Where to go when you´ve had your fill of tapas

I know to most people residing outside the Iberian peninsula, it´s hard to imagine that a day might arrive when one can´t face another teeny tiny plate of patatas bravas or boquerones en vinagre, but there are times when you just want to swap the itsy bitsy servings of Spanish fayre for something more sizable and international.

Seville is never going to offer up an endless supply of global cuisine, but if you´ve reached your tapas tipping point, here are some suggestions to tide you over until you´ve got your tapas appetite back again.

Turning Japanese
One thing that is done well in Seville, which could be due to its easy reach to fish filled shores, is Sushi. You can go budget ´fill your belly until it hurts´ at Samurai in Triana, ‘contemporary Japanese/ Peruvian fusion’ at Nikkei on Calle Calatrava, ‘guaranteed quality and freshness’ at Kaede underneath the Hotel Macarena or ‘accompanied by chilled Cava and Oysters’ at Osterias de Mercado in Triana Market.

Samurai, Calle Salado 6, Triana, 41010, Tel 954 283 106

Nikkei Bar, Calle Calatrava 34 https://www.facebook.com/Nikkeibarsevilla

Kaede http://www.restaurantekaede.com/

Osterías de Mercado, Plaza Altozano https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ostrerias-de-Mercado/371234916227928

Italian job

The Spanish don´t like to stray too far away from the Mediterranean shores when it comes to eating out, and generally feel on safe territory when it comes to Italian cuisine, but it does mean that there is some quality Italian grub to be sampled. One of my favourite haunts is Pizzeria El Nomada, which amongst my Guiri chums has the unanimous accolade of the best pizza in Seville. The pizza bases are delicately crispy, and the toppings range from the traditional to the more avant garde, and there´s no where I´d rather be on a warm summer evening that sitting outside watching the world go by in Plaza San Marco munching on my Pizza Funghi. But if you want to go the whole Italian hog, then I love Al Solito Posto in the Alameda. Being a non meat eater, I´ve only sampled a small proportion of the menu which bursts at the seams with fresh pastas, risotto, fish and meat dishes, but it´s always deliciously fresh and beautifully presented. Plus they´re one of the only places in Seville that are certified by the Celiac society, so if you´re alergic or intolerant to gluten, you can have your pizza and eat it too.

Pizzeria El Nomada, Plaza San Marco http://www.pizzeriaelnomada.com/

Al Solito Posto, Alameda de Hercules 16, http://www.alsolitoposto.org

Vegetarian bits and pieces

Being veggie is a tough call in Seville. Most locals pass out at the thought of never eating jamon, which isn´t meat anyway is it as the pigs roam free and are fed on acorns. In the five years I´ve lived here, there has been a bit of an improvement with many regular restaurants offering non-meat alternatives. But still, for the city the size of Seville, it´s surprising that there is only really one true vegetarian restaurant, Gaia and even that while sticking to non-meat ingredients, fails to set my veggie world on fire.

Vantana on Calle Cuna is a proper sit down restaurant with tasty vegetarian and vegan options on the menu, but a location slap bang in the middle of touristlandia hikes up the prices and consequently you tend not to see a local face in the place.

My favourite for vegetarian treats is No-Lugar. This isn´t a vegetarian restaurant, however it successfully sets out to break all Seville culinary taboos, mixing up flavours and sensations from across the globe that excite the palate and more tan caters to meat-free tastes.

Restaurante Ecológico Gaia, Calle Luis de Vargas, 4 http://restauranteecologicogaia.com/

Vantana, Calle Cuna 14 http://vantana.es/

No-Lugar, Calle Trajano 16 Facebook

Best of the rest

Kebab houses seem to have sprouted up all around the city. I only really ever try out the falafels, which always taste of curry powder as I´m not so keen on the unrecognisable offerings turning unceremoniously round and round on a spit. But Al Baraka is more than just a Kebab House; it´s a little Middle Eastern Oasis. Nestling at the foot of the imposing Setas, it offers freshly squeezed juices of every possible permutation, the most delicious falafels without any hint of curry poder, baba ganoush, light and fluffy parsley fritters and the ubiquitous kebab of course. If you come at tea time there´s also moroccan tea and baclava, all served with the biggest smiles from Drifa from Morocco and her Syrian husband Iemad.

Special mention also goes to Pitacasso, also home to exquisite falafels and salads on the edge of Feria Market and El Arepazo, a homage to all things Venezuelan, including its namesake the Arepa and a whole host of tropical juices, to be found buried deep within the Macarena.

Al Baraka, Calle Regina 1
Pitacasso, Plaza de Calderón de la Barca, 10
El Arepazo, Calle Otoño 1, Macarena