IT is no surprise that most of the food here in Cadiz is seafood since it is an island bound by seas on all sides (crucero). Since Cadiz is part of Andalusia, a lot of Andalusian cuisine has influence here. If you’re staying here in Cadiz, I suggest that you try just one luxury restaurant and spend the rest of your money in more economical eateries. Anyway, the quality of the food is the same because it’s real authentic native food. The most reputable restaurant serving real Cadiz native food but sadly at expensive prices too is El Faro.

Speaking of high-priced restaurants, I remember a French joke which goes like this – if you can’t pronounce what is stipulated in the menu, you simply can’t afford it. Cadiz itself is not pronounced as showbiz but as cadeeth – th for “z”. Famous dishes served at El Faro include seafood salad (composed of different sea produce of course), camarones omelette and marinated anchovies. Of course, there are non-seafood included in the menu like venison in blue cheese sauce, cheese ice cream and chocolate tart in orange sauce.

There are other noteworthy differences in the food in the 12,100 square kilometer peninsula. At the coastlines, the food obviously tends to be more focused on seafood and then some – rice dishes. Inland where freshwater produce and agricultural products abound, dishes are made from game, beef, goat, pork, river trout and vegetable stews. Hmm…yummy, those vegetable soups. Not only yummy but very nutritious too. No wonder Spain has one of the highest life expectancies in the world. If you go to the more remote mountain villages, the cuisine even becomes more diverse and delicious. You got lamb casserole, oxtail stew and grilled asparagus there. Occasionally, the locals will ask you to hunt a wild game yourself and they will gladly cook the catch for you. That’s the fun living with the locals. Do not just cage yourself in exorbitant restaurants.

Learn to feel the place and experience another culture. Other tasty dishes by the coastline include prawn omelettes and noodles with prawns and clams. In between the mountain villages and the coastlines is a mixture of food from wild game and seafood. They enhance their dishes here by mixing it with sherry produced from Jerez. There’s partridge casserole and scrambled eggs with fresh asparagus, among others.

Elsewhere, you’ll also get a taste of Arab and halal cuisine like confectioneries and cakes, pudding made from egg yolk and syrup, a Spanish nougat called turron as well as honey-coated fritters.

Cadiz is a pretty hot place during summer with temperatures reaching as high as 22 degrees Celsius. That may not be as hot as the tropics but for Westerners like us, this is already a summer haven. During summer, the folks in Cadiz serve this delicious cold soup called gazpacho. It’s basically a vinegar soup but for a higher price, they’ll gladly mix sherry in. It’s like an orange punch but it’s not a punch, it’s a soup albeit cold. It also has onions and garlic in it.