Reviewing
El Sitio Tapas and drinks in the centre of town.
La Tropical Classic 70s decor, round the corner from the aquaduct.
Bistro Redebal Parallel-universe classic Spanish dining.
Segovia Practicalities
Getting There
An hour's - fairly comfortable - bus journey from Moncloa is less than €11 with hourly departures. The train is a much quicker journey, but transfers from the Ave station into town negate a lot of the time saving.
Visits
The interior of the alcazar is better than the overtidy Disney exterior suggests, with spectacular ceilings and decent views. Climb the steps (or googlemap to them from the centre of town to save your breath) to the side of the aquaduct for decent pictures. A stop at the one remaining - former - synagogue is worth the €1 charge.
Anything Else
Easily doable as a day trip, an evening's stay to see the place without crowds is certainly worth it. And buy a ponche from Confiteria El Alcazar, a properly period pasteleria on Plaza Mayor that deserves a visit for the interior even if you don't have a sweet tooth.
Accommodation Suggestion
Hotel Exe Case de Los Linajes Link
El Sitio €
Per Person €5 or less for a couple of large beers and some great included aperitifs.
Find
Website https://www.elsitiorestaurante.com/
Access Step free to bar and downstairs eating.
In Short
Hopes. Some tasty old school drinks and snacks.
Reality. Splendid old school drinks and snacks.
First Impressions. Busy busy busy.
USP? Great quality classic aperitifs.
The offer in three words. Free for all.
Service! Top notch bar skills.
Friend friendly? Patatas alioli's the only meat-free freebie we saw.
Rating for dating. Ideal to start the evening.
Tip? Yep.
Change one thing? A few more stools.
Revisitability. Essential for more tasty goodies.
What's the story?
Bustling, with a great array of tapas to try, pop into El Sitio.
In search of a simple quick lunch behind Plaza Mayor, it was follow a case of follow the noise to El Sitio. And here we learnt a valuable lesson for the Segovia visitor.
Order cañas not doubles!!
Here's the thing. Tapas aperitifs are yours to choose here, so keep to smaller beers and they'll happily - enthusiastically - drop you whatever you ask for, every time you order a drink. Three cañas and you're pretty much fed for lunch. They're all complete classics, too. Piled platters of fritura mixta, sausages & potatoes, croquettas, patatas revolcanas and all the other usual suspects appear to refill the serving dishes in a constant stream. It's Spanish cuisines greatest hits covered by an expert band of session players. Music to our ears.
We were so happy, we popped back in the evening for a a glass of wine - at €2 a go - before dinner. Recommended.
Bar La Tropical €
Per Person €3 or so for a couple of glass of and included aperitifs.
Find
Access Step free into bar area.
In Short
Hopes. A drink and an aperitif.
Reality. 2/2. But not 10&10.
First Impressions. Phone James Blunt. It's 1973.
USP? Time travel without a blue box.
The offer in three words. Don't expect surprises.
Service! Lots of busy men.
Friend friendly? They do a decent wodge of tortilla.
Rating for dating. Not the tone you're looking for, honestly.
Tip? No.
Change one thing? The noisiest customer in Castilla-Leon, possibly the entire hemisphere, deafening anyone in a 2m radius. Waiters went away with bleeding ears.
Revisitability. Not really.
What's the story?
Tropical is an entirely old-school long bar and dining room, aimed unapologetically at the local market, near the aquaduct.
Busy, full of families and pensioners downing beers and, perhaps surprisingly, churros at 8pm in huge volumes, Popular with locals the tapas and drinks are a bit more costly than El Sitio, not least as we're 2 minutes from the big bridge.
Bistro Redebal €€€
Per Person €35 Shared Bottle of Ribera, starter & dessert Solo Mains. Gratis Nothing.
Find
Website Click
Access A couple of steps to dining area.
In Short
Hopes. Easy going different dinner.
Reality. Success. An enjoyable evening.
First Impressions. We're so early they've not even put the lights on.
USP? A genuinely distinctive twist on classic Castilian flavours.
The offer in three words. Parellel universe classics
Service! Warm, friendly and with some tried and tested jokes.
Friend friendly? You can navigate, but it's starting from the classic position.
Rating for dating. A good option, we thought.
Tip? Small one.
Change one thing? The soft jazz versions of classic 80s songs as background music didn't suit us. Give us the real thing. Indeed, give us The Real Thing.
Revisitability. Pretty good.
What's the story?
Redebal's take on the traditional is worth a visit in a city centre full of classic-looking restaurants. It's determinedly ploughing its owner's furrow of a vision. Or vision of a furrow. Or - well, look, it looks a bit different which is a start, isn't it? A bunch of regulars turned up a few minutes after us which was no bad sign, either.
Here's the house potatoes revolconas, garnished with deep fried, pulverised crunchy intense cochinillo. A great addition to a very paprika intense plate. It's not a dish you can posh up much, but this is a smart and well presented version.
The house burger was excellent with delicious home-made fries, a great burger relish and, even well done, a tasty juicy burger. All on a plate that looks like someone squashed flat a snowman. Nice chips.
Our other main was a - sustainably sourced - zebra loin. Packaging brought to the table shows its origin was South Africa. Well cooked, you'd think it was beef, if you didn't know it wasn't. A bit under served by garnish, perhaps with just a spray of tasty potatoes.
Turrón cake was a big success, even if the lemon cream was a slightly odd addition to it. Still, nothing wrong with a different flavour combination once in a while, eh?
The decor's got a touch of the 80s in it, with greys and whites dominating. Service is excellent with the owners around at regular intervals and servers well on top of things. There's no shortage of traditional restaurants in town, but Redebal gives you a good mix of the conventional and the un- of that ilk. It's worth a look.
