Where to Eat in Cadiz, Spain: Your Ultimate Foodie Guide for 2020
Quick note: I try to keep my foodie guides as up to date as possible, but the situation in Spain is changing pretty quickly at the moment due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So, for now, double-check that my suggestions for where to eat in Cadiz are still open and accepting guests! Thanks for reading. — David (the Everyday Food Blogger).
If Cadiz isn’t on your radar yet, it should be.
This seaside city in sunny southern Spain (try saying that 5 times fast) is the perfect getaway destination. It’s got beaches, history (fancy seeing the oldest city in Europe?), and of course; more tapas bars than you’ll ever have time to visit.
Like the rest of Andalusia, Cadiz is a place where locals love to eat. It’s what they base their days around—even the Monday-Friday workday has a two-hour break for lunch and siesta.
It’s also how they meet up with friends. Apartments are small in Spain, so the best way to hang out with your amigos is at your friendly neighbourhood tapas bar. And when the weather is as good as it is here, why wouldn’t you want to head out to a sunny plaza and sip on a cold beer?
When I lived in Seville, I took a lot of day-trips and weekend getaways to Cadiz. Especially in summer, when temperatures get close to 50°C (122°F), the idea of beaches, beer, and seafood sound pretty good to me.
So if you’re planning your own trip, here are my best tips for where to eat in Cadiz!
Contents
Eating Times in Cadiz
Remember that the Spanish eating schedule might be different from what you are used to at home. Breakfast lasts until midday, lunch is from 1pm to 4pm, and dinner is never before 8pm and sometimes doesn’t finish unbtil the wee hours of the morning.
Always be sceptical of restaurants offering you full meals outside of these hours: chances are, they’re tourist traps.
If you do get hungry before 8pm, don’t worry. You can always grab a merienda (afternoon tea), sometime between 4pm and 6pm. That usually means a coffee or a tea, along with something sweet. On weekends, however, it could also mean a gin and tonic!
Now that we’ve got the logistics out of the way, let’s dive into where you should eat in Cadiz.
Where to Eat in Cadiz: Breakfast to Dinner
Like every city in southern Spain, the food in Cadiz is delicious and plentiful. It seems like there’s a tapas bar on every corner (and in between the corners too!).
In general, if you see locals at a bar, it’s a good sign. With so many places to choose from, every bar can only survive by serving good food for a good place (usually less than 5 euros per tapa).
But if you want to get a little deeper into your research, here are my tips.
Breakfast in Cadiz
Breakfasts are simple things in Spain. Locals don;t like eating a big meal early in the morning, so you’re not going to find big plates of food like we see on breakfast menus in the English-speaking world.
Instead of bacon, eggs, or smashed avocado, in Cadiz people eat toast. It’s plain, simple, and tasty.
Top your toast with olive oil, tomato (either smashed or sliced), and maybe some luxury jamón ibérico for the real local flavour. A media gets you a half serving (a light breakfast), and an entera gets you a full serving (a big breakfast).
And don’t forget, you can also order churros! These wonderful fried sticks of dough are a breakfast speciality in Cadiz, dipped in either coffee or thick drinking chocolate. You can read my guide to ordering churros in Spain right here.
Where to Eat Breakfast in Cadiz:
- Café San Felipe (Calle San José, 41)
- Acuario (Calle Melkart, 1).
- La Vaca Atada (Calle Nueva, 1)
- La Poeme (Calle Alcalá Galiano, 3)
- Café Royalty (Plaza de la Candelaria, s/n). A more American-style brekky, in a beautiful ballroom style dining room first built in 1912.
Where to Get Churros in Cadiz
- Churrería La Guapa (Plaza Libertad, 1)
- La Marina (Plaza Topete, 1)
Tapas in Cadiz: What to Eat and Where!
Tapas is a concept that first came from Andalusia. So when in Cadiz, do as the gaditanos do and eat tapas! (Gaditano/a/x is the name for someone from Cadiz. It comes from Gades, the name of the Phoenician settlement that was here over 3,000 years ago!).
And just like anywhere in Spain, Cadiz is a city with its own local dishes. Here are just a few you should look out for while you’re in town.
Local Tapas Dishes and Specialities in Cadiz
- Chicharrones. They might look simple, but chicharrones are Spain;s greatest bar snack. Just take thin strips of roasted pork belly, drizzle in olive oil and sea salt, and serve. Divine.
- Ortiguillas Fritas. These “fried sea anemones” are one of the more challenging dishes from Cadiz, but are really worth seeking out for seafood lovers.
- Tortillitas de Camarones. “Camarones” are tiny shrimp from the waters near Cadiz. They’re best when they get fried into a thin and crispy fritter called a tortillita.
- Cazón en adobo. This is a classic seafood dish from the area between Cadiz and Seville. “Pickled dogfish” might not sound too appetising, but trust me; it’s delicious. Tender chunks of fish marinated in cumin, lemon, garlic, and vinegar and then fried to crunchiness? Perfect.
A quick word on tuna. Most guides would recommend eating atún rojo (Atlantic bluefin tuna, a.k.a. red tuna) while you’re in Cadiz. Personally, I don’t think you should.
Many countries and international organisations have recognised red tuna as an endangered or threatened species. Greenpeace has also added it to its “red list” of fish that should not be commercially available. (Monkfish (“rape”) and grouper (“mero”) are other popular Spanish fish on this list).
Best Tapas Bars in Cadiz
Now you know what to eat, where should you go to eat it? Here are my top tips for where to eat tapas in Cadiz! These are the type of casual bars and taverns that locals love. Stand at the bar or elbow your way to a table, and order from a menu of simple, home-cooked tapas dishes.
- La Candela (Calle Feduchy, 3).
- Taberna La Manzanilla (Calle Feduchy, 19).
- Casa Manteca (Calle Corralón de los Carros, 66).
- Taberna El tío de La Tiza (Plaza Tío de la Tiza, 12).
- Freiduria Marisquería Las Flores 1 (Calle Topete, 4). Best fried fish in town!
Top Restaurants & Fine Dining in Cadiz
If you fancy something a little more formal than the barely-organised-chaos of a tapas bar, why not try a restaurant? Here are two spots I love.
- La Curiosidad de Mauro Barreiro (Calle Veedor, 10).
- Sonánbulo (Plaza Candelaria, 14).
The Cadiz Fresh Fish Market
Cadiz’s central market is one of the best foodie destinations in the city. The Mercado Central de Abastos is the second biggest fresh fish market in Spain (after Madrid), with beautiful fresh seafood coming straight from the trawlers each morning.
It’s well worth checking out the dazzling array of fish on offer here, even just to marvel at the size of some of these Atlantic beasts! There are stalls selling fresh fruit and vegetable as well as meat, but the fish is what locals crowd the space for each morning.
Luckily, you can also sample some of the fresh fish just outside the market. There are a handful of bars and stalls surrounding the market plaza that serve the catch of the day, either raw, lightly grilled, or deep-fried!
Beer and Wine in Cadiz: How to Find the Good Stuff
Beer and wine are part of day-to-day life in Spain. I’m not saying that everyone is an alcoholic, just that most tapas lunches and dinners come with at least one small beer!
And it’s always the same beer. Being proud locals, most bars only serve the local beer: Cruzcampo. It’s a fresh and tasty lager, and you had better get used to it. The standard serving size in most of Spain is called a caña.
It might be smaller than what you’re used to (about 300mL), but trust me, it;s the size you want to order. Beer warms up quickly in the Spanish heat, and these smaller glasses make sure that it stays fresh and cool.
Nothing makes a tourist stand out more in Spain than ordering a pint! You can always order a second caña later. If you want to try something more unique, like a local craft beer, you’ll have to search out a specialist bar. Here are my picks for where to go:
Craft Beer Bars in Cadiz:
- Cervezas Del Mundo (Calle Libertad, s/n – inside the market).
- Cerveza Maier (Calle Cuna Vieja, 4).
- The Cabin Beer Bar (Calle Plocia, 29).
My Favourite Wine Bars in Cadiz
Every bar will have a couple of red and white wines alongside the Cruzcampo, as well as a few different kinds of local sherry wines. (Do yourself a favour, and order a sherry at least once. The driest ones, like Manzanilla and Fino, are the perfect pairing to seafood).
But if you want to try something more adventurous or see a more extensive wine list, here are my suggestions.
- La Garnacha (Calle Libertad, s/n – inside the market).
- El Cañon – Bar Ultramarinos (Calle Rosario, 49). Deli meets wine bar.
- Taberna La Manzanilla (Calle Feduchy). Apart from great tapas, this bar is a Cathedral of sherry wine. Definitely worth a stop-in.
How to Get to Cadiz
While it doesn’t have its own airport, you can still get to Cadiz pretty easily.
By Air:
The closest airport to Cadiz is in the nearby city of Jerez de la Frontera. Jerez Airport (XRY) is a small airport, but does offer some international flights.
Seville Airport (SVQ) is a much bigger airport with loads of domestic and international links.
You can rent a car, catch a bus, or take a train to Cadiz from either city.
By Train:
You can catch a direct train from Jerez airport to Cadiz, or from Seville city. There are also trains to Cadiz from many other destinations in Spain, including from Madrid.
See Spain’s national train service, Renfe, for more info.
Read More
Are you going anywhere else in Spain? Check out my other foodie guides to cities throughout Andalusia and the rest of the country:
- Where to Eat in Granada
- Best Tapas Bars in Seville
- Where to Eat in Malaga
- Best Restaurants in Ronda
- Where to Eat in Cordoba
- Where to Eat in Logroño
Thanks for reading my thoughts on where to eat in Cadiz!