Tapas, Taverns & History Tour With Devour Seville
True story: On my first visit to Spain a couple of years ago, I completely fell in love with the country and its food scene.
So much so, in fact, that I actually decided to pack up my bags and move to Seville, Spain to teach English almost one year ago.
Since moving to Spain, I’ve explored Barcelona‘s bustling Boqueria market, sampled Valencia‘s famous paella, and pretty much eaten my way through every city I’ve been lucky enough to explore this year!
With all of this traveling, I have to admit that I’ve gotten a bit lazy when it comes to exploring my own backyard-Sevilla! While I always enjoy meeting up with friends for a drink or for tapas, I tend to find myself frequenting the same familiar bars and restaurants.
That’s why I was more than excited to hop on Devour Seville’s Tapas, Taverns & History tour. The tour was the perfect way for me to discover some new favorite spots while simultaneously learning about the city’s food culture and vibrant history.
Whether you are a foodie looking to sample some of the best tapas Seville has to offer, find yourself curious about the customs which surround eating in Spain, or are looking to delve into Seville’s past while enjoying delectable traditional foods in the present, then this is the Devour Seville tour for you!
Special thanks to Devour Seville for inviting me to join the tour! I couldn’t have enjoyed it more! This post contains affiliate links. As always, my opinions are 100% my own!
Stop 1: Vermouth, Iberian Ham, and Croquetas at Spain’s oldest bar
After meeting up with the group and our lovely guide Sara, we began the tour with introductions and a brief chat about Sevilla’s history before heading to our first stop just across the street.
Fittingly, we started off the Tapas, Taverns, and History tour at the oldest bar in Seville-El Rinconcillo. The bar was founded in 1670 and is known for both it’s traditional appearance and cuisine.
This stop was one of my favorites-I absolutely loved the traditional feel of the bar as well as the atmosphere. As we learned all about the bar’s history, we were able to sample some absolutely delicious Spanish vermouth and one of my favorites- Spain’s acorn-fed Iberian ham.
As we were enjoying these flavors, our guide, Sara, asked us what we knew (or thought we knew) about Spain’s tapas traditions. While Sara explained a bit more about what exactly tapas are, she passed around a plate of a croquetas-a dish I thought I was extremely familiar with.
I must confess, prior to my visit to El Rinconcillo, I had tried croquetas many times and was convinced that these incredible popular fried cylindrical snacks typically filled with meat (ham, chicken) and a creamy center weren’t for me. (Shhh…don’t tell my Spanish friends!)
However, I am happy to report that after just one bite of the croquetas at El Rinconcillo, my opinion has been forever changed, and I am officially a fan of this typical Spanish dish.
It turns out, as our guide Sara explained, that many croquetas you find in bars today aren’t handmade, and therefore don’t taste as good!
All I can say is that I will definitely be back to El Rinconcillo in the future for more!
Stop 2: Orange wine, Manchego cheese, and pork belly near the Cathedral
Next, we made our way through the streets of Seville, learning about the city’s history-we passed the remains of a temple from Roman times (which I had surprisingly never stumbled upon before) and learned all about the Moorish influence in Sevilla’s architecture.
We then stopped quite close to the Cathedral at a family-run bar called Alvaro Peregil La Goleta. The weather was perfect so we grabbed a table outside before sampling the next local treats.
We started off by trying some vino de naranja, an orange fortified wine that is produced in nearby Huelva. The sweet citrus wine was then paired with some delicious Manchego cheese drizzled with Spanish olive oil and slow roasted pork belly. Everything we sampled at this bar was delectable, but my favorite was definitely the pork!
If you find yourself in Seville, I highly recommend stopping here. There are quite a few “tourist trap” bars in this area, as it is so close to several of Seville’s main tourist attractions, so it was definitely refreshing to visit an authentic taberna here.
If you love the vino de naranja, you can actually purchase a jug of it here, which could make for a unique gift or souvenir from Spain!
Stop 3: Montaditos and Manzanilla at Casa Morales
As we wandered through the beautiful backstreets of Seville’s historic Jewish Quarter, Sara told us all about the dark history of the Spanish Inquisition and even regaled us with Seville’s own “Romeo and Juliet” tale! This story definitely added a fun bit of mystery and intrigue to the tour. History truly came to life as we passed several parts of the Barrio Santa Cruz that many tourists and locals typically overlook.
The next bar we visited was clearly a local favorite-the lively bar was filled with people, and I could tell even before entering that the food was going to be amazing. The Casa Morales is believed to be Seville’s second-oldest bar, as it was first opened in 1850. We were lucky enough to grab a table in the buzzing bar’s back room, which is decorated with huge vats which were historically used to store wine.
Here we tried traditional montaditos- tapas served on top of bread. The first montadito we sampled came with pork, while the second was topped with fish and salmorejo, a typical Spanish sauce made with tomatoes, bread, and other ingredients. The whole group agreed that both were tasty and we loved the bar’s vibrant atmosphere. The montaditos paired wonderfully with a famous local wine called manzanilla, a sherry that I had actually tried before during Seville’s spring fair. During the Feria de Abril, locals mix manzanilla with soft drinks to create a refreshing and light spring drink.
Stop 4: Sherry, dishes, and dessert at Enrique Becerra
I know what you are probably thinking…there’s more?! At this point, I was starting to wonder if I’d have enough room for any more tapas! Thankfully the tapas at our final stop were so delicious that I couldn’t resist them, and managed to sample everything. Our final stop of the evening was at the restaurant Enrique Becerra, where Sara had reserved a table for us to sit back, relax, and enjoy our final treats.
We sipped one of my favorite Spanish drinks (tinto de verano) while learning a bit more about Spanish wines before sampling a local sherry. Our group pleasantly chatted about the tour and asked Sara questions about Seville as the staff brought our order. The food looked almost too good to eat! We tried a pastry-wrapped fish, pork cheek, tuna served on a bed of salmorejo, and some skewers with couscous. Each dish was better than the last!
Of course, it wouldn’t be a proper food tour without a little dessert, and the evening ended with some out-of-this-world desert, a flan-like treat that I am dying to try again.
As we all finished up desserts, Sara gave us some recommendations for further eating, as well as a helpful Devour Seville pamphlet filled with unique recommendations for things to see and do throughout Seville.
Final Thoughts
With over 3,000 tapas bars to choose from in Seville, choosing a great place to eat can be quite overwhelming, particularly for tourists. If you are looking to get a feel for Spanish tapas culture, try delicious local dishes, and learn about Seville’s incredible history, then you will absolutely love this tour.
Even as a “local” (does living in Seville for 10 months count?), I discovered amazing new bars and learned new pieces of the city’s history that I can’t wait to share with my friends and readers.
Our tour guide, Sara, was absolutely excellent-she couldn’t have been more friendly, informative, and personable. I also loved how small our group size was. The tour felt intimate and gave me a new appreciation for the city I am currently calling home.
I left the Devour Seville Tapas, Taverns & History tour feeling incredibly full, satisfied, and inspired to explore my own city even more and branch out from my usual bars and restaurants.
Check out my food tour Instagram story @missadventuresabroad for more mouth-watering snaps and videos!
Devour Tours
Image: Devour Seville
If you are interested in joining any of Devour’s food tours when you visit Spain, then you are in luck! Devour offers tours in Madrid, Barcelona, Granada, Malaga, San Sebastian, and of course Seville! There are a variety of tours in each city and Devour truly has something to offer everyone. 10/10 would recommend!
Hopefully during my travels this year I’ll be able to join a few tours in some of these other locations! I’ll be sure to keep you posted if I do!
You may also enjoy a few of my other Spain posts:
- 15 Things You Absolutely Must Do In Seville, Spain
- 3 Perfect Days in Barcelona: The Ultimate Itinerary
- Must Do Madrid: The Top 10 Things To Do In Spain’s Capital
- How To Spend 1 Day In Córdoba: Top 5 Things To Do
- Must Do Málaga: Discover The Top 10 Things To Do In Picasso’s Birthplace
- Everything You Need To Know About Visiting The Alhambra
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