Aleph Cocktail Club and Ettu Restaurant – Drinking and Dining With Style in Cadiz, Spain

Cadiz, the sun-splashed port city in western Andalucia, has emerged as the new sought-after short break destination, offering the authentic Spain of city life with some superb beaches. Cadiz is also the captivating place to experience new adventures in food and drink, with new openings including Ettu Restaurant and Aleph Cocktail Club, found in the artsy, on-trend boutique Hotel Olom.

Southern Spain is one of the world’s great destinations, yet despite its popularity there still remains places to discover that are not overwhelmed with tourism. Cadiz is one such city. Although now a popular stop on cruise line itineraries, the old town still retains its raw authenticity with corners of Andalusian charm, writes Andrew Forbes (The Luxury Editor).

The area is renowned for its food and wine, with Cadiz province famous above all for its seafood that pairs so well with its sherry wines. Cadiz city, the regional capital, is the place to try both traditional and contemporary dishes reflecting the area’s rich culinary culture, and if you’re visiting then make sure Hotel Olom is on your radar. Here’s what you can expect.

Momento

During the day, Momento offers informal dining on the Cathedral Square. It’s the place to enjoy a drink under the palm trees, and tuck into international, family favourites like a freshly baked pizza, a classic burger made with local Cadiz retinto beef or tasty pasta of the day. There are plenty of local favourites too like delicious cod fritters with squid ink mayo, and local tuna dishes too.

Aleph Cocktail Club

In our experience, a great way to start your evening of indulgence at Hotel Olom is with cocktails on the roof terrace, overlooking the city’s ‘Cathedral of the Americas.’

Susana Gordillo was our bartender. She’s relatively new to the world of mixology but her commitment, creativity, and aptitude for cocktails look set to bring her great success. She shared signature drinks from the Aleph Cocktail Club list, including an outstanding manzanilla sour; a Latin American mezcal-based creation provocatively called ‘Viva Mexico Cabrones’; and a locally inspired whisky cocktail named after the Andalucian Ines Rosales crackers with which it is served. We even tried the ‘Torrija’, a brandy-based cocktail that pays homage to Cadiz’s favourite easter treat.

Ettu – fine dining in Cadiz

Chefs Alvaro Vela & Luiti Callealta are the talent behind this contemporary restaurant that has a distinct culinary identity, shaped by the rich history of Cadiz cuisine, which has continually evolved with influences from the Greeks, Romans, Arabs, and Christian cultures.

To dine at ettu is to make a culinary journey through this living history, where the menu has been shaped by the quality of the seasonal produce and local suppliers including farmers, fisherman, beekeepers, and artisan cheesemakers.

Dishes pay tribute to a province that offers superb produce from land and sea, and the dining experience is enhanced by a dining room and terrace that features beautiful artisan details from the craftspeople of Cádiz, including bespoke clay ‘botijo’ water jugs, and leather cutlery sleeves.

Ettu is in the very heart of the city, opposite the extraordinary cathedral, with a secret garden with a charming dining terrace shaded by an olive tree.

Hugo was our server, and he shared with us his passion and enthusiasm for wine, offering a selection of local, and national wines from boutique wineries that pared so well with evening’s dishes prepared with local vegetables, almadraba tuna and Andalucian pork.

It was a deliciously entertaining night with the team joining guests in the dining room, preparing some dishes table-side, like the tuna tartare with bone marrow.

The starters of beetroot and seasonal vegetables were simply yet elegantly prepared with the utmost respect for the subtle flavours of the local organic vegetables.

The semi cured pork dish was presented in a creative and contemporary Mediterranean style with parmesan and courgette. A soup dish with smoked aubergine was a triumph of complex flavours, while the sweet treats were a delight.

Hotel Olom

With its sleek rooms adorned with local art, memorable views of Cadiz Cathedral, destination restaurant ‘ettu,’ an informal alfresco tapas daytime restaurant in the cathedral square, roof terrace with pool and the Aleph Cocktail Club, and even a wellbeing fitness area, Hotel Olom has all the ingredients to create a memorable boutique stay.

You can read The Luxury Editor profile review of Hotel Olom here.

This boutique property makes for a welcoming base to explore Cadiz, rich with authentic Andalusian vibrancy. Western Andalucia, facing out towards the Atlantic is bathed in brilliant sunshine, a light so intense and bright the region has taken it has it moniker, the ‘coast of light,’ the Costa de la Luz. This city flourished with the arrival of the Phoenicians, and Cadiz has remained vibrant ever since, making it the oldest city in Spain and one of the most ancient in Europe.

In the 15^th century, when explores from the Iberian peninsula set sail and ‘rediscovered’ the Americas, Cadiz become a maritime superhub, the base for much of the immense trade that grew between the continents. This led to centuries of wealth for Cadiz, giving the city an extraordinary architectural legacy including the Cathedral and many noble, palatial homes that line the streets of old town, which is slowly being renovated.