Granada is one of Spain’s many culturally unique gems, largely resulting from it’s rich Moorish background. The footprints of Andalusian Islamic history is evident everywhere and especially in the infamous neighborhood of Albayzin, where you can find numerous shops filled with baskets of dried fruits, from melon to kiwi, papaya, hibiscus as well as shelves lined with loose teas and Spanish spice blends.
Present day, Granada is known as a college town, a Spanish hippie town and a delightful tourist destination. Once again, a result of the city’s rich history and cultural diversity. This is reflected in the city’s food scene.
In Granada, you have the option of eating great Andalusian cuisine at different tapas bars for breakfast, lunch and dinner – or you can have tapas here and there, mixing it up with familiar Indian comfort food, Turkish kebab, Moroccan tangines, German street food and late night pizzas. Traveling there with my boyfriend who is a vegetarian, we are always in search of spots that will have a vegetarian friendly menu. And of course – affordable. Luckily, this wasn’t a problem in Granada! Keep scrolling to see our five favorite spots.
#1 Wursmet
A take on German street food, this little shop was about a fifteen minute walk from the center. Characterized by an industrial interior and a menu of bratwurst ‘perritos’ loaded with crazy and tasty toppings, it was easily one of our favorites. German was not something we expected to experience in any form on our venture to Granada – this was a pleasant surprise! Additionally, it was an excellent value (15 euros for both with drinks and fries) and we enjoyed watching an ACDC concert on one of their screens while savoring the Bratwurst (pictured) and the Vegetarian.
The Bratwurst was an explosion of flavors – a massive brat, candied apple, crispy bacon and sauerkraut.
Calle Martinez de la Rosa, 23, 18002 Granada
#2 Muglia 2
We were looking for something a little more filling than tapas on a rather late schedule. After a day of walking around the hilly neighborhood of Albayzin and drinking beers atop the Mirador de San Nicholas, we walked around indecisively looking for a real meal that wouldn’t destroy our budget – at nearly midnight! Near Plaza Nueva, we stumbled across Muglia 2 with a large menu – in English. Full of vegetarian options, it wound up being the perfect spot. We got the channa masala – a classic vegetarian Indian dish made with chickpeas, as well as one of my personal favorites – chicken madras (spicier than I had ever had, but to my delight), as well as a HUGE portion of rice, garlic naan and four beers for about 27 euros.
Calle Joaquin Costa, 4, 18010 Granada
#3 Restaurante El Sultan
This was our first stop in Granada. One of the enticing restaurants off of Elvira Street between Plaza Nueva and Albayzin, the outside was decorated recreations of Islamic-influenced architecture in the form of arches, covered in ornate patterns. The menu included numerous Moroccan dishes and classic ingredients ranging between 7 and 14 euros. The couscous & tangines were abundant. We got the vegetables with rice and kefta tangine for me – spiced meatballs in a red sauce with an egg in the middle. This was my first time trying this dish and it’s already on my list of dishes to try and recreate at home.
Calle Cetti Meriem, 10, 18010 Granada
#4 Loop Bar & Records
While looking for a place to grab some tapas, we stumbled across this spot. The records for sale in the windows caught our eye and to our surprise, it was actually a great bar – that just happened to sell records. That’s the main reason I wanted to include Loop Bar on here. It was our favorite type of spot where we would prefer to enjoy in any city. It also reminded us a bit of our favorite punk bars back home in Richmond, Virginia. They had records to look at lining the walls, played kickass music and the service was by far the friendliest we experienced in Granada. Down to business… the beers were cheap (about euros each) and in typical Granada fashion, said beers were accompanied by free tapas. At the mercy of the chef, some sort of magical pastry dough roll filled with ground beef and salsa was set before us.
Calle San Martias, 8, 18009 Granada
https://www.facebook.com/Loop.Bar.Records.granada/
#5 Bread and Chocolate
Bread and Chocolate wasn’t a full on restaurant but a small in and out bakery with empanadillas and muffins worth mentioning! Anywhere that nails savory AND sweet bakery items at a good price deserves praise. Their chicken and beef empanadillas were the perfect grab and go item (about 1.50 – 2 euros each) after some drinking and dancing at show we went to just outside of the city. They were open around 11 and – gasp – accepted cards! At certain times and in certain cities, this can be a characteristic of Spanish panderias that’s hard to come by.
Calle Elvira, 7, 18010 Granada
There you have it! Five places to try that won’t break your budget, will actually fill you up and leave you wanting to return the next day. Give them a try and let us know how it was! Have any other favorite cheap and delicious eats in Granada? Comment below with your recommendations!