Your top tapas

When it comes to dining out, nothing beats a personal recommendation - and in Spain, you need to proceed with special care. For every pitch-perfect paella place, there can be a really torrid tapas bar lurking, especially in travel hot spots such as Barcelona and the Balearics.

Never fear: your fellow readers will see you right. Here are their personal restaurant raves from across the nation, complete with insider tips on when to arrive, what to order - and, in the case of Rory McGrath's choice on Formentera, what to leave on your plate.

El Cabello Rojo, across the road from the mosque in Cordoba, is one of Spain's most famous restaurants. The owner has spent years researching and re-creating ancient Sephardic and Mozarabic recipes, with lots of spicy and sweet-honeyed sauces. You can also eat traditional Andalusian food: rabo de toro (oxtail), ajo blanco (garlic soup with almonds), even 11th-century scrambled eggs - the date refers to the recipe, rather than the produce!

Don't even think of going for lunch until 3pm, when the smartest and most elegant Andalusians will be there. A large, cool fino is presented to you along with the menu, and the whole experience feels seriously luxurious. Pricey, but excellent.
Details: Cardenal Herrero 28, 00 34 95 747 8001.

Rosemary MacKenzie, Midlothian

I'VE ALWAYS liked Sa Capella, in San Antonio, Ibiza. The jamon jabugo is splendid and the fish in salt crust is a true special among many other specialities.
Details: 00 34 97 134 0057.

Arwed Hauf, Hawaii

AS ONE of the Costa del Sol's famous "white villages", Mijas is firmly on the tourist trail, with beautiful churches, a square bullring and donkey taxis. The touristy part tends to be dominated by overpriced set menus, but away from these is Bar Alarcon, a proper "local" joint. Upstairs on the roof terrace is always lively, and Spanish groups perform in the bar downstairs, including the shepherd Pastorales at Christmas. The food is excellent value - a range of local dishes, including tasty kebabs and locally caught meat such as rabbit.
Details: Calle Lastra 1, 00 34 95 248 5245.

Caroline Pickering, Essex

I LOVE Las Chinas, in Frigiliana, a beautiful village above Nerja. It's a simple restaurant that does great fresh fish and roast lamb shank. The fish soup is to die for (main course not required), with home-made puds to follow. Just thinking of this place gets me through the winter - I'm already looking forward to my next visit in April.
Details: Calle Amparo Guerro 16, 00 34 95 253 4135.

Elizabeth Hart, Worcestershire

OUR RECOMMENDATION is the family-run El Rincon de Pepe, in the Albaicin district of Granada. We have a home there and are regulars in the restaurant, where Pepe and Encarni are wonderful cooks and wine enthusiasts, using fresh, locally sourced produce, and promoting new young wines from Andalusia as well as more traditional Ribera del Duero and Rioja.

Their specialities include prawn croquettes, pork loin with garlic, lamb with fresh asparagus, fresh cod in tomato sauce and tropical salads with pomegranate and avocado. There's also wonderful paella and plentiful tapas.
Details: Calle Gloria 6, 00 34 95 828 7268.

Lesley Judge, Edinburgh


UBLO, in Palma de Mallorca, is the best Italian restaurant I've come across outside Italy. An excellent meal worked out at a bargain £140 for five people, and that included two bottles of wine, a couple of beers, coffee and dessert. We had the Aperitivo sampler menu, which included eggs with caviar, squid with tomato and orange sauce, and lobster with artichoke hearts and rosemary.
Details: Plaça Progreso 23, 00 34 97 190 3013.

Bryan Bennion, Derbyshire



MY VOTE goes to Casa Bigote, in Sanlucar de Barrameda, near Cadiz. We've been going there for 20 years. You sit watching the sun set over the Guadalquivir River, sipping manzanilla and eating the freshest langoustines. You then move on to various fish dishes, washed down with some wonderful fino sherry, and finish with dessert and a glass of Pedro Ximenez. And the bill is never horrendous - the owner says they make enough money at current prices, so why charge more?
Details: Bao de Guia, 00 34 956 362696.

George Begley, New York

AT LA JABEGA, in Zahara de los Atunes on the Costa de la Luz, you can sit at the bar, in the light and airy restaurant or on a covered terrace looking onto the beach. There are wonderful cheeses, hams and cured sausages, and I'd recommend the gambas a la plancha (grilled prawns). The presentation and service would not be out of place in any London restaurant, and the wine list has 20 Riojas, 12 blancos and five rosados, ranging from £5.50 to £12.50. There's even a nice surprise when you get the bill.
Details: Calle Tomillo 7, 00 34 95 643 9442.

Gillian Henley, Hertfordshire

UNQUESTIONABLY the most memorable restaurant for my family is Juan y Andrea, on the beach in Sa Savina, on Formentera. You sit at simple tables with your feet in the sand, and waiters turn the umbrellas as the sun moves west. Most guests arrive by boat, anchor off the beach and saunter over to the restaurant wearing ostentatious swimwear and big sunglasses. The waiters are middle-aged and pompous, and probably go back to Jermyn Street in the winter. The seafood is excellent, but very expensive. De rigueur is to order the lobster, then leave most of it, taking a long time to chat to co-guests and pretend the sand flies are not biting. The place is pure theatre, pure pretension, but enormous fun.
Details: Playa Illetas, www.juanyandrea.com.

Rory McGrath, Oxfordshire

WE ALWAYS enjoy dining in Barcelona: fresh food, reasonably priced, and tapas day and night. Our very favourite is Can Majo, on the beachfront, where fish comes fresh out of the sea and simple, washed down with a good range of house wines - and you see significantly more change from the bill than you would in rival restaurants a few hundred yards away. If you love seafood, it's well worth a try.
Details: L'Almirall Aixada 23, 00 34 93 221 5455.

Martin and Karen Allen, Leicestershire

SON GANXO, in Punto Prima, on the southeast coast of Minorca, has been a favourite with my family over the past two decades - ever since we've been holidaying on the island. It's a little off the beaten track, but is perfect for a coastal walk from S'Algar, and with stunning views of the Mediterranean, it's hard to beat.
The exquisite food includes huge grilled prawns, freshly caught fish at unbelievable prices, and lettuce in garlic sauce - sounds horrible, but it's delicious. There's even a pool, so you can take a dip between courses. It's perfect for entertaining the kids while the older crowd enjoy a boozy lunch that goes on all afternoon. And there's a cliff jump into the sea for the more adventurous (and/or slightly tipsy).
Details: Urbanizacion Son Ganxo 77; 00 34 971 159075 (closed until Easter).

Charles Light, London