After an excellent first meal “local and friendly” at Orangierwe remain a little in the same style (tapas) but in a much more evolved style since we speak of one of the restaurants of the Alfonso XIII Hotel, one of the most luxurious in Spain and a table held by the teams of Carles Abellan, one of the most renowned Spanish chefs.
The Alfonso XIII has two restaurants, a gourmet one (San Fernandp) and a more casual one, Ena, which we will discuss here. It is a renowned restaurant in the city and one of the most sought after for tapas (all the foodie magazines say so, no need to go to the highly questionable Trip Advisor).
The concept
The concept is very simple: tapas revisited in gastronomic mode.
The setting
The restaurant is located on the first floor of the luxurious Alfonso XIII Hotel.
The restaurant has a dining room and a large terrace.
It is accessible to external guests directly from the hotel’s forecourt.
For the guests of the hotel it is accessible from the inside.
One enters by the room, completely empty the evening when I dined there, guests logically preferring the terrace.
A little dark for my taste but maybe it’s brighter when there are customers. On the other hand, as a customer, arriving in an empty room that you have to cross before arriving at the terrace where finally someone takes care of you is a bit of a surprising experience.
All the attraction of the Ena lies in its terrace (we are talking about the restaurant, not the eponymous school), located high up and set back from the street.
We are in November, the evenings become a little cool (17 °) so it is heated. I am afraid to be a little cold but finally with a light sweater everything is fine. I think that in summer the heat must become bearable only after 21:00 at least, which explains the schedules and local lifestyles.
There is also a very nice bar that you can enjoy without necessarily dining at the restaurant.
The menu
It is in the purest style of a tapas restaurant: bread, “pan y tomate”, tapas, dishes and desserts. The dishes being in fact only tapas in larger quantities.
There are many “usual suspects” of the tapas menu but also things a little more original like the burger, tartar or canelonis.
The meal and the dishes
As soon as I am installed, I am asked if I want some water. Someone will then come to advise me and take my order.
The menu is appetizing and I would try everything (or almost) but I have to make a choice. The waiter tells me that two small dishes and a large one are perfect for one person. But since I can’t decide, it will be three small ones and one large one!
I start with a must of this type of cuisine: the “croquetas”.
Well…it’s croquettes ! On the other hand, in addition to the chicken and cheese, there is a little something that I can’t identify but that gives them a little personality.
For their size, however, they are surprisingly light and melting! The chopping is finer than what we usually find and it leaves an excellent impression.
Then the chicken wings. There too, nothing especially inventive except that one is more used to find them in a tex-mex than in a tapas restaurant.
For a “small” plate, the quantity is there! The meat is melting as rarely and just spicy enough. The big change from the chicken wings we are used to eating and a little reminder of the premium side of the place: they are served boneless.
In terms of experience, it changes everything and you can quietly savor them one after the other without fighting with the bones or getting your fingers greasy.
Next dish: the foie gras burger.
Visually it could look better. Well, for lack of instructions I concluded that I had to melt the (melting) foie gras on the corner of the plate on the steak!
The meat is of high quality, cooked to perfection and melting.
The bread is toasted just right.
Between the melting steak and the foie gras the alchemy is perfect and I am pleasantly surprised. I end up dipping my last bites in the foie gras, a real delight.
To finish the “big” dish, namely the ceviche.
This is one of my favorite dishes and I could eat pounds of it! Besides for a “big” plate I thought it would be more copious.
The slices are very but really very thin. It’s very fresh. The sauce was delicious.
On the other hand, the kind of guacamole bed underneath brings absolutely nothing and I regret that the whole is not spicy. A real shame.
Now comes the choice of dessert.
The bread with chocolate, olive oil and salt intrigues me. But I won’t take the risk. I’ll let myself be tempted by the pineapple “Cru” after I’ve been told what it is.
To make a long story short it’s a pineapple with coconut, lemon zest, lime and basil. At least it promises to be fresh…not to mention the bed of ice it’s served on.
However, I am concerned that between the pineapple and the lemon the result would be very acidic. Well, no, it’s perfectly balanced by the coconut and basil! All with a delicious aftertaste of basil and mint!
As is too often the case in restaurants, once my dessert is finished it will take me forever to manage to order a coffee…which I will accompany with a manzana.
As for the manzana they do not cheat on the customer on the dose!
For information I accompanied the dinner with a Rioja served by the glass, trusting the staff, not feeling up to either a bottle or a half.
The atmosphere
Very friendly atmosphere on the terrace, neither collet-mounted, nor noisy. Just lively and friendly.
In the second part of the evening, I saw customers coming just to have a drink, it’s true that the cosy/lounge side of the place is perfect for it.
The service
Simply perfect, except for the fact that I was a bit forgotten once the dessert was finished, but this is so common that I end up believing that it is part of the “best practices” of service.
The staff is very pleasant, is of very good advice for the choice of the dishes, takes the trouble to explain and speaks a perfect English.
Bottom line
A very good service, impeccably made dishes, well presented, with a lot of taste, sometimes a surprising finesse for tapas… I spent an excellent evening.
That said, one should not get overexcited either: one cannot say that the Ena has reinvented tapas as some say: it just took it to a more gastronomic level with much finer products and preparation than in a classic tapas bar.
And at 82€ in a country where you can eat so well for so little, it’s the minimum you’d expect (see the Orangier).
In short, at this price I spent a nice evening but I am not amazed either.
But would I go back to Ena if I returned to Seville? Without a doubt yes…even if there are so many other tables to discover.
To know to impress people
Carles Abellan is a Spanish Michelin-starred chef who trained at the famous restaurant El Bulli, known as one of the pioneers of molecular cuisine, where he started as an apprentice and eventually stayed for 6 years. After having developed properties based on the same concept for about fifteen years.
In 1998 he finally started his own business with Comerç 24 in Barcelona where he revisits tapas with various international influences.
Since then, he has multiplied the openings of “concept” restaurants around tapas, some of which have received Michelin stars.
