Arrive hungry at 6pm on a Tuesday and half of Seville’s tapas bars will have their shutters down until 8pm. That timing gap catches more visitors than any choice of dish, so this guide sorts nine bars in the centre by the kind of evening you want and by the hours they actually keep.
A Seville tapas bar is a place where every dish comes in three sizes, tapa, half portion or full portion, and each tapa is paid for on its own. Four of the nine stay open straight through the afternoon every day, and Bar Alfalfa opens at 9am. Bodega Díaz-Salazar is the latest, closing at 1am on Fridays and Saturdays. The cheapest published tapa here costs 2.00 euros.
What are the best tapas bars in Seville? For a classic standing bar, Bodeguita Romero on Calle Harinas, known for its pringá montadito, or Bodega Santa Cruz Las Columnas, open 8am to midnight daily. For a booked table, Casa Ricardo in San Lorenzo, at 3.20 euros a tapa. With no booking at all, Bar Alfalfa, rated 4.6 on Google.
How to order tapas in Seville without overpaying
In Seville the tapa does not come free with your drink: you order it and pay for it like any other dish. Most bars here sell the same plate in two or three sizes, and the size you pick moves the bill more than the bar you pick.
At Casa Ricardo, every dish comes as a tapa or a portion, according to Casa Ricardo itself: ham croquettes cost 3.20 euros as a tapa, 9.00 euros as a half portion and 15.00 euros as a full one. Three tapas of croquettes therefore cost 9.60 euros, more than the half portion. Order tapas when you are alone or want to try many things; order a half portion, a media ración, when two or three of you are sharing one dish.
At Bodega Díaz-Salazar the full portion is the bargain on stews: spinach with chickpeas costs 4.50 euros as a tapa, 8.00 euros as a half and 9.50 euros as a full portion, so the full one is only 1.50 euros more than the half. The cheapest bites on any menu here are at Bodeguitas Antonio Romero, where the bar menu lists a cod fritter at 2.00 euros and a piripi montadito at 3.00 euros. If olives arrive with your drink, the two Seville varieties are manzanilla and gordal, explained in the guide to Seville olives.
Where to eat tapas at 6pm, when most kitchens close
Spanish lunch runs late and dinner later. Among the nine bars here, the split-shift ones serve roughly 1pm to 4pm or 5pm and reopen at 8pm or 8.30pm. If your body clock says dinner at 6pm, or you are travelling with children, pick from the bars that do not close in the afternoon.
Bar Alfalfa, at Calle Candilejo 1 by the Plaza de la Alfalfa, has the best Google score of the nine: 4.6 from more than 8,000 reviews. Its owners describe the food as home cooking, with vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options and a wine list, and it takes no reservations. It is open 9am to midnight every day. It publishes no priced menu online.
Ovejas Negras, at Calle Hernando Colón 8, about 200 metres from Seville Cathedral, scores 4.4 from more than 6,400 reviews. Its kitchen mixes Andalusian and international dishes, it opens 12.30pm to 11.30pm every day and, according to Ovejas Negras, it currently takes no bookings. Its own profile warns there is always noise: for a quiet dinner for two, book one of the tables further down this guide.
Standing bars around the Cathedral and the Arenal
Four classic counters sit within about 570 metres of each other between the Arenal and Santa Cruz, all within 340 metres of the Archivo de Indias stop on the T1 tram. None needs a booking for the bar.
Bodeguita Romero, Calle Harinas 10, scores 4.3 from more than 2,400 reviews. The house recommends its pringá montadito, a small bun filled with slow-cooked stew meats, and takes no reservations: first come, first served. It closes on Mondays, opens only 1pm to 5pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, adds 8.30pm to 11.45pm from Thursday to Saturday, and serves 1pm to 4.30pm on Sundays.
Bodeguitas Antonio Romero, Calle Antonia Díaz 19, is a different business about 210 metres away, which matters when you type the name into a map app. It scores 4.3 from more than 4,600 reviews. The bar menu lists the piripi montadito at 3.00 euros and the pringá at 4.20 euros, and the owners single out the punta de solomillo, pork tenderloin tips. This branch has a counter, indoor tables and a terrace, opens 1pm to 11.30pm with no break from Tuesday to Saturday, and closes on Sundays and Mondays.
Bodega Santa Cruz Las Columnas, Calle Rodrigo Caro 1, scores 4.4 from more than 16,000 reviews, by far the most of the nine. It opens at 8am every day and closes at midnight, 12.30am on Fridays and Saturdays. It publishes no menu or prices, so if knowing the bill before you sit matters, the two Arenal bars are the safer pick.
Bodega Díaz-Salazar, Calle García de Vinuesa 20, scores 4.3 from more than 2,600 reviews. It pours more than 40 wines, mostly from the Jerez area and several from the cask, and still keeps its tank of Damm dark beer. You eat at the counter or at high tables, 12.30pm to midnight daily and until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays. A gilda, the anchovy-and-olive skewer, costs 2.75 euros, the prawn potato salad 4.40 euros as a tapa and pork cheek in red wine 5.50 euros. Offal dishes such as tripe and kidneys in sherry fill part of the menu, which may not suit cautious eaters.
Where to book a table for tapas in Seville
If you are four or more, or someone cannot stand for an hour, the three bookable kitchens here sit north of the Setas, between San Lorenzo, the Alameda and the Encarnación.
Casa Ricardo, once called Casa Ovidio, at Calle Hernán Cortés 2, scores 4.5 from more than 6,100 reviews. Book on +34 954 38 97 51. Ham croquettes are the house favourite, and the eggplant with cane honey and the pork loin in whisky sauce cost the same 3.20 euros per tapa. It opens Tuesday to Saturday 1pm to 4pm and 8pm to midnight, Sunday lunch only, and closes on Mondays. Bus stop Jesús del Gran Poder (Santa Bárbara), line C5, is 115 metres away.
Dúo Tapas, Calle Calatrava 10, scores 4.3 from more than 7,500 reviews. It has a terrace on the Alameda de Hércules, opens every day 1.30pm to 4.30pm and 8.30pm to midnight, until 12.30am on Fridays and Saturdays, and takes bookings by phone or social media. Dishes can be adapted for coeliacs. Lines 13, 14 and A7 stop at Calatrava (Alameda de Hércules), 25 metres from the door.
Perro Viejo, Calle Arguijo 3, scores 4.2 from more than 7,500 reviews, the lowest of the nine. Bookings go through its website. The kitchen is modern, with gyozas and chicken yakitori beside the potato salad; a gilda costs 3.50 euros and the Iberian ham croquettes 5.90, the dearest tapa in this guide. It opens daily 1pm to 4pm and 8pm to 11.30pm, until midnight from Friday to Sunday.
Getting to the bars and what to skip
The southern cluster around the Cathedral is a short walk from the Archivo de Indias tram stop; the northern one is better reached by TUSSAM bus. According to TUSSAM, a single bus ticket costs 1.40 euros, payable on board or with a contactless card; the full fare system is in Seville transport fares explained.
Walking the four standing bars end to end, about 570 metres, takes around 8 minutes; from Bodeguita Romero to Dúo Tapas it is 1.6 kilometres in a straight line, at least 21 minutes on foot, so plan one cluster per evening.
Two names still circulate that you should not walk to: La Internacional, at Calle Gamazo 3, closed when its owner retired, and the Antigua Abacería de San Lorenzo left its Calle Teodosio premises at the end of May, announcing a move to Mairena del Aljarafe.
For area-by-area lunch planning, including El Rinconcillo and Espacio Eslava, see where to eat in Seville. Across the river, tapas in Triana covers Las Golondrinas and Blanca Paloma. If someone in your group wants something else, there is fried fish, burgers or pizza, and family plans are in Seville with kids. For a drink with a view afterwards, try Seville’s rooftop bars.
Seville tapas bars, your questions answered
Are tapas free in Seville?
No. In Seville each tapa is ordered and paid for separately from the drink. In the menus published by the bars in this guide, a tapa costs from 2.00 euros, the cod fritter at Bodeguitas Antonio Romero, to 5.90 euros, the Iberian ham croquettes at Perro Viejo.
What time do people eat tapas in Seville?
Lunch service usually starts around 1pm and dinner around 8pm or 8.30pm: Casa Ricardo serves 1pm to 4pm and 8pm to midnight. Between 5pm and 8pm, Bar Alfalfa, Ovejas Negras, Bodega Díaz-Salazar and Bodega Santa Cruz Las Columnas stay open every day.
Do I need to book a tapas bar in Seville?
Not for the bar counter: Bodeguita Romero, Bar Alfalfa and Ovejas Negras take no bookings at all. For a table, book ahead at Casa Ricardo on +34 954 38 97 51, at Dúo Tapas by phone or social media, or at Perro Viejo through its website.
Which tapas bars in Seville are open on Monday?
Six of the nine in this guide: Bodega Santa Cruz Las Columnas from 8am, Bar Alfalfa from 9am, Ovejas Negras and Bodega Díaz-Salazar from 12.30pm, plus Perro Viejo and Dúo Tapas. Bodeguita Romero, Bodeguitas Antonio Romero on Antonia Díaz and Casa Ricardo are closed on Mondays.
Is Bodeguita Romero the same as Bodeguitas Antonio Romero?
No. Bodeguita Romero, at Calle Harinas 10, and Bodeguitas Antonio Romero, at Calle Antonia Díaz 19, are separate bars about 210 metres apart in the Arenal, with their own menus. Bodeguita Romero closes on Mondays; the Antonia Díaz bar closes on Sundays and Mondays.
In Seville the clock chooses your tapas bar before the menu does: plan around 5pm to 8pm.