Granada is one of the most memorable cities on earth to visit and the one place I had been planning to visit for decades!! The Alhambra, the Cathedral and in fact the whole city is one not to put off seeing for too long – it takes stamina and perseverance to do justice to such a place. But my review is just of a very tiny part that deserves recognition – a tiny (well, from the outside it looks minute and it could easily be missed) but delightful restaurant. Follow the Plaza Nueva into the Plazza Santa Ana and then along the Carrera del Darro, it follows the river of the same name until just before the restaurant where it goes uphill slightly and has buildings on the river side. The beautiful Islamic decoration, both inside and out, is very much in keeping with the other more famous areas of the city but it unfolds into three areas – cool and comfortably furnished.
We found this little gem around lunchtime when we were attracted by the special offer of crepes and a drink of around 3 euros (but only on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and this was Thursday!) but we only paid a couple of euros more to have delicious lemon and chocolate crepes, a unique lemonade (with lime and mint) and an Albayzin tea – with ginger and lemon. If I’m honest, we might have given up had we not been persistent in searching for the waiter who was nowhere to be found without calling out loudly! We had no idea if this was just a tea shop or if it served dinner with nothing to indicate it did. However, a busy day ensued and we decided to go back on the off chance and were met with much more efficient service, but equally as friendly, and an array of Moroccan dishes. I had the most delicious, tender chicken tagine with raisins and caramelized onions and my friend had meatballs; a fresh, colourful Arab salad and flatbread accompanied our dishes, followed by more crepes and we both had the lemonade to wash it all down. We were so full and needed time to relax and chat to other customers before the trek back up to our hotel.
Although this restaurant was mostly on the flat it was some distance from the main plazas and in the heat would not be easy for less mobile people to walk to – fine if using a wheelchair though, cars can use the road and even a bus serves the route despite the narrowness of the street.
So many wonderful memories of this spectacular city – the view of the Alhambra from the Mirador de San Nicolas at sunset, to the stunning beauty of the gardens and intricate wall designs of the Alhambra itself and then the simple delicious pleasures of this little gem of a restaurant.
