Granada: Saint Germain (yet again), La Tana, and El Tabernaculo

Our last evening in Granada would turn out to be a lot of fun. We had made no plans and just walked on over to Plaza de Bib Rambla and strolled around watching the other tourists.....

As we meandered through the square, the Missus had made up Her mind.......we headed back around the back of the Cathedral......

The Missus wanted to enjoy another visit to Saint Germain on Her last evening in Granada. If you're keeping score, this would be three visits in three nights!

And while She really enjoyed the Blanco Seco here, I think She was wondering if we'd get a repeat of any of the tapas we'd had on previous nights. Answer was no.....

Things started with a quite hefty Tortilla Española, an omelet that was topped with a nice garlic aioli. Love the way they toast the bread here; it's light and crunchy.

For our second glass, we thought this was a repeat.....but it wasn't. On our first visit, we'd had a wonderful garlic-onion toast which looked much like this.

Except this had chicken in it; making it quite filling as well. The Missus really enjoyed the suspense of wondering what the upcoming mystery tapas was going to be. And there's no place we enjoyed more than Saint Germain.

Saint Germain
Calle Postigo Velutti 4
Granada, Spain

When we left Saint Germain, it was but 0845...much too early to turn in, especially in Spain. So we decided to make yet another stop.....walking past the Ayuntamiento - the Town Hall topped with the stunning bronze equestrian statue by Ramiro Megías.

Straight down Calle Navas which then turned to Calle del Rosario was another wine bar. This one was recommended by a fan of Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown.....he mentioned a place named La Tana, which we had passed two nights previous. Even though I didn't have the chance to watch that episode of Bourdain's show, we decided that we should check them out before we left Granada, so here we were.

Man, this place was packed.......

With one amazing woman running the entire bar! Herself! She never missed a beat. The place was crazy packed and when I got my beer and the Missus Her cava we were pretty sure that our tapa would take a while. So we were amazed when we saw folks passing a plate across the room! Our tapa!

Lovely, flavorful tomatoes, simply seasoned with salt and black pepper...I really took to the olives in Andalucia as well.

The same thing happened when we got a second glass.....this time anchovy with a nice salmorejo.

I was just amazed at how this woman worked everything so efficiently. She never missed an order, never missed getting anyone their tapa.

After having our two glasses we decided to head out and on our way. The woman knew exactly what we had.....the Missus was so taken with how efficient this woman was She typed out a little message and translated it to Spanish. The woman asked one of the other customers to translate, but the Missus had already translated it - "eres un tesoro". "You are a treasure". The customer smiled and told us, "yes, this is true!" The woman was tickled and borrowed the Missus's phone so she could show the other customers....that yes, indeed, she is a treasure! Love the friendliness and warmth of the folks in Granada.

Taberna La Tana
Calle Rosario 11
Granada, Spain

Granada had indeed gotten to us. We headed back via Calle Navas. Near Plaza del Carmen we noticed this rather distinctive bar.

Peeking in the window we saw....Jesus everywhere!

How could we not have a drink here! So we had a seat under.....Jesus and other stuffs.....

Just one older gentleman manning the bar and small kitchen.

Good lord, he gave us a rather large plate of sausage and potatoes as our tapa!

Nothing fancy, but very hearty....and free with our glasses of wine....like 3 Euros as piece!

Quite a unique place with very friendly service.

El Tabernaculo
Calle Navas 27
Granada, Spain

On a side note. When we returned home I watched the Granada episode of Parts Unknown, to see the La Tana scene. And then on came El Tabernaculo! Jesus! Bourdain went to the Jesus bar!

By this time, the Missus had decided that I'd had a bit too much tapas, so she marched me right back up the Albayzin to the Mirador San Nicolas. I must admit, the view at night is quite stunning as well.

After taking a few photos, we headed back down Cuesta del Chapiz and walked back to Plaza Nueva via Paseo de los Tristes (Walk of the Dead Ones).

While packing for an early getaway in the morning, I sipped a beer and munched on some Jamon and Queso chips. While we'd seen everything we wanted to and like most places we've visited, the city seemed to be shrinking everyday, we really enjoyed Granada. I'm not sure if we'll ever be back....but then again, Saint Germain and La Tana beckons, so who knows?

Thanks for reading!

Comments

[Long Lost Cousin]

Kirk, can we trade jobs?!!!

You take more vacations than anyone i know!

Been a while since i was spain..

You gave me a craving for Costa Brava...maybe Sunday...

[Ed (from Yuma)]

Great post. Love the places, the tapas, the adventure. Thanks.

[Kirk]

I'm not sure you'd want my job LLC. Though having nice vacation time was one of the things I figured into the whole equation when I took it as I could have made much more money elsewhere.

We really enjoyed Granada Ed.....the place had a great vibe.

[Long Lost Cousin]

Nice vacation time..liesirely lunches...i'm in!!!

I likeyour Euro style approach!!!

What is on the menu tomight?

I'm leaning middle eastern.

[Jason]

Those mystery tapas were nice and hearty this time, I think I would love going tapas hunting as a perfect dinner substitute with the glasses of wine as a bonus as well.

[kat]

what a great adventure!

[caninecologne]

The garlic onion toast with chicken looks so filling! I wish they sold those jampn and queso chips here! :)

[Kirk]

I think you would Jason!

We loved Granada Kat!

I do too CC. These tapa crawls were a lot of fun.

[Lynnea]

so many Jesus pictures! way to theme a place out! :D i kinda like it

[Kirk]

It's quite a unique place Lynnea!