What's new, Seville?
That Seville is experiencing a revolution in every way, what can we say: it is no longer a secret. Because the Andalusian capital has long been seducing the spotlights of the tourism festival . Concentrating all the eyes of those eager for a mijita from the south.
It is those wise people who bet on soak up the radiant sun that shines in these parts. The environment, the walks along the river, the historical past or the forays through labyrinthine alleys.
The magic of the Guadalquivir
It is the one that seeks to feel the essence of that Seville that is willing to remove the sanbenito of tradition and purism that has always been attached to it. The new Hispalis it reinvents itself every day with new and original proposals.
And it is that, whether we like it or not, Seville is fashionable: say it more than three million tourists who visited the city in 2019 setting a historical record.
Also those who chose it as the venue for events of the stature of the MTV EMA Awards, the 2019 Goya Awards, the WTTC -World Travel Tourism Council- or the Michelin Guide gala -and this, to name just a few-, and that placed it more than ever on the map. In case someone clueless hadn't already found out...
We are gathered here today because there is lots of news to talk about -and even more to taste- in this beautiful city on the banks of the Guadalquivir.
Of rehabilitated houses, converted factories and views of the Guadalquivir
What has been said: more than three million tourists in just one year is a lot. Very much. The demand for accommodation is growing and In Seville, hotel openings follow one another without ceasing. If not, pay attention: in 2020 they expect until 23 new hotels which, by the way, They will not go below four and five stars. Because, yes: the city is clear that betting on the luxury tourism market is its next objective.
The bright UNUK SOHO hotel
One of the novelties, in fact, has already begun to receive guests. The UNUK SOHO Hotel, a superior four-star hotel, opened just two months ago to offer a oasis of beauty and style, elegance and distinction, in the heart of Sevillian Soho.
They give shelter walls of two old houses that have maintained their structure to be protected, and that hide a whole world of proposals oriented to ENJOYMENT, in capital letters.
UNUK SOHO has 39 rooms which are distributed -mostly- around two patios from whose glass ceilings hang metal curtains that are authentic works of art. Automated services for access and control of temperature and lighting, tablets available to customers, national and international press service and a solarium where you can forget about the world.
Views of the Cathedral, the Mushrooms of Seville and countless historic bell towers that give an enjoyable skyline while enjoying a bath in the pool or is it taken a drink on the terrace that, in just two weeks, will finally see the light.
Anything else? Yes, and very important. UNUK SOHO adds to the growing trend of betting on restaurants with their own name that, even dependent on the hotel, demand their personality. We are talking about Recoveco: a tribute to traditional gastronomy in which there is no shortage of lifelong recipes endowed with an avant-garde touch. They say that their corvina, by the way, is spectacular.
Another four star has found its corner facing the Guadalquivir, to which it pays homage even in name: it is the Hotel Kivir the only one of the crowded Columbus walk. The Sevillians Cruz and Ortiz were in charge of renovate the old building of the beginning of the 20th century in which it is found.
The result? Splendid, as always. And if the views were not enough claim to elect him, the Kivir has also given strong support to other types of proposals: the Skyline Kivir, its wonderful terrace with views, is open to anyone who whether you are a customer or not, I want to have a good time , while the Fluvial gastrobar, which sails at the hands of the chef Fran Rodriguez, It is a great option if you are in the area.
It will be necessary to cross the river to reach one of the most beautiful jewels that have been given to Seville in the last year. Because the Hotel Triana Montalván is just that: a treasure.
In fact, something special was already in sight when two years ago the Arcas family opened the Montalván Restaurant in a part of what had been the ceramic factory of Triana most important of all time. But the ace up their sleeve was even better.
The intimacy of the Montalván is given by the fact that the exterior facade does not let us guess what it hides inside: the rest of the ceramic factory four other Sevillian houses have joined acquired by the property that, maintaining its essence, have become an ode to that Triana tradition.
Montalvan Hotel room
Because next to the building everything that was inside was also bought: boxes and boxes with hundreds of tiles that the artisans had made for churches, monuments and individuals.
pieces that, masterfully combined randomly and without any order, have been recycled to decorate the interior patios, fountains, facades and even the headboards of its 21 rooms. All original. All wonderful. All studio work AF6 Architects, to which several awards have already fallen for the project.
The old ovens , by the way, they have been kept as they are and they are studying adapting them to use them as a **cellar, reserved and for wine tastings. **
Stoves with which to touch the sky
And if there are novelties in Seville, they are above all in the gastronomic field: oh, friend, we like to eat well. And it turns out that around here they have decided bet on a level kitchen, that goes a few points beyond - many, we could say - of the typical tapa in the usual tavern hey, we love it too.
But we are talking about a sophisticated kitchen, where the product is at the same level as the elaboration and ingenuity necessary to combine and play with the elements. In Sobretables, the gastro temple of Camila Ferraro , have managed to achieve that excellence so much that even in Madrid Fusion Merit was recognized with the award for Revelation Chef 2020.
in full future neighborhood, dare to try the crazy things -in the best sense- that this woman and her team are capable of preparing well is worth a trip to Seville.
They are also making their debut in Ispal, which has just renewed its menu. We talk about the restaurant commitment to the 100% Seville philosophy in its dishes. All ingredients of kilometer 0 , all inspired by traditional recipes: everything in it tastes of Híspalis.
Behind the stove is the chef Jorge Manfredi, that landed in this project of the The Race Group in September of last year to take command.
In Ispal they bet on à la carte dishes, but their great asset is the tasting menus -one short, one long- in which they invite you to an authentic journey through time and space through the Seville that they honor so much in their cuisine.
What's new? Many: from the promising “Mincemeat soup homage to Japanese Coria” to “Ardoría de Osuna with ham” or “Iberian feather in whiskey sauce”. And all washed down with any of the more than 400 references from your warehouse. They tempt us, and a lot...
But there is more to talk about when it comes to cooking, the thing does not end there: Barra Baja is the bet of two young chefs, Patricia Moliner and Rafa Liñán, who opened their project last December willing to offer a cuisine **different in concept, flavor and presentation. **
They first met working together with Dani García in Marbella and continued their professional journey through great restaurants in Spanish territory.
Now, if what we are looking for is a revolution of truth, both in concept and in each and every one of the senses that one can consider, we have to talk about Meridional.
Haute cuisine taken to the sublime, product above all things, commitment to the most masterful creativity and absolute minimalism in space and in presentations. David Couple is the soul behind this new project that is unlike anything seen in Seville ever: **if you are looking for something unique, you will find it here. **
Meridional was born at the end of 2019 and is still presenting itself to the world. On the facade, the absolute absence of the name is striking, something that, hey, gives it its little point. Inside, **a large space occupied by eight tables and a bar overlooking the kitchen. **
Facade of the Meridional restaurant
An exquisite and extensive selection of wines -with special prominence of the natural ones- and a concise but forceful menu: around ten dishes in which there are always three ingredients that become strong. If you have to choose, we decided on the **grilled crayfish + cashew butter + harrissa, and the Iberian pork tartar + egg yolk + spelled: spectacular. **
That the experience will be unique is intuited as soon as it occurs the first sip of consommé with which they give upon arrival. Details that count.
Another that has started its journey is the restaurant of the EME Catedral Mercer hotel. Next to is the first proposal in Andalusia of the chef from Huelva Paco Pérez , with five michelin stars to his credit.
He has been inspired on this occasion by the Seville of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the one that lived its best moment after the discovery of America. A time when ingredients from the New World forever changed the traditional cookbook.
At Al Lado they bet on a menu full of urban and casual options: if you think that the salad is a simple and predictable tapa, it is because you have not tried Paco Pérez's. The same happens with **the fried eggs with baby squid and tartar, the white prawn carpaccio, the pickled mussels or the squid muffin. **
Fried eggs with baby squid and tartare from Al Lado
The space -work of the architecture studio Flop!- It stands out for an elongated kitchen in view of the diner and for an intimate atmosphere. tableware , by the way, is one of those they want to take it home.
And speaking of Michelin: it's ready the goblin , the restaurant of the Eurostars Torre Sevilla - the hotel that occupies the top floors of the tower designed by César Pelli - to brand new 2020 Five Star Menu, a multi-course tasting designed by Michelin-starred chefs.
Although what we are here to talk about is actually its terrace Atalaya Torre Sevilla , which has accumulated since its opening two months ago, 15 thousand visits. It is essential to climb 37th floor viewpoint and enjoy the best views of the city, which, so small, is more reminiscent of a model -the ticket, by the way, costs 8 euros for those who are not hotel guests-.
But the experience goes much further: the terrace is making a strong commitment in this new season to consolidate itself as the perfect space to celebrate afterworks, and the offer of its bar, which already includes cocktails and some snacks, will now have rich broths and biscuits with hot chocolate to satisfy the appetite of those who are sailing through the Sevillian sky.
To top it off, there will also be art: the one Sevillian artists will be able to exhibit in the windows of the viewpoint. There it is.
In the background, the Eurostars Torre Sevilla hotel
Let's keep talking about culture
But it is already known that in Seville not everything is eating and sleeping, hey: people also come to the city to do other little things. For example, to enjoy its very interesting cultural offer, that this spring hits harder than ever based on exhibitions.
And there are three key places in the Andalusian capital to indulge in these pleasures. In the Caixa Forum Seville can be visited until may 31 , The spirit of Monmartre in the time of Toulouse Lautrec, a wonderful exhibition with more than 300 works in which to enjoy Toulouse Lautrec wit and some of his contemporaries from bohemian Paris at the end of the 19th century.
The beautiful Santa Clara Space dedicates its current exhibition to the great masters of Spanish painting of the 20th century with Abrazos. Artists in dialogue. An intergenerational exhibition, in which they will coexist, until April 26, works by prominent artists such as **Luis Gordillo or Antoni Tápies. **
The last stop, yes, will serve to come face to face with that Seville of roots: because no matter how much it transforms, the essence always remains. And so it is in the Museum of Fine Arts, where the exhibition Montañés, master of masters, invites you to visit the most outstanding works of the great baroque sculptor as they have never been seen before.
Are we going on show?