Fatouch — Restaurant in Seville

You know what they say about gut feeling, it is advisable to always pay attention to it. We had just arrived in Sevilla & as It is Monday lots of restaurants are closed, so, we saw Fatouch, 33 Calle Feria, while on our way to our apartment and decided to stop. We asked for a table & were seated inside across from the kitchen & food prep-area. We arrived around 13:30h & waited longer than 10-minutes, so my husband called the attention of the waiter (a heavy set, long hair, full beard man). We thought he acknowledged us but were not sure so waited another 5 minutes or so, & this time he said: "it will be a moment after I serve the other table." All he did was stand around, singing & after several minutes called the other server, a waitress, & gave the food order for her to take to the other tables. The waitress came to our table about 10 minutes after that to take our order, but the waiter never approached us.

We ordered “las patatas fritas & a labne” as our first dishes (appetizers). I ordered the Akel Beit and my husband ordered the Kafta Pita & to drink a couple of beers. The cook called out the appetizers (ready for our table), while the waiter was standing at the end of the counter by our appetizers. After 5 or more minutes , the waitress went over to the counter & the cook told her the order/table number, while the waiter was moving around doing nothing, not tending to any tables! At this time the waiter repeated what the cook had said to the waitress & she brought the appetizers to our table. The Akel Beit, which seems quite elaborate came about 10 minutes later. However, the Kafta did not arrive, and we notice the waitress mentioned the Kafta to the cook after the Akel Beit was served. We waited and waited for it to come but alas I started with my dish since it was getting cold. As I was nearly finished with my dish, we called the waitress asking to cancel the Kafta. The waitress stated that it takes a long time to prepare the Kafta, but we saw 5 kaftas being prepared & served, before my dish was served. Nevertheless, if this is case then the Akel Beit should have been prepare later. The cook was excellent, on top of all the orders, & even had to call the waiter (the heavy set, long hair, full beard man) to assist with the washing up & getting clean dishes out, as he was only standing around. It´s not only that they are busy, it´s that the serves are not paying attention & in particular the waiter who is acting more like a host while the cook & waitress are working.

We've been to Sevilla numerous times & never experience this type of service!! To add insult to injury, there was a service charge of 1, € per person. Some tourist rest. could have this type of charge but not that common & we didn't ask. As for the food, the Akel Beit was pretty good but the service was a bad as the Akel Beit was...

As a New Yorker excited to try non-Western food around the world, finding a Lebanese restaurant in Sevilla was a pleasant surprise. We ordered the falafels, chicken taouk, and classic hummus. The space is rustic but quaint. In the summer, the outdoor or indoor seats near the entrance can be very hot. I would recommend sitting near the bar or visiting at a later time when the weather is cooler. Now, on to the food. The highlight of our meal was the classic hummus, served with vea ry thin pita and topped with olive oil and spices.

The chicken taouk, however, was very sour. The chicken, marinated in yogurt, sumac, and lemon, was overly acidic. It was served on a bed of iceberg or romaine lettuce with pickles, garlic yogurt sauce, almonds, and a few slices of tomatoes. The falafels were served on top of roughly chopped parsley, pickled cabbage, pickles, and a generous amount of sumac. The sumac was a bit heavy, and the acidity of the salad clashed with the falafels. The falafels were coated with tahini and topped with almonds.

The service was good overall, but when they asked our opinions about our meal, I shared my feedback about the intensity of acidity and the need for balance. I complimented the hummus, which was creamy and well-balanced. However, the second server, possibly the manager, thought it was necessary to explain the flavor profiles and teach me about sumac, attributing the sour or acidic flavor to it. I explained that I was simply commenting on my experience and that I've had plenty of delicious and well-balanced Lebanese food in...

We heard what a great place this was, and decided to go right when it opened for dinner. Already there were two couples ahead of us, with another lining up behind right when we went.

We were able to sit at the bar with the green marble tabletop, and watched the chefs cook and assemble.

Given it was our first time, we tried their Soffre menu. We were started off with their salad, beetroot hummus, and Beirut hummus, accompanied with bread. It was fantastic. My wife who is not a hummus person enjoyed it.

After we were done, we had their eggplant dish, and potato dish. Both were really good as well, and I am not an eggplant person either.

At this point we thought that that was the end of it, and we were quite happy with ourselves. A combined dish of their mains came out. The croquette was great, but the chicken was a bit on the dry side.

We asked for the food to be packed up at this point, as we could not finish with the majority of the food still there. We felt compelled to explain to the staff that the food was excellent, but we weren't able to eat this much.

This was then followed up with what looked like a pre-made cheese tart/cake? It tasted good, but I couldn't appreciate it enough since my stomach was far beyond full capacity at this point.

That was 40€ for 2 people. Great value, and very excellent service (Waitress was so patient and kind to translate in English what was served when the Chefs were unable to). Would definitely...