the formula, making them double and in various colours and flavours, macarons had long existed as a spongy almond biscuit with a great tradition in towns such as Saint-Émilion. In the 17th century, the Ursuline nuns in this locality were tasked with harvesting the almonds and using them in their pastries, which is how macaroons were created. They are still famous throughout the region. You can purchase them in two shops with a long-standing tradition in the town – Matthieu Mouliérac and Fabrique des Véritables Macarons. If you are really sweet-toothed and still require a further injection of sugar, try their canelés, small pastries typical of Bordeaux. The recipe was also developed by a monastic order, this time in the 16th century. Absolutely delicieux!

Brasseries, Foie Gras and Cheese For Dinner

There are numerous restaurants offering traditional cuisine, as well as brasseries, the ideal venues for having canard (duck) and entrecôte. If you fancy eating typical French cheeses, some foie gras and even some oysters while tasting a selection of wines, the restaurant L’Envers du Décor is the ideal spot. They have a small patio for warm summer evenings and their wine list is as long as a Cervantes novel. Let the waiter recommend what to order and abandon yourself to the aromas of Dionysius.

Discover the joie de vivre, book your Vueling to Bordeaux and have a good time!

Text by Miriam Arcera for Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS

Photos by Antonio Caballero

One of the most representative meals in Viennese gastronomy is wiener schnitzel (or Viennese escalope). In fact, is the national food, even is originally from Austria, actually.

Is a common recipe in many countries: in Spain is known as San Jacobo or cachopo, also seen as the Japanese tonkatsu, the Argentinian escalope or the Italian cotoletta, among other examples.

The origin has become an intense debate among culinary historians. Most of the agree to point the origin in Spain, where it was introduced by Arab traders, who already covered meat on bread during the Middle Age.

Then we have the legend, which says it was imported from the Italian "costoletta milanesa" by marshal Joseph Radetzky, who sent the recipe to Franz Joseph I of Austria. They said he liked it so much that he incoroporate it to the Austrian gastronomy under the name of winer schnitzel.

Therefore, many countries claim the origin. This happens often for any new invention even sometimes, what happens is that it appears in different countries simultaneously, a each country looks for old gastronomy books to claim the origin.

However, there’s no doubt that is a delicious and crunchy dish, wanted by any tourists that arrives in the city.

To prepare it, a thin slice of veal is softened with a mallet, then is dipped in flour, egg and breadcrumbs, and finally fried in butter. It’s served with potatoes, salad and lemon slices and seasoned with vinaigrette.

Generally, these dishes are easy to cook and delicious, but not so glamorous. That’s not the case with schnitzel, presented as an haute cuisine specialty. It might be because of the elegant way Viennese people cooks it.

Even the veal is the main ingredient for the classic version of this dish, pigmeat is often used and is more popular. There is also a version made of chicken or a veggie made of tofu, seitan or soy.

In Vienna you can try this meal anywhere in the city centre. This is a list with some of our favorites so you don’t leave the city without trying the Viennese schnitzel.

Figlmüller
Wollzeile 5, | Bäckerstraße 6, Vienna

Schnitzelwirt
Neubaugasse 52, Vienna

Gasthaus Poschl
Weihburggasse 17, 1010, Vienna

Strandcafé Wien
Florian-Berndl-Gasse 2,1220, Vienna

Café Einstein
Rathausplatz 4, 1010 Vienna

There is not only wiener schnitzel in Austria gastronomy. Even it’s a little country, it has a long culinary tradition, mixing many European specialties. You shouldn’t miss a chance to try more typical dishes like tafelspitz (boiled beef), milling trout (Forelle nach Müllerin Art), Kaiserschmarrn (sweet), Palatschinken (Crêpes), Apfelstrudel (apple cake) or Sacher cake. Yummy!

Picture by Kobako

We’ll be there. If you want to come too, check out our flights here.