10 Things To Eat In Cordoba, Spain november 29, 2021 – Posted in: Spain, Travel – Tags: Andalusia, Breweries, Cordoba, Food, Holiday, Restaurants, Reviews, Spain, Tapas, Vacation

What to eat in Cordoba?

The food in Cordoba is amazing! The city has a completely unique cuisine, also for Andalusia, which is otherwise known for their local specialties. But Cordoba is a bit remote, right up against the big mountain ridges, and maybe that’s exactly why Cordoba offers very special regional dishes that you will not find anywhere else in Andalusia.

The Cordoban cuisine is also still marked by the many years of Moorish supremacy, and you will be able to recognize the Arabic cuisine in several of the dishes on the menu, which often offer curry or couscous.

In Cordoba, tapas are eaten around the clock, also as an evening meal, where locals like to order more dishes to share. Ibero ham is always a popular choice here, but there are so many other exciting dishes you will have to taste when you are in Cordoba. Here we’ll introduce you to some of the local specialities.

10 things, you must try in Cordoba!

1. Flamenquin

The dish that will definitely make you chuckle when served! Because yes, it does looks like a penis. A large one, that is – but fortunately it is not. Flamenquin is a typical Cordoban specialty, which meat lovers will indeed appreciate. The penis… sorry, the flamenquin, consists of a slice of pork belly, a slice of serrano or Iberico ham and a piece of cheese, which is rolled up and breaded before being deep fried.

2. Berenjenas con Miel

The berenjenas are deep-fried eggplant with honey . It sounds like a dessert, but this classic Andalusian tapas dish you just have to taste. The sweetness from the honey is complemented by the salty breadcrumbs. Usually the eggplant is cut into slices, but sometimes it is also served as eggplant fritters.

3. Tortilla

Tortilla is served everywhere in Cordoba, and is a kind of potato omelet. As you can see in the picture above, we tried the variant  Tortilla Rellena in the bakery Pastelerias Roldan. This dish can probably best be described as a tortilla pie. Between the layers of tortilla there were bacon, peppers and cheese, and it was quite amazing!

4. Salmorejo Cordobes

Salmorejo may be reminiscent of gazpacho, the cold tomato soup, but it is a little thicker in consistency and less spicy. Served with diced jamon on top. The soup is especially good on a hot summer day, but also works just as well as a shared tapa in the winter.

5. Croquetas

Like everywhere else in Spain, you will in Cordoba are find croquetas, the small, crispy balls with a creamy filling. Croquetas can be stuffed with ham, cheese, squid – and we also tried them with the Cordoban oxtail.

6. Ajo Blanco / Mazamorra

Ajo Blanco or Mazamorra is also called the white gazpacho, and is a cold almond and garlic soup flavored with sherry. Even before the tomato was introduced to Europe with the Spanish ships, the soup was very popular here, and recipes for it have been found dating back to Roman times.

Incidentally, it is easy to confuse an Ajo Blanco with its cousin Mazamorro, but the difference is the amount of bread, where the latter is thicker and have more bread in it. The consistency and taste of both is like a thick garlic cream and you either love it or hate it. We loved it!

7. Rabo de Toro

Rabo de Toro means the tail of the bull, the oxtail which is often served with couscous or french fries. It is a popular dish in Cordoba, as mentioned before in croquetas, and especially as beef tail ragout. If you order Rabo de Toro a la Cordobesa, you will get a stew with such a strong taste that you simply have to order an extra glass of red wine.

8. Anchoas con leche condensada

Anchovies in condensed milk may sound like a crazy combination, but it tastes heavenly! The salt from the anchovies mixes with the sweet, condensed milk and gives a completely unique taste experience. Served as a montadito, on a piece of toast or in a bun.

9. Cake!

Because we visited Cordoba in late November, we also had the chance to taste some of all the amazing cakes that Cordoba has to offer for Christmas. The photo above also shows a Roscón de Reyes, the traditional Christmas cake. The round Epiphany cake is filled with lemon whipped cream and garnished with candied fruit and sugar crystals. And at any time of year, the crispy churros with hot chocolate are avaliable all over town.

10. Ceaft beer

Although we tend to see Spain as a wine country, Cordoba will be a paradise for beer lovers. Cordoba is the #1 city in Andalusia, in fact throughout Spain, where most craft beers are consumed. Not because the local wine isn’t good, but because the local beer is excellent!

There are several craft breweries in and around Cordoba, and we fell in love with the Alhambra brand, which is brewed in Granada. It’s the bottle on the left in the picture, at the top. If you want a really good beer experience, finally visit the craft beer bar CEPA, which we have written more about here: Best Restaurants in Cordoba, Spain

More tips for your holiday in Cordoba

Find a hotel in Cordoba

There are many good hotels in Cordoba, and especially the old town is popular with tourists. So where are you going to live? On Booking.com you can see the large selection of hotels in Cordoba, and below you can also read our recommendation for a nice and affordable hotel. You can also perform your own search on Booking.com for a good hotel in Cordoba right here:

Booking.com

A recommendation: HOTEL CORDOBA CENTER

We stayed at the Hotel Cordoba Center, which is located a 10 minutes walk from the train station. We had booked a standard double room, but never have we had so much space! When we arrived, there was a bottle of sparkling wine ready for us in the room, and it fit very well with the general impression that it was primarily couples and business people who checked in here. At least we did not see any children in the hotel during our stay.

The breakfast buffet was gigantic and with everything the you could possibly want: bacon and eggs, local specialties, pastries and excellent coffee. At the top of the hotel there is a pool and a bar overlooking the city, and in the lobby there is another bar. We can’t say anything about them, since the hotel is only a five minute walk from the start of the center and Av. del Gran Capitán, which offers plenty of bars and restaurants. From the hotel and to the ancient Roman bridge it is a 25 minutes walk.

In November 2021, we payed just around €80 pr. night for a double room with breakfast at Hotel Cordoba Center.

How to you get to Cordoba?

The easiest way to get to Cordoba is by landing at the airport in either Malaga or Seville. We flew out to Malaga and took the train to Cordoba, which takes an hour. Here are the directions from traveling between Malaga and Cordoba:

From Malaga Airport, take the train to Malaga Train Station, Estación de Málaga María Zambrano. At the station, you have to buy your tickets at the ticket office (Renfe), where you must also show your passport before taking your luggage through the security check at the entrance to the platforms. In November 2021, it was €30 from Malaga to Cordoba and slightly less from Cordoba to Seville. It is not possible to buy food or drink on the train.

We had six wonderful nights in Cordoba before boarding the train onwards to Seville, from where we had our flight home. The train journey between Cordoba and Seville takes about 45 minutes. There are both trains and airport buses between Seville city center and the airport, but we had to leave early in the morning, so we chose to take a taxi.

Read the other articles about Cordoba here!