Ventorrillo El Chato — Restaurant in Cádiz

Yes, we were Rick Stein visitors!

We had our own car in Cadiz so drove from the old town in about 15 minutes, so it's not inconvenient per se but it is a roadside restaurant with a stunning beach on side and a dual carriage way to the other - although you couldn't hear it at all once inside the restaurant. The windows were doing a great job keeping that noise out!

The staff were extremely friendly and welcoming and patient with our limited Spanish, the English menu is on a QR and links to website menu which we didn't find difficult to use.

We came for the shrimp fritters as per Rick and I have to say, although all the shrimp fritters we had in Cadiz were amazing, these were head and shoulders above the rest. Not a single one comes close! The ones here were not only larger by they were incredibly crispy with more batter edges and way more prawns in than any others we had (and believe me we had a lot). When I compare photos, all the others now look flat and the ones here look wild and crispy.

For me there is no comparison to any others in Cadiz. The size, the amount of shrimp in it... it's worth the price and trip. All the others in Cadiz are Ford's, and these are Rolls Royce. It doesn't mean I don't like Ford's, they're just a different size and spec.

Seriously the fritters here are nothing like any others!

But all the food here was amazing, we went during the tuna season so got a couple of speciality dishes which were excellent- the rice with the tuna ribs especially. I'd never heard of tuna ribs before!

The desserts were great too, the big thing that looks like chocolate cake wasn't, it was somewhere between a mousse and gelato, that as soon as you eat it, it melt in your mouth so it looks huge but it isn't filling.

Everything we ate was amazing and the service was brilliant- it's definitely worth a trip out of the main town even if you have to arrange taxis. You...

We went here on a cruise tour and had a fabulous lunch. We had potato salad, a shrimp tortilla (described as a shrimp pancake, but was way better than that sounds), and sea bass. The bread served with the dish was perfect. Potato salad was simple but really well done and delicious. Again, in spite of the name, the shrimp pancake was more like a savory and light funnel cake with shrimp. Even though I do not typically eat fish, the sea bass here may have changed my mind. Our entire group enjoyed our lunch. When the sea bass was served, our group went silent because everyone was enjoying the dish. They served their take on a canolli. It was half filled with vanilla and the other half chocolate. Nice family restaurant with lots of memorabilia, especially if you tour the basement that appears to be used to host...

El Ventorrillo El Chato es un restaurante situado en la playa de Cortadura, un entorno natural de flora y fauna propia del lugar, justo antes de entrar en la ciudad de Cádiz, concretamente en el istmo que comunica San Fernando con mi pequeña y acogedora ciudad. Construido en 1780, fue lugar de encuentro y refugio de los soldados gaditanos que lucharon contra las tropas francesas y, cuya victoria, significó la liberación de España y el fin de la ocupación francesa. Dicho esto, debo confesar que mi familia y yo hemos ido alguna vez que otra a almorzar a este rústico restaurante y a degustar su típica gastronomía gaditana de buenísima calidad. Las gambas, riquísimas, en su punto, jugosas y frescas; las almejas a la marinera o con otras salsas, buenísimas también; la ensaladilla con gambas, un placer para los sentidos; los quesos de la serranía gaditana, como el Payoyo, delicioso para los amantes del queso; el jamón ibérico, el atún rojo de Almadraba, de nuestro Barbate, lugar que invito a visitar por su singularidad y sus maravillosas playas; las típicas tortillitas de camarones, probadlas aquí y luego no volveréis a comerlas mejores, bueno sí, en El Faro de Cádiz, pero todo queda en casa... la variedad de arroces y guisos caseros, los pescados del día y los vinos de la tierra. Ojalá disfrutéis de esta gastronomía tan buena, aunque es verdad que resulta caro para los bolsillos modestos como el de la mayoría de nosotros, pero si queréis daros el placer de visitarlo por un día, os aseguro que no os arrepentiréis. Cádiz es una ciudad con mucho encanto, hay que darle vida y procurar la satisfacción del turista, que es, definitivamente, quien viene a conocer la ciudad y volverá si se le trata con el...