Tasty tapas @ Café Sevilla, San Diego

Having a backlog of photos yet to post up of our trip to California is not all chore; as I work through the photos, I get to reminisce of the fun things we did and the delicious food we ate on the trip, weeks and months after we've returned home. After our cycling and beach expedition on Coronado, we took the ferry back to San Diego and had a short rest in our hotel room. Rejuvenated by a quick shower, we all got ready to go out again in search for dinner. Getting to the historical Gaslamp Quarter was a straightforward half-hour stroll from our hotel (near Little Italy), and we were able to take in all the sights much better than if we'd taken public transport or car. The Gaslamp is known as the center of downtown nightlife, and there are many restaurants and bars to be found in this area. Café Sevilla is one of them, serving Spanish tapas and good sangria.

Café Sevilla on the outside:

Inside Café Sevilla:

Café Sevilla has a groovy interior, and dimly lit with almost a nightclub feel. Like everywhere else on the west coast, the service we received was friendly and helpful. The menu consisted mostly of tapas, which is great for sharing and variety.

Sangria, which was pretty potent and packed a punch. There was a choice of red or white sangria, and obviously we chose the red:

Seafood Crepe (US$9) with shrimp, scallop and clam in light lobster saffron sauce. This was a great little seafood plate, and I adored the lobster sauce that complemented the seafood crepe well:

Upon recommendation by our waitress, we ordered the Green Mussels Escabeche (US$7), served ceviche-style with Serrano pepper salsa. Tart and tasty:

One of the new menu items was the Stuffed Piquillo Peppers ($4 each or $10 for three). We ordered all three types - short rib, duxelles of mushroom and seafood. The short rib (pictured in the foreground) was tender and boldly flavoured, sure to please the tastebuds of red meat lovers:

Stuffed Piquillo Peppers #2 - the duxelles of mushroom was my favourite of the three. Beautiful earthy flavours:

Stuffed Piquillo Peppers #3 - the seafood one was nice, but be sure to eat this first as the other two stronger-flavoured stuffed peppers will overwhelm the subtlety of seafood flavours:

Black Paella en su Tinta (US$24) - Bomba black rice with seafood and drizzled with Alioli. The black comes from squid ink, which can stain! Stain factor aside, this dish was delicious, but a little bit too salty:

The Andalusian Chicken Salad (US$14) was a hefty bowl of mixed greens and grilled chicken dressed in a balsamic vinegar-orange dressing. It was a well-composed salad, and I loved the sweet juicy mango dices and the creamy avocado:

If you are in San Diego and you like tapas, Café Sevilla is not to be missed!

[Prices quoted above exclude additional taxes and tips.]

Café Sevilla
353 5th Ave
San Diego, CA 92101
United States
Tel. +1 619 233 5979