Seville: Abantal (1*)

Amuse bouche 1: tuna tartare and potato salad

The other meal that impressed me a great deal was at Abantal, a 1* Michelin restaurant located in the city of Seville.  Touted as a modern take on traditional Andalusian cuisine, I had no benchmark and no expectations going into the meal.  That was probably why I walked away feeling like Abantal was a little gem that caught the eyes of just a few.  The meal was worth remembering so much so I tried to look up the young talent behind the restaurant,Chef Julio Fdez Quintero, to find out more about his food and philosophy.  Alas, nothing remotely interesting was available online.

The dining room at Abantal was simple and classy with brown tones and wood as the main themes.  The food was presented simply as well, letting the food speak for itself.  It was a meal that I wished I had more stomach room so I could try more of Chef's dishes.  It would be a meal that I want to return to Seville for. 

Amuse bouche #2

Inside the cup was a medley of chopped apricots, almond, microgreens.  But...a cold soup of sweet garlic and almond was poured over.  After the mediocre amuse #1, this completely upped the game.  The balance between flavours really made this dish.

Appetizer 1:  Squid ink rice with squid and razor shells.  This was jaw-dropping awesome.  Okay, admittedly, I have a bias for all things squid ink but this was truly flavourful and reminded me of the sea with each bite.  The razor clams were meaty too, adding that bit of texture.  But it was also very rich, I don't really want to know how much butter could have gone into the dish but I could have easily just have this appetizer as a main course. 

Appetizer: Seabass carpaccio was a little underseasoned but the little cubes of cheese and ikura made up for it.

Main: Hake served with chickpeas and spinach stew and pinenuts was an acquired taste.  Two generous pieces of fish from one side of a fish (i.e. the entire fillet) were welcomed but one of them, the thicker cut, was way underdone.  

Main: Poached cod in olive oil with roasted aubergines and grilled artichokes was okay.  The cod wasn't the oily sort that I like so it scored lesser points for me.  I enjoyed the vegetables more.  Haha.  The eggplant was in the form of puree and the grilled artichokes were what it was with a good amount of smokiness from the grill.

no bread, but a cracker, was served alongside.  it was dense, crunchy and not much taste.

Dessert: Cherries in Liquor with vinegar ganache , white chocolate ice cream and candy of raspberryThis dessert was another memorable dish.  The vinegar in the ganache was a surprisingly complementary flavour and took the edge off all the other sweet things going on such as the cherries and icecream and the bottom layer chocolate cake (which was also very oh-so-good as it was dense and fudgey).




Abantal
7 Alcalde Jose de la Bandera
41003 Seville