Bodegas Castañeda

by Bradley

Key Words
Tapas, Good Atmosphere

      Would We Come Back? 
For sure, it was our first authentic tapas experience that didn't disappoint.

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          If you're used to tapas in the states then you understand them the same way as I did, that is until visiting Granada. Tapas originated in the south of Spain and is attributed mainly to Granada. It is nothing like the small plates you can order stateside. Which I personally hate because I eat a lot and when you order a million small plates the costs adds up quick! I love the true tapas concept and you can go out drinking and never have to order food!

          The first tapas restaurant we went to was Bodegas Castaneda, the decor gave the bar a very old-fashioned, Spanish feel and was a great first experience of a real tapas bar. There were very few tables but you usually stand at a tapas bar. Katherine ordered a white wine from Yllera, it had a great fruit flavor but wasn't overly sweet. Since then we have tried finding this wine again without luck. Katherine is still on the search because it was tasty and even though we have found the Yllera brand we still haven't found the right wine.

          I just had a beer, nothing too special about it but it quenched my thirst. For our tapa, they brought out a vegetable paella for us to share. For free bar food it was really good. It carried a strong paella flavor even though it lacked the meat. One last notable point about this bar was that it served its wine and vermut from tapped casks behind the bar - I thought that was pretty cool.

Vegetable Paella