Ben N.
Yelp
As soon as we arrived at our hotel in Granada, the very amiable and helpful front-desk guy recommended several upscale restaurants for us. It was only after we jumped on the Internet and confirmed that they had great reputations that we also realized that just about all of them were closed on Sunday and Monday, which were the only two full days we'd be in Granada. Dang.
Consumed by sightseeing and getting our bearings on our first day, we ended up eating some mediocre meals. Dang again.
But then we found out about La Botilleria, which is only slightly off the tourist-beaten path and which presented us with one of our least touristy and most delicious food experiences during ten or so days in Spain. The restaurant's aims are pretty straightforward: Delivering an upscale but relaxed dining experience to a rather upscale but relaxed crowd. We never made it inside, grabbing the last available two-top we saw out front on the narrow, shaded Calle Varela. That was a great spot on a balmy day to do some lunchtime people-watching in this rather gentrified residential neighborhood.
Given its name, La Botilleria not surprisingly specializes in Spanish wine. Before this, we'd had quite a few glasses of service-able and absurdly inexpensive stuff (sub-two euros), but for just a euro or euro-and-a-half more, La Botilleria very noticeably steps up the quality. I'm more or less a wine dolt--beer & whiskey are more my thing--but I could get used to this in a hurry.
Tapas--including a perfect little plate of paella and the richest-tasting olives we'd have the whole trip--were delivered with our drinks by our friendly server. (Service was excellent throughout the meal.)
Best thing about this meal was the charcuterie plate, the embutidos, which a selection of four different cured meats. In the prior days, we'd had some jamon that was quite good, but, given Spain's reputation for its cured meats, was slightly underwhelming. La Botilleria's was not: This charcuterie was some of the best we'd ever had: Rich, unctuous (a world I dislike as a food descriptive, but applicable here), and wonderfully balancing huge flavors. Approaching decadence, actually.
Entrees were very solid, too: The wife ordered this salmon salad that was served in a beautiful giant stack. A huge amount of fish at 10 euro. (She loved it; her only complaint was that it was doused with just a bit too much olive oil.) I ended up with a massive pork knuckle (codillo de cerdo asado), which was excellent but, given the level of salt and fat, maybe too much of a good thing.
All-in-all, not perfect, but a really great experience and value--the epitome of what you look for in leisurely, reasonably priced higher-end dining in Europe.
