el Aji

We walked in tired and this was the closest restaurant nearby. We were under a lot of pressure to get some food in our stomachs since we were traveling with a 4 month old and we had an early morning tour that we couldn’t miss.
We were totally surprised by a pleasant and relaxed experience. The place is cozy and modern, and we enjoyed a tasty pumpkin potato leek soup served with warm bread, followed by a perfectly medium rare Argentine steak. My wife got the white fish which was solid but not as memorable. The beer was ice cold and tasty.
We enjoyed Aji and the prompt and friendly service and would come back again.

So many times on holiday you go seeking that perfect restaurant. Normally it is based on a friends recommendation or a tour book’s ‘place to eat’. Often it leads you down a road of anguish and stress, past numerous other establishments that could have easily sufficed. All of this in the hope that something better awaits — only to be disappointed by every aspect. Thankfully El Ají delivered beyond all expectations.
After a stroll up winding streets we were greeted by a beautiful square full of locals, drinking, playing music and conversing around tables. We started the night with beers and complimentary tapas and ended with a house wine and homemade desert.
The staff were extremely friendly and the food was delicious and prepared to perfection. But it was the atmosphere that made the night.

After a cold, rain filled, late November day of touring the Alhambra, this restaurant — deep in the Albaicin and close to our temporary home — was just perfect. More of a sit down spot that a traditional tapas bar, the service was great, the food beyond tasty (piquant chicken and pork knuckle– sounds better in Spanish). I’ll try to edit this with more detail later but had to share that we loved this place.

We stayed nearby Plaza de San Miguel Bajo and unlike the other reviews we LOVED this restaurant and really appreciated their service. Sandra was super sweet & totally helpful. She was attentive & never served us the same tapa with each drink we ordered (we went 3 times over 4 days). The mushrooms with miel (honey) and got cheese were awesome & unique! Their Alhambra beer on a hot afternoon was the coldest we had on the trip! Posting pics as they are worth a thousand words!

We arrived in town late on a Sunday evening and the restaurants on the square were only three minutes walk from our apartment so we let hunger get the better of research and good judgement.
The food at El Aji is nicely presented and the dishes look much more «modern» than other restaurants in the area. However, what is lacking is flavour and a skilful hand in the kitchen — this is eating to live rather than living to eat. At these prices you can do much better on Plaza San de Miguel Bajo let alone the rest of Granada.
Having said that El Aji is a popular spot and as we wandered through the square each evening most of the plentiful outside tables were taken. You pay your money and you take you choice as the man says …

Located in a charming plaza in the Albayzin, this restaurant held a lot of promise initially but failed to deliver in the end. Chalk up another disappointing lead from Rick Steves. Complimentary amuse-​bouche was a prawn grilled to perfection. We followed that with a red pepper salad which was quite good. Then the entrée, the whole reason why I selected this restaurant from the others, turned out to be a huge fail. It was some sort of white fish cooked with vegetables in phyllo. I really had my hopes up because you could have described one of the most incredible fish dishes I’ve ever had (at Tagine in Beverly Hills) that way, but this fish was not cooked properly. And when I say not cooked properly, it was raw in the middle. And even the edges where it was cooked tasted fishy — bleah! To give them credit, our server did rectify the situation once we finally got her attention and allowed us to substitute another dish (prawns — adequately cooked but not nearly as good as the initial prawn they served us), but I would not come back.