Hidden Gems in Sevilla

By Emma Da Silva

After studying abroad in Seville for the last four months, I’ve come across a few hidden gems. When staying in a city for that long, you want to take advantage of your time and constantly find new things to try. Every week I was on the lookout for new activities, restaurants and shops that I could try. Here are my top five general hidden gems!

La Carbonería 
This tavern of tapas becomes an authentic flamenco bar every night. The flamenco performances are at the same time every night; 8:30, 9:30, and 10:30. Each performance lasts about 30 minutes, with a mix of dancing and guitar and flamenco singing. The same group performs for that night during all the time slots, but each performance is different. After going three separate times to La Carbonería, each performance is just as good as the last. I’ve been lucky enough to see both men and women perform, and their styles are very different!

Each dancer brings their own group that includes the guitar players, singers and people who understand the art of hand-clapping in flamenco. It’s unique to see these different groups of people perform and bring all their loved ones with them to share their experience. The dancers don’t get paid, but they work for tips. They perform because they’re passionate about their craft and love what they do. The passion they bring is beautiful to witness.

Mister Noodles and Bollywood Restaurant 
These two restaurants were my go-to spots whenever I was bored with eating Spanish food. Mister Noodles is located in the Nervíon area, about 10 minutes from the center of town. As someone who is an avid rice eater, this is one of the best fried rice dishes I’ve ever had. This Asian restaurant has everything you could think of at a reasonable price, and it’s insanely delicious. My go-to order is the fried rice with sesame chicken. Bollywood was very close to my apartment and what I craved the most. The restaurant itself is quite spacious and has Indian inspired artwork all over. My order for this restaurant was either buttered chicken or chicken tikka masala, with a side of white rice and naan.

Triana Market Cooking Class 
Taller Andaluz de Cocina is a cooking school that offers classes on Andalusian-Spanish cuisine taught by professional chefs. The cooking classes are located inside Triana Food Market. In itself, the market is a great place to wander around and get familiar with what food, ingredients and spices Sevillanos are using.

The cooking class I took was a three-course meal of authentic paella, gazpacho, and spinach with chickpeas. Before we began to cook, we took a food market tour in order to learn where everything we’ll be using is from. Being able to see everything we’ll be using made me feel more confident in what I was going to cook. The food was wonderful, and even better when we were able to all take turns cutting and stirring everything. At the end of our class, our chef gave us a list of the restaurants she recommended all over Sevilla.

Naked and Famous
Our friends’ favorite pastime is finding cool bars to experience. Naked and Famous is located in the center of the old town and is filled with abstract shapes and rooms. Each room is a different aesthetic and a great place to hang out and just sit with people. My favorite drink was Sevilla en Primavera. It’s a drink that is refreshing, floral, and smooth. My favorite part is when they bring it to you, they spray your drink with edible orange blossom perfume. It’s the perfect place to catch up and have a quiet night.

Museum of Contemporary Art 
The Universidad Internacional de Andalucía hosts the Andalusian Center for Contemporary Art. The building is an old monastery that has many exhibition selections. The rooms are hard to find at times considering you’re walking around a monastery for different reasons, but it’s highly underrated. When I went during my semester abroad, the exhibit showing was of art work only done with fabrics, and it told a story about feminism.