Bar Alfalfa — Restaurant in Seville

Hit or Miss Experience

We visited this bar twice last week, and honestly, it felt like two completely different places.

On our first visit (June 12), the experience was absolutely amazing. The waiter who served us was one of the friendliest I’ve ever encountered, and I ordered a lot of tapas and sangria. Everything was incredibly delicious. In fact, we loved it so much that we came back later that same day — and once again, the food and service were just as outstanding.

But the next day, we returned and unfortunately, the experience was a complete letdown. The new waiter (also a guy) wasn’t nearly as friendly, and the food was honestly disappointing. I ordered a lasagna that came out cold and just wasn’t good. My friend ordered the same meat dish we’d had the day before — which had been excellent — but this time it was also cold and not well-prepared. We later found out the chef was different: a woman the first day, a man the second. Regardless, a place like this should maintain consistent quality, no matter who’s in the kitchen.

That’s the reason I’m not giving 5 stars for this bar. But if I had to rate it based only on our first day, it would have been an easy 5-star experience.

Still, I’d consider coming back if I ever return to Seville, just to take my chances again and based on how great our first experience was. The prices were also quite fair, and it was the cheapest sangria we found...

We were staying in Alfalfa and this place had a line outside every night, so of course, we cancelled our restaurant reservation elsewhere and tried our luck, and boy were we happy.

First things first, you need to grab a table or spot to stand and eat or they won't let you order. Being British can work against you here as your queue politely...just make a move, grab a spot, ask if you can squeeze in somewhere...it's all good.

When you grab your place, the menu is brilliant and packed full of deceptively tasty food coming from such a small kitchen. We had Alfalfa Salad, which had a lovely sherry vinegar dressing and sweetness, and we enjoyed the freshness. Pork cheeks were tender and full of flavour and fell apart whilst eating.

Steak was rare and well seasoned and the croquettes were crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. We also chanced on the aubergines with mint which were also great.

That and two drink came in at 32 Euros. Great stuff.

A couple of days later we returned for breakfast and for 6 euros ate well, drank good coffee and felt smug we'd booked a place near such a great bar. Highly...

We were three and all three of us were famished when we arrived so we went a bit over the board. We ordered a bunch of tapas and a plate of ternera retinto (not in the photos but this dish was spectacular).

Out of all the tapas we have tried, the ones that really wowed me were the salmorejo and the Alfalfa salad. Another thing was how quick the server brought out the food. My colleagues ordered 2 sangrias and I ordered a tinto as a true madrileña, and I should have just left that madrileña spirit back in Madrid because the sangrias are wayyy better.

Now the salmorejo is a MUST order. I have tried a bunch of salmorejos, and this is the best I have ever tried (not counting the homemade ones). The salad was also really refreshing. I really craved vegetables at that point so it could just be me.

The servers were super friendly, and they chatted with me for a little bit and left us to dine as the meals started arriving.

Overall it was a beautiful experience! I can’t wait to try the bodega next...