Restaurante Bar León — Restaurant in Granada

What a great find. This is a small bar with a restaurant at the back popular with the locals and with a large selection of traditional dishes. It looks a little intimidating, but appearances are deceptive- the staff couldn’t have been nicer to us. We arrived a little before the lunch service was ready ( at 13:00) but were invited to sit at the bar at had two small beers and a taster plate of paella which I don’t think they charged for. When they were ready for us we were invited into the restaurant which was clean and quaint. The only waiter was polite and professional and didn’t put a foot wrong even when I clumsily ordered in Spanish. I had the soup Sevilla and the pork loin with peppercorn sauce and fries and my wife had artichoke with mayonnaise and swordfish and fries. (Although we could have had tripe, liver or even testicles- it’s not ideal for vegans). Six small beers, a taster of paella, a basket of bread, two starters, two mains and two sides came to 56 Euros. The most authentic dining experience of...

I rarely write reviews because, having been in the trade, I know how difficult it is and how easy it is to write an unjustified poor review. However, I feel the need to review Restaurants Leon in Granada because the experience we have just had is so poor. We went because it was recommended in a guide but we're very disappointed. We had a salad followed by a pork in pepper sauce and calamari. The salad and pork were reasonable but nothing special but the calamari were very poor (most probably frozen). The worst bit was the waiter who was offhand to the point of being hostile. He barely spoke, never smoked and just glared at us throughout the meal. He brought our main course before we had finished our starter and then just stood there with them unapprovingly till we had finished. Maybe we were unlucky but I would not take the chance. Avoid...

By all appearances this traditional Andalusian restaurant in the heart of the tourist zone just off Plaza Nueva should be just another mediocre tourist trap, and that is what it looks like from a distance. But when you go in, you notice that the platters of food coming out of that kitchen are something special indeed. We ordered a traditional Andalusian paella, intensely flavorful rice cooked with a mix of fresh seafood and roast chicken, delicious on its own but hiding a surprise underneath - the most delicious socarrat, the exquisitely caramelized rice stuck to the bottom of the pan, where all the best flavors are gathered. Their sangria gets special marks for being light and fruity rather...