Tapas, Andalusian and Moorish cuisine and hip street food. Eating well in Córdoba. Here are some of the best tapas bars and restaurants in Córdoba.
Photo: Christian Grønne
1 Classic Andalusian tapas and dishes
On a corner in the winding streets of the Jewish quarter, the tapas bar and restaurant Casa Pepe is a Córdoba institution. Casa Pepe is also one of the restaurants I return to every time I visit Córdoba.
Casa Pepe is housed in an old, typical Andalusian house and you can dine in the bar on the ground floor and the restaurant on the first floor. Everything is decorated in classic Andalusian style.
Pepe Giménex Aroca opened Casa Pepe in 1928 and Miguel Cabezas Morón modernized the restaurant. Today you can enjoy tapas and Andalusian dishes in both classic and modern versions – some with Arabic inspiration.
The restaurant’s menu includes freshly caught tuna and local meat dishes, accompanied by seasonal vegetables. There are also tapas such as a great seafood salad, honey roasted eggplant and the Andalusian soup Salmorejo.
For a light snack, I recommend enjoying tapas at the bar with a local dry sherry.
Casa Pepe de la Juderia, C/ Romero 1
2 Tasty dishes in a homely setting
Floral tablecloths on the tables, tiled floors, dark wooden furniture and a wealth of local art and Andalusian tiles on the walls. Stepping into La Viuda restaurant feels like being invited to dinner with a local. This is emphasized by the warm welcome you receive from the attentive waiters.
La Viuda (The Widow) is a traditional Taberna in the quiet San Basilio neighborhood. It is run by the Rosales brothers, who took over the restaurant from their father. The food is classic Andalusian with a modern twist.
We had a three-course menu with lemon marinated salmon with saffron spiced couscous for starters, oxtail stew (rabo de toro) for the main course and ice cream with honey croquant for dessert. All dishes simple and very tasty.
The highlight was our rabo de toro, which was an intense explosion of flavor in La Viuda’s version. After we visited the restaurant, La Viuda received the award for the best rabo de toro in Córdoba 2025 from the local fraternity La Cofradía Gastronómica del Rabo de Toro Cordobés. With the food we enjoyed Tempranillo red wine from the Basque region of Rioja Alavesa, which with its depth matched perfectly.
The mix of good food reminiscent of grandma’s meat pots and the exceptionally attentive service makes me want to return.
Taberna La Viuda, C/ San Basilio 52
3 Hip gastronomic market
In the middle of Córdoba’s green lung, the Jardínes de la Victoria park, lies Córdoba’s modern gastronomy market, in a building where local products were previously sold at the city’s produce market.
There are over 20 different stalls with typical tapas and dishes from Córdoba and other parts of the world such as Asia, the Arab countries and Argentina. The market is spacious with both indoor and outdoor areas where you can sit and enjoy your food, as well as event areas including a regular bar with a DJ.
You buy your food and drinks from the stalls and find your own seat in one of the dining areas.
I love the atmosphere and the good food available in the stalls, so I’ve eaten here several times. Among my favorites are the fresh Galician octopus and the Andalusian cold, creamy salmorejo soup . I also return to the black-footed ham from Córdoba and the fantastic ice cream “La Mezquita”.
Mercado Victoria, Paseo de la Victoria
4 Large tapas selection at modern bar
It was a very long line of locals waiting for La Maceta to open that attracted our attention in the small square of Escudo, close to the city park.
We joined the queue and it turned out to be worth the wait. The small tapas bar is bright and modern. There are high tables with French metal bar stools by the window and in the middle of the room. You come here to enjoy a quick tapa and a beer, and while we were there, people came and went in a steady stream.
La Maceta has over 40 tapas on the menu, including both classic and modern flavors. The specials of the day are highlighted on a large blackboard on the wall. Owner Antonio Sibaja recommended the Argentinian burger with chimichurri and crispy onions, one of the house specialties.
We also tried the classics ensalada russa (tuna salad) and a tapa with sirloin, tomato, mushrooms and caramelized onions. All really tasty and with a focus on fresh, local ingredients.
Maceta has a variety of burgers, hot dogs and ham tapas, which are especially popular with the younger crowd. The mature crowd typically opt for ham, tortilla, black pudding and Galician octopus. The wine selection is also good, with a focus on local wines.
The dishes are constantly changing, so ask around. Both the owner and the other waiters are very helpful.
La Maceta, Plaza del Escudo 1
5 Córdoba history on the plate
Ever since Taberna la Montillana opened in Córdoba in 1948, it has been popular with the locals. This is because they excel at cooking traditional Córdoba dishes while innovating them. It has also been rewarded with a star in Spain’s leading travel and restaurant guide, Guía Repsol.
Fish dishes on the menu include octopus, anchovies in lemon, cod and salmon. Meat dishes include confit Iberian pork cheeks with fois gras and Pedro Ximenez sherry, crepes with roast lamb and Ras el-Hanout sauce and oxtails in oloroso sauce. Other dishes include salmorejo and croquettes. All made with local ingredients from the Córdoba region, and the dishes have deep roots in Córdoba.
We started with honey roasted eggplant. Then we had oxtails, which were intense and powerful in flavor. Both dishes are some of the best versions I’ve had in Spain.
Montillana started as a wine shop when it opened in Plaza de San Miguel. Today they offer a selection of local Montilla-Moriles quality wines to accompany food.
Book a table in advance. If you ask for a table on the terrace, you can dine in front of the beautiful Gothic church of San Miguel.
Taberna la Montillana, C/San Alvaró 5
6 Arabic flavors in an oriental setting
Stepping into Salón de Té in Córdoba’s Jewish quarter is like stepping into a sensory oriental adventure.
Set in a courtyard, the space is decorated with colorful tiles, rugs and cushions on benches and chairs and a large fruit platter in the middle. It’s very quiet, with only the sound of running water in the fountain. It’s a quiet cave that stands in stark contrast to the lively neighborhood outside the door.
Salón de Té is a tea room known for its homemade cakes and large selection of Andalusian and Arabic tea blends. You can also have breakfast, or like us, lunch.
The menu focuses on Arabic flavors, including different varieties of tagine, couscous, eggplant dish ziryab, humus, falaffel, salads, chicken and fish dishes.
We chose an oriental plate with hummus and kibbeh (fried bulgur balls with meat filling), samosa, stuffed green vine leaves and tabouleh. It was a tasty journey into oriental cuisine. With the food we drank the house lemonade with mint, which is one of the best I have ever tasted. Both are highly recommended.
Salón de Té, C/ Buen Pastor 13
7 Typical Cordoban restaurant
Festively decorated facade windows welcome you to La Cazuela de la Esparteria restaurant, located close to Córdoba’s central square, Corredera.
The restaurant is decorated in typical Córdoba blue and white colors with wooden tables and chairs. Typical Córdoba food is also served on the plates, accompanied by local wines. Since the restaurant opened in 1998, the focus has been on local gastronomy.
Many young and older locals alike have Canzuela as a regular restaurant. They come both to eat and to attend some of the wine tastings and artistic events it hosts.
The menu is filled with local, typical tapas and dishes such as small fried fish, salmorejo, stuffed mussels, flamenquín cordobés (fried, breaded sirloin rolled in serrano ham), roast lamb, eggplant and meatballs.
We had a really good tuna tartare and the classic flamenco córdobes. The tuna tartare was fresh and well-seasoned with a good hint of lemon. The flamenco córdobes were also tasty. It is, in my opinion, a slightly heavy dish, especially on a hot summer day, but a must-try in Córdoba.
La Cazuela de la Esparteria, C/Rodriguez Marin 16
More travel tips for Córdoba and Andalusia
Read also the guide to Córdoba and the city’s impressive mosque-cathedral.
You can read my review of the boutique hotel H10 Palacio Palomera in Córdoba.
If you want to visit Granada, which is also a very culturally rich city, find inspiration in the articles about the Alhambra Palace and the guide to Granada.
