Flamenco - where and how?
 

One of the things I'm struggling planning for our trip to Spain is where and how to see a flamenco show.
We'll be in Seville, Ronda, Granada and Cordoba. Is there one location better than the other, or should we pick 1 or 2 based on our schedule?
I've read recommendations to see a show that does not include dinner, and I understand why. But then, when do people have dinner, as these shows are generally late, 7:30 - 8 pm. Dinner after is too late for us, and most restaurants are not open at 6pm. Is there any option of an earlier show?
Or one that comes with dinner that's worth it (good show, good food)? Thank you.

In Seville we saw a show at La Casa Del Flamenco in the Santa Cruz neighborhood, a small venue that I’d run across during my research that is known for focusing on the music and dance, using natural acoustics (tablao, €20 euro each).

We'd booked for 8:30 and had a late lunch, then had ice cream afterwards. It's easy enough to find a place to eat in the late afternoon.

xyz99,
I can recommend both the Casa del Flamenco and two of my favorites: the Tablao Alvarez Quintero and Centro Cultural Casa de la Memoria (very well established), as they all are small venues (the smaller the better for authentic flamenco) and don't serve food or drinks but instead concentrate solely on this art form with no distractions.
These are all found in the Barrio de Santa Cruz.
Other Fodorites have enjoyed Casa de la Guitarra, also in Santa Cruz.
The ones that serve dinner are not recommended.

There will be places in the Barrio de Santa Cruz with continuous opening hours so that you can have something to eat before the show. La Azotea on Mateos Gago (the Santa Cruz "restaurant row") has continuous hours from 9:00 for breakfast until 11:30 pm for a late dinner and is quite good, well recommended by many Fodorites (and me too).

Here's a list of recommended tapas bars open all day, made by my friend and "queen of tapas", Shawn Hennessey of Azahar Sevilla-
https://azahar-sevilla.com/sevilletapas/open-all-day/

The first three we've used for dining at any time. Las Teresas is known for its excellent Iberian ham and Vinería San Telmo is creative tapas and excellent wine list.

I would choose Sevilla rather than Ronda or Córdoba simply because you'll have more options. If one show is sold out, you can choose another.

All the tablaos in Seville here (but you need not book here if the venue has its own booking site)-
https://flamencotickets.com/ciudad/Sevilla

Thank you so much! Good ideas and thanks for the recommendations on both flamenco venues and near-by dining options.
I'm definitely in the "details planning" phase 😄

For flamenco ideas search for posts by member name "kimhe"
Hasn't posted in a while but their knowledge and passion for flamenco was contagious.

We also saw a flamenco show at La Casa Del Flamenco that Maribel and Melnq8 recommend. I don't remember what time the show started but according to my notes, we had dinner first at La Azotea in Barrio Santa Cruz. So I assume the restaurant was open around 6pm. We liked this venue because the theater is small. There are 3 rows of chairs in a semi-circle. We sat in the first row so we were very close to the stage.
https://laazoteasevilla.com/es_es/

Another quite comfortable restaurant in Santa Cruz that has an all day kitchen, along with La Azotea is CASA ROBLES on Alvarez Quintero, which is very handy to the Tablao Alvarez Quintero.
Tablao=flamenco venue

Its kitchen is open from 1:00 pm until 11:15 and one can book on line at www.casarobles.es

Ditto to its sister restaurant, Robles Placentines at Calle Placentines in Santa Cruz.

Santa Cruz is "tourist central" (more tourist beds than Santa Cruz inhabitants), so there are several options of "all day kitchens" now for visitors not used to the late Spanish dining hours.

www.placentines.es
Both Robles establishments are recommended by Azahar Sevilla.

In short, you'll find somewhere handy to dine before any flamenco performance.

kimhe...yes, I remember the name and the posts now, thank you.
Do we need reservations at the tapas places? Does it make a difference if we go at 6 (before the show) or at 8:30 (after the show)?

Actually, I would make reservations. Seville will be very busy in May and I’m beginning to believe from experience in March and November, that there really isn’t much of a slow/low season in this super popular city these days. The best restaurants in the tourist-filled Barrio de Santa Cruz will be recommended by the airbnb hosts and the hotel desk staffs, so you’ll be competing for a table with gobs of other visitors.

As for the dining hour, do whatever you’re comfortable with. We have dinner these days at 8:30 (in Madrid by 8:30 the most popular gastro bars in Madrid’s Retiro district have been full or almost full by 8:30 this week as folks are choosing to dine earlier than in the past, especially in winter.

Thanks Mirabel. We always have reservations for the "non-tapas" restaurants, I was just not aware of what the custom is for the tapas ones.
For a selfish reason, I'm glad to hear that some folks are eating earlier; it means restaurants open earlier, which is good for us, not used to eat so late.

Not all tapas restaurants in Spain take reservations, but the trend in Sevilla has been the opening of “gastro bars” and in the evening sevillanos tend to frequent them rather than formal restaurants.
In the blazing summer it’s just too darn hot to sit down in the evening for a long drawn out formal meal, so locals just graze.

I believe that La Azotea on Mateos Gago takes reservations but by phone. Because of its location on “restaurant row”, Mateos Gago, it gets slammed with diners. Robles and Robles Placentines take reservations on their web pages.

For the gastro bars, or “neo tascas”/“neo tabernas” in Madrid, especially in the Retiro district, one must have a reservation these days or one has to eat standing up at the crowded bar. I just tried to book La Vineria de San Telmo on line but they don’t take reservations for dinner until 8 pm.

El Pintón is another popular restaurant with attractive interior decor in the Santa Cruz quarter that does take dinner reservations on line, starting at 7:30 for your non-flamenco evening.
elpinton.com

We have learned after the pandemic always to make a reservation, because we see too many people get turned away without one, especially at the most popular places. For us there’s no downside, and if we have to cancel due to change of plans, the restaurant sends us an email the day before, reminding us of the reservation and alerting us either to confirm or to cancel, which we can do easily via the email.

Great points, thank you Maribel!
I was wondering about tapas, and why they are so popular in Spain...the heat, that explains it! Interesting!

I’ve been in Sevilla during the dog days of summer, late July-early August with temps of 100 F for days in a row, when I’ve seen people streaming into tapas bar terraces at midnight, with baby carriages, when it’s finally cooled down and people feel like eating. This is why sevillanos at night eat light meals. In Spain, in general, dinner is quite a light affair, as the main meal is taken at lunch time.

xyz,
You do know how envious I am that you’re going to Andalucia, one of our very favorite trips ever! It was May of 2015 - hard to believe how long ago it was. Fodorite kimhe was still active on the board and I got a lot of help from him.

I probably shared this with you, but in case you haven’t read my trip report, here it is:
https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...1046586/page2/

We loved Casa de La Memoria and enjoyed a second flamenco show at the Museo de Baile flamenco in Sevilla. We also went to a show in Granada at Casa del Arte Flamenco. If you read my trip report, kimhe identifies some of the performers and it seems we were treated to some great ones!

I forgot to mention the Museo del Baile Flamenco, created by the great bailaora Cristina Hoyos, also a nice venue and in the Barrio de Santa Cruz. It was the first museum dedicated to the art of flamenco. Kimhe certainly knew his dancers and was a passionate flamenco fan.
https://museodelbaileflamenco.com

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...42abe2e10.jpeg
Flamenco in the streets of Sevilla

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...eff8f1a24.jpeg
Casa de La Memoria

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...38b51e1c2.jpeg
Casa de La Memoria

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a8dd41dce.jpeg
Museo del Baile Flamenco

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a7ca7fd68.jpeg
Museo del Baile Flamenco

Progol,
I've read your TR several times and got lots of good info from it. Yes, I know how much you've loved that trip and I'm sure we will too. Great photos of the flamenco dancers!

I’m glad my TR was helpful! You will love the trip, I’m sure! So much to see and do in the region.