No-Lugar - Style and Content

Being hip and of substance is a tough call to manage. Having lived in London, a city that is continually looking for the cool and the fresh, I arrived in Seville jaded by the exhausting, unquenchable thirst for the cutting edge.

However after months of eating variations on the same theme, which in the case of a vegetarian tends to be spinach with chick peas or pisto accompanied by a tired looking egg, a small part of me began to yearn for a dash of culinary innovation. And as if by magic across the city there began a gradual proliferation of tentative toes was being dipped into the experimental waters of international inspired cuisine, and suddenly almost every restaurant worth its salt had some tuna tataki, salmon tartar or risotto on the menu.

But four years have passed since my feet first landed in Seville and the gastronomic landscape has indeed changed for the better. Case in point being ´No-Lugar´ on Calle Trajano. Owned by the same uber cool artist folk behind Red House Art Cafe, they´ve continued their successful interior design formula, with high-topped chunky wooden tables, designed for communal eating setting the vibe, set off by effortlessly stylish mix-and-match vintage crockery. You see at ´No-Lugar´ the devil is in the detail, and aesthetics are vitally important, even if it looks like it´s been thrown together at the last minute.

‘No-Lugar’ has been open now for a wee while, but continues to keep up its position of the place to be seen of an evening. The atmosphere at night is buzzing, the waiting staff multi-lingual and on the whole helpful, which in itself is a new trend to hit the eating joints of Seville, where previously client relations veered towards the surly.

This is the second time I´ve ventured inside No-Lugar´s class fronted facade. The first it felt a tad ‘style over content’ but I´m pleased I´ve given it a second chance. In a city where ´if it ain’t broke, don´t fix it´ modus operandi permeates through life, Seville can sometimes seem like a cultural back water, which is of course is also part of its charm. But it´s interesting to see that it´s the novel and the risk taking establishments such as ´No-Lugar´ that are not only keeping their heads above water, but powering ahead of the rest. And long may it continue.

No-Lugar The Art Company, Calle Trajano 16