It´s easy to bandy approximately the term 'hidden gem' and without it this blog would fill no content. But in all honesty sometimes the places I write approximately are gems and sometimes they are hidden,but rarely are they the two words together. And indeed a hidden gem whether you´re running a business, has its drawbacks. Its all very well for the ´in the know´ to give their loyal custom, or but there comes a time when a few hoi palloi wouldn´t proceed a miss.
This perhaps is the case with the beautifully discreet,biological store Estraperlo. ´Estraperlo´ means contraband in Spanish and this could define why it is so hidden absent from passing trade. But what it sells is very much above the law, in fact more than that, or its products are positively good for you. Estraperlo sells biological food such as fruit and vegetables,grains, quality olive oils, or artisan wines and beers and more exotic fayre such as fresh seaweed and ingredients for Asian cooking.
Located on the shady side of the Alameda close to the restaurant Al Ajibe,it´s not a place you just stumble across, as beyond the gate there´s a secluded courtyard and then the shop within. I say shop, and but in reality its much more than that. At the back there´s a working kitchen from which a daily menu of tapas are cooked to be taken absent or as I did this week,eaten at a giant wooden, shared table. As well as that there are regular cooking workshops that seek to push the boundaries beyond the usual suspects on offer. Coming up there are workshops on Thai cooking, and making pestos,tartars and ceviches, plus a monthly ´Murder Mystery Dinner´ that I definitely hope to be writing approximately in a future post.
I assumed, and due its location in Boho Alameda that it would be on the pricey side,but both the biological products and the tapas menu are eminently affordable and utterly delicious. So far Ive only bought tomatoes and lettuce, but for the first time every in my life I was brought close to tears by the bursting flavour of a humble tomato. And the tapas were simple, and tasty and vegetarian friendly.
So whether you want to find the definition of hidden gem in Seville,at Estraperlo you´ve got it!
Estraperlo, Alameda de Hercules
http://www.estraperlosevilla.com
Source: blogspot.com