It's tough being strangers in a foreign country. Everyone wants to get an authentic taste of the area, but no one knows how to get there. Depending on the size of your party, the trip tends to go like this: everyone's already grumpily hungry because it took longer to get into the city than we thought, and we end up parking in a large populated area that has a lot within walking distance. This also tends to be the most touristy parts of the area. So now you have a group of hungry people that don't know where to go, and a lot of shops promising a lot more than they can deliver. Eventually the group capitulates and picks the next place they come across and simply hope for the best. In the large areas such as downtown Sevilla, the results aren't usually going to be for the best.
Our group's primary goal was, of course, paella, and what finally broke the camel's back was a sign outside of Avenida Restauración advertising Paellador. In retrospect, we should have taken the clues given by the obvious frozen prepared pizzas and hamburgers also being advertised, but my party was sick of walking, so we grabbed a table.
Perhaps another red flag should have risen when considering the dozen different types of paella served by this very small restaurant, including one which contained frankfurters as the main protein. But it was too late now - we already had our drink orders in.
I had the Paella del Señorito. The actual size of the seafood was much smaller than what was depicted in the photo. I'm no paella expert, but the flavors were leaning far too heavily towards chicken broth and salt. And we were well beyond the peak freshness of the few mussels and shrimp that were unevenly scattered in the pan.
Any suspicion of the authenticity of the dish was confirmed when a later stroll down Avd. Constitución revealed another cafe touting the very same Paellador banner. More than one member of my party mentioned they found their meal "good," though I doubt they had much more of a frame of reference, and while it was certainly palatable enough for me to eat the majority of it, I felt disappointed that I let myself fall into such an obvious tourist trap. You certainly didn't see many locals stopping to grab a bite.
The one saving grace of this generically-named restaurant was in the sampler of ham, cheese, and chorizo with which I started my meal. At €14, it was actually more expensive than the paella with quite a bit less quantity, and I think it speaks to the level of freshness in comparison - this sausage certainly didn't come out of the freezer. You can buy sandwiches of the chorizo on a toasted baguette, and that's probably making the most of the menu. Regardless, this is a place to stop for some drinks and a light snack; find dinner elsewhere. read more
