Taberna Góngora — Restaurant in Córdoba

English review: we've been in Spain for ~month and this place was a little better than our previous Spanish dining experiences....just a little. On a Saturday, I decided we should go right at 8pm when they open for their "2nd opening" which was very wise, because when we finished our Spanish meal, the place was crowded with a long chaotic line of Spaniards waiting for a table(I would never wait for a table at any Spanish restaurant). Prior to our arrival, we already knew what we wanted to try: muflon al ajillo and boquerones Frito limon. The muflon wasn't bad but it could be presented/paired better. Mexicans would serve that dish without the chips(this is adolescent imo) and with tortillas, salsa and a side of beans and rice and maybe a coleslaw. Americans would again, hold the chips and replace them with fries and shred the muflon and put it between a warm brioche bun with coleslaw or maybe roasted red peppers, like a pulled pork sandwich. A little culinary evolution would improve this dish exponentially but as it is, it's unbalanced and incomplete. Even a steak dinner has other small things to balance it out. We aren't living in the middle ages eating boiled potatoes. I ordered the full racion which was a mistake, so unless you're starving, I'd order the 1/2 racion because eventually you might get sick of eating meat with oil soaked chips. My wife ordered the boquerones Frito al limon, and because I'm an opened minded person, I tried them. Granted, I've never had an affinity for fish flavor, but I could tell these were cooked great and fresh. With that said, I'd never order these anchovies. Order the 1/2 racion unless you really like anchovies. We ordered Estrella Galicias in bottles because they don't have a drink menu for some reason, and I noticed other tables with these extremely small cups of beer; I want a regular size beer please, not a baby drink. I notice much more than the average person, especially in a restaurant; it's mind boggling to me when I walk into a restaurant, especially 1 with nearly 3000 reviews and the lighting is super bright florescent white. Are we in a prison or a hospital? Why would you have your restaurant with this awful color ambience? Are these bulbs cheaper? More annoying was the 80 cent charge for the rock hard table bread. Again, are we in the middle ages? Why would I pay for this brick you're trying to pass off as bread? I would NEVER buy bread like this unless maybe I was building a chimney. If you've NEVER been to America, a restaurant would NEVER charge its client for table bread and aside from being free, it'll actually be good/edible. Ever been to Red lobster? Terrible restaurant chain food but their Chesapeake bay biscuits will blow your mind. You'll eat 10 before your main course hits the table. I'll keep my rating at 5 stars because my review is for me and no one will read this English review, and penalizing this restaurant is like getting mad at a child who doesn't...

Very "traditional" place to eat in Cordoba. The restaurant is full of pictures of local hunters, hounds drawings and hunting tropheys (boar/deer heads). There are tools, also related to hunting, attached to the restaurant walls. The walls bases are covered with tiles decorated in arabic/andalus style... which create a fancy contrast with the images mentioned above. The food, especially the meat, is very tasty and well made: plates are, however, kind of "hardcore", since meat is served with french fries only, and no vegetables at all. Prices are ok for the service you get. At the end of your lunch/dinner you get a little magnum ice cream... In the end, the whole experience feels a little bit "out of date". The restaurant is already full of locals, and the feeling you get is that they don't really need you as a customer. The staff, finally, is...

Roba de Toro (bull tail) is one of the traditional dishes of Cordoba. And this place was highly recommended by a lovely, elderly Cordoban lady we met on the street while asking for directions there.

The place was very busy but worth the 30-minute wait for a table. The Roba de Toro was succulent, rich and fall-off-the-bone tender. It's no wonder Taberna Gongora is so popular for this dish alone. The place is decorated with traditional Cordoban colorful tiles on the walls and the atmosphere is bright, bustling and cheerful. Also tried the Salmorejo, a thick, creamy, cold soup of sorts made from vegetables. Trust me, you'll get your veggies and want to lick the bowl clean too, it's that good. Served with crusty soft bread, you can be more discreet and break off pieces like the Spanish do, and clean out the bowl that way. Highly...