La Brunilda ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

When I travel, I plan 90% of my eating itinerary (eatinerary as I like to call it) and leave one or two meals for random discoveries or recommendations from locals.

For my last dinner in Seville, I took the suggestion of my seatmate at Eslava - a nice man with protruding stomach (sign of good taste in food, lol) - and went to his favorite restaurant in the city, La Brunilda.

Blue door marks the spot

I arrived without reservations on a rainy evening and was lucky to score the last empty table 

English menu! Yay!

A glass of ribera del duero because I saw the word "beef" on the menu

But first, an incredibly delicious plate of tuna tataki on a bed of couscous.

To this day I've never had a better version and I dream about this dish once a month.

The server was not kidding when he said portions were huge. He did not allow me to order more than two tapas and he was right.

Grilled beef tenderloin with potatoes and thyme. 

This could be a sharing size in Asia, but I finished it all.

How could I not when every piece was this tender?

The waiter handed me this when I signaled for him. But I was asking for the dessert menu,
not the bill!!! Lol!

Moist and lovely carrot cake

I promise I didn't finish the whole slice :P

The best €18.90 I spent in Spain!

On my way out of the restaurant, I saw an Asian lady and started talking to her. Tessa was the first and only Asian I saw since I arrived in Seville and I found out she is also a Filipina! She asked me to join her for a second dinner. I said yes, of course! :)

Tender and tasty grilled octopus

Duck confit with spiced carrot cream 

Everything I tried at La Brunilda was so delicious and a cut above pretty much everything else I ate in Seville. Had I discovered it earlier during my trip I would have returned a second time and most probably a third time, too.

I highly recommend!

As for Tessa, we've kept in touch and managed to catch up over halo-halo when she visited

Manila during the holidays. Yay to new friendships born out of mutual love for food!

La Brunilda: Calle Galera, 5, 41002 Sevilla, SpainTel: +34 954 22 04 81

La Brunilda Website

Plaza de Espana ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Plaza de España is my favorite place in all of Seville. It is grand, the tiles are beautiful, it honors the 48 provinces of Spain, and most of all, it is oh so romantic! I felt like I walked into a fairytale.

The 50,000-square meter plaza was built for the Ibero-American Expo 1929 and is now

home to a few government offices 

At the center of the plaza is the Vicente Travers fountain, which you must also see at night

when the lamp posts around it are lighted up. So breathtaking!

Following the curve of the semi-circular building is a canal crossed by four bridges.

You can rent a boat and spend a lovely time rowing in the canal.

The bridges are the prettiest I have ever seen

Blue, white and yellow ceramics everywhere!

Even on the stairs and on the floor

Waaaahhhhh I am super in love with Seville!!!!!!! 

You look up, you see beauty

You look down, you see beauty

You look straight and your heart wants to burst out of your chest. It is overwhelming

to be surrounded with all this exquisiteness.

Twin towers flank both ends of the plaza

Standing in the south tower looking out to the north

Around the plaza are tiled alcoves each representing a different province in Spain and a

specific time in its history. The tile work is just amazing. I went around and had my 

photo taken in front of all the provinces I was visiting that trip. Hahaha!

Here are the photos without me, so you know what to expect soon on the blog. :)

Sevilla

Cordoba

Granada

Barcelona

Burgos

Madrid

Toledo

I missed Segovia. Oops.

I spent a very enjoyable afternoon moving from one bench to another, crossing bridges, daydreaming, and just soaking up the calming atmosphere of the plaza.

Don't forget to go up to the balcony

Look up and be mesmerized all over again

I was planning to hop over to Maria Luisa Park right next door, but sadly it was closed

for an event. I guess this only means I must return one day. 

No photos can ever do justice to the magnificence of Plaza de España. 

Promise me you will go experience it for yourself when in Seville.

Eslava ♥ ♥

I read so many wonderful things about Eslava I put it number one on my list for my trip to Seville

The place does not take reservations and I was lucky to get a seat at the bar as soon as I arrived.

Another perk of being a single traveler! ;)

Tapas bar menu

English version for you and me

There is also a restaurant behind the tapas bar. It was packed for a weekday lunch.

Something light and refreshing to prepare my palate

A plate of olives and some kind of beans that I hungrily polished off. I was so hungry!!!

And then my server looked at me, aghast. He immediately grabbed a bag from under the bar 

and explained to me that the yellow things were lupin beans and the skin was not edible.

I looked around me and saw empty lupin bean shells on every plate. Hahahaha! OOOPS!!!!!!

I told him I was seriously starving and he made sure my food came immediately. Lol.

Scallops of seaweed puree and kataifi noodles. Just a tad overcooked for my liking.

Razor clams a la plancha

Look how plump and tender. This was, hands down, my favorite at Eslava.

Okay, this was the only dish I enjoyed at Eslava.

Slow-cooked egg on boletus cake. I was most excited for this because it won 1st Prize

for Best Tapas at Sevilla en Boca de Todos 2010. Turned out to be rather underwhelming. 

The Cigar for Becquer won 3rd Prize, but the brie pastry stuffed with squid ink cream

 and algae did absolutely nothing for me.

My dessert of chocolate orange torte saved the day

Wiped out in 5 minutes! My server was totally amused by me. 

And these gentlemen seemed to approve of my appetite

Good job, Jin who really loves to eat!

Service was great at Eslava. Come for a plate of razor clams then move to 

ConTenedor or La Brunilda for a proper meal.

Eslava: Calle Eslava, 3, 41002 Sevilla, Spain
Tel: +34 954 90 65 68

Eslava Website