Do you already have homesickness?
RESTAURANTS WITH SPANISH FLAVOR
Finding good Spanish food in Dublin seems almost like an impossible mission. Still, there are several restaurants that try and they are not bad at all. One of them is **The Market Bar** (14A Fade Street), an old market converted into a tapas gastro bar. The place is really nice: high ceilings, red brick walls, rustic wooden benches and several potted plants that give the place the most cozy touch. Their menu includes two sizes of Spanish tapas: there is tortilla, shrimp, chorizo, squid. Although they are not the dishes that your mother cooks, their taste will bring back good memories.
Another restaurant to kill homesickness is The Port House Pintxo (Eustace Street, Temple Bar). It is a place decorated with wooden boxes of wines from Rioja, Ribera and Penedés. Its menu includes tapas and Spanish dishes from Iberian ham, fried squid, veal montaditos, Valencian paella, garlic prawns and churros with chocolate for dessert. The quality is good although the quantity is somewhat fair. If you go, do not miss the decoration of the bathrooms. They will leave you with your mouth open.
One of tapas!
Honoring the Barcelona market **, La Boquería ** (3 Prussia Street, Stoneybatter) is another restaurant that offers informal tapas-style meals. Here They serve very innovative Spanish fusion cuisine, made with market products and impeccably presented. Its manchego cheese, its croquettes and its olive tapas are surprising. There are also less Spanish dishes, such as tuna tataki marinated with salt and pepper, seafood risottos or pickled onions. All delicious.
In Dublin, putting the name of Spanish cities on restaurants is very popular. An example is ** Zaragoza ** (South William Street), a place that cooks Mediterranean tapas with an Irish touch in its kitchen. In its menu we find the typical recipes for garlic chicken, seafood paella, patatas bravas, scallops and chicken croquettes. Although there are also curious mixtures such as prawns with chorizo. For dessert: a good Catalan cream.
Most innovative tapas
WHERE TO BUY SPANISH FOOD IN DUBLIN
Food is something that we always miss when we live far from home. For this reason, knowing the addresses where to buy a cured pancetita, a bottle of virgin olive oil from Jaén, a good Rioja or some Castilian lentils is very valuable information in Dublin. So aim:
At ** Howth Market ** every weekend from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. you can buy at the _ Spanish Food Suplier _ stall. It is an online store that serves you at the door of your house the most famous brands of spanish products . Another great website to treat yourself to gastronomy is _ Spanish Food in Dublin _, where you can buy everything from an Asturian bean stew to a can of pickled mussels.
Authentic Spanish Food at Howth Market
If you like Spanish wines, visit Black Pig (95b Morehampton Road, Donnybrook) . Paul Walsh, its creator, is in love with Spain and its culture. That's why, he decided to create this space in 2010 whose name honors the black-legged pig. On his website we can order everything from wines from different Spanish regions (red, white and sparkling) to Iberian sausages, pots of hot chocolate or cans of cockles. There is everything.
Spanish wines and much more
WE'RE GOING TO THE SPANISH PARTY!
After listening to and speaking English 24 hours a day, there is no Spaniard who can resist singing a song from the land out loud. And no matter the kind of music , as soon as you start humming a melody by Rafael, than another by Medina Azahara. The morriña is the one who commands.
In Dublin it is easy to find bars and pubs where they pay tribute to Latin music. There are places that organize Spanish parties sporadically and others that meet periodically. This is the case of ** Mercantile Bar ** (28 Dame Street) where they encourage you to give it your all on the dance floor in the best Latin nights in the city. The music is provided by DJ Antonio -the favorite of all Latinos in Dublin- and admission is free. ** The Grand Social (35 Lower Liffey Street) is another festival temple with a Spanish flavour.** Especially themed. Here you can enjoy a Cadiz Carnival, a Spanish-style witches' night or the best Ibizan party (always keeping your distance).
Dublin Flamenco Festival
The ** Mayfield Restaurant ** (7-11, Terenure Road North) occasionally hosts The Spanish Night, a tapas dinner with flamenco shows. By the way, if you are a fan of this very Spanish dance, you cannot miss it The Dublin Flamenco Festival , a festival that has been held every October since 2011. Its promoters are the Peña Flamenca El Indalo, in charge of promoting the learning of this dance in the Irish capital.
**FAMILY HIKING (AND IN SPANISH)**
After so much partying and eating, you also want to go for a walk and enjoy the landscapes of Ireland. The Spanish-Speaking Parents Association of Dublin (ASPI) brings together Spanish-speaking families with children of all ages for walks in the mountains and parks near Dublin. They visit places like Tibradden Woods, Millennium Park, Blessington Greenway Walk, or St. Enda's Park among others. The outings are held on the last Sunday of each month and their objective is to enjoy nature with the whole family. The common denominator is the Spanish language.
A library with a Spanish flavor
LITERARY MORRIÑA?
If your homesickness comes at a literary level, in Dublin they organize different reading clubs in Spanish. Where else: at the Cervantes Institute (Lincoln House, Lincoln Pl). Its Dámaso Alonso library holds a reading club once a month to discuss a book in Spanish. The ASPI association also regularly carries out activities and readings for children over 8 years of age in its Spanish Junior Club Book. Another option is to pay attention to the calendars of the Irish literary clubs where Spanish titles are discussed (and so you continue practicing English). Trinity College organizes great sessions in its library.
_ You may also be interested..._*
- 48 hours in Dublin - Breakfast in Dublin
- Five reasons to discover Dublin - The 50 photos that make you want to travel to Ireland
- All the articles of Almudena Martín