Seville’s

Bull-fighting pictures, a brace of flamenco guitarists, mocked-up advertisements for tequila; there are enough Hispanic clichés floating round Seville’s to leave you wondering quite how a strong a grasp they could really have on the subtleties of Spanish cuisine Discuss this article

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Bull-fighting pictures, a brace of flamenco guitarists, mocked-up advertisements for tequila; there are enough Hispanic clichés floating round Seville’s to leave you wondering quite how a strong a grasp they could really have on the subtleties of Spanish cuisine. Surprising, then, that their new range of tapas eschews the obvious in favour of the bizarre and experimental. These dishes, on the whole, certainly aren’t bad, but – as my friend, a native Spaniard, murmured in amazement when our plates arrived – ‘this is not tapas’.

We thought we’d be on familiar ground with croquetas. Made with black rice and seafood, though, they looked darkly forbidding compared to the commoner golden-hued version. Nevertheless, these turned out to be the highlight of the meal; packed with morsels of chewy seafood and doused in a nicely pungent garlic mayonnaise. We were left squabbling over the last one. An Italianate oxtail cannelloni, meanwhile, was deliciously creamy and laden with tendrils of peppery meat, but tepid by the time it arrived on the table, as was the otherwise excellent tomato and garlic bread.

Things got really strange with the last two dishes. My friend was perplexed by the appearance of some cutesy brochettes (miniature kebabs with a single cherry tomato, half a rubbery quail egg, and a morsel of smoky chicken breast), although I found it a simple yet successful combination. But we were both thrown by the paella en sushi; a weird, cross-continental car-crash of a recipe, with cold spoonfuls of paella mixture wrapped and presented in sushi rolls. Heavier than all the other dishes combined, we said ‘adios’ to it after a couple of bites.

Dessert was positively conservative by comparison. My braso de gitano (which translates alarmingly as ‘gypsy’s arm’) had a sickly sort of appeal; a fluffy sponge cake crammed with chocolate mousse and syrup, it floated on an artery-clogging lake of cream and came garnished with an ironic sprig of mint. My friend, however, proclaimed his crema catalana an unqualified success; hidden under a teasing layer of cracked, burnt sugar, its waves of creamy custard were a delight.

Seville’s new range isn’t the ideal choice for lovers of traditional Spanish fare, who might be better advised to stick with the restaurant’s standard menu. But if you want tapas with a twist, then it’s worth braving the sometimes questionable novelty aspects of the new breed of cuisine.

• Previous reviews
  • 17 March,2009- reviewed by Time Out Dubai staff
  • 26 March,2008- reviewed by Jeremy Lawrence
  • 12 March,2007- reviewed by Time Out Dubai Staff
  • 01 September,2004- reviewed by Matthew Lee

Time Out reviews restaurants anonymously and pays for meals. Of course, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or independence of user reviews.