Minotauro, Bella y la Bestia, and La Antigualla

These three tapas bars are actually six bars, as each has two branches in the neighborhood of Plaza Nueva. These bars determine the tapa by how many rounds you’ve had, and, I imagine, unless you specifically request to be served a vegetarian tapa (in which case you’ll probably be served a wedge or cube of tortilla), you have little say in the matter of what you’ll be getting. All can get fairly crowded, but seating can be found (at the bars with seating) by showing up a hair before the heavier-traffic hours of two and eight.

Minotauro is located a block off of Plaza Nueva on a street that connects directly to the plaza. The second Minotauro, which opened within the past year, is located on the Carrera del Darro (which, for part of the street is the Paseo de los Tristes, and for another part has a different name altogether but people seem to call the whole thing the Paseo de los Tristes), which runs from Plaza Nueva to the Cuesta del Chapiz. The newer Minotauro has more seating than the first, and, in a city that lacks cafés where you can sit for hours and get work done, is an alright place to spend an hour or so reading in the dead hours of the hot afternoon between lunchtime and dinner. The décor at the first Minotauro consists largely of napkin drawings of minotaurs made by, presumably, previous patrons. Both have standing room, as well as bar seating and table seating.

Antigualla I and II are both located on Calle Elvira; Antigualla 1 is the first bar on your right as you leave Plaza Nueva, and Antigualla II is just two or three short blocks beyond it. Antigualla I has no seating, and Antigualla II has very little, and both have dark wood trim and an affinity for heraldry and suits of armor. Antigualla II has a television screen usually set to the world’s campiest music videos.

One branch of Bella y la Bestia is located right off of Calle Elvira (the entrance isn’t directly on Calle Elvira, but is catycorner to the entrance to Antigualla II) and the other is on the Carrera del Darro. Both branches have seating, and the kitchens don’t close between opening and closing. Their décor is inoffensive and completely unmemorable; a wine barrel table or two may or may not be involved.

They’re all, as bars, cut from the same cloth: the prices (current as of July 2008) range from 1.80† for a tubo of beer or a tinto de verano at both Minotauros, to 2† for the same at both the Antiguallas and Bella y La Bestia. The tapas are also pretty similar: at all of these establishments, what you usually get is a small, bagel-shaped roll (that is by no means a bagel) with a bit of stuff between it, accompanied by potato chips and olives at Minotauro, by french fries at Antigualla, and by french fries and a pasta salad at Bella y la Bestia. At all of these establishments, first rounds are usually a grilled lomo sandwich, and seconds and thirds vary between sausage, cold cuts, burgers, and tortillas. I don’t have the stamina to know what fourth and fifth round tapas at any of these places could possibly be, but my guess is more of the same. Most Spaniards don’t stay put at one bar long enough to find out, though, even if they are having more than three rounds.

All are decent, but none are my absolute favorite: in their favor, however, they are centrally located near Plaza Nueva, serve tapas until later than the midnight at which the kitchen closes at other establishments, and they are all close enough to each other to take groups of friends from one to the other. The sizes of the tapas are reasonable and are neither the smallest nor the largest in Granada: La Bella y la Bestia off of Elvira is an occasional exception, though, since their tactic seems to be to fill any remaining space on your (large) plate with fries and salad. If you go there alone, or with just one other person, the plate space that would have otherwise been occupied by other people’s little sandwiches is filled and your tapa ends up being quite big. If you’re with a crowd, though, at Bella y la Bestia, as well as at the others, instead of getting a handful of chips or fries per person, you get just a couple.

If what you’re after is haute cuisine, a particularly cool atmosphere, or an extensive selection of wines, these aren’t the bars for you. If, however, you’re with friends and just ant to relax for a bit, grab a couple of beers, and have decently-sized tapas, you may just end up at one or several of these Plaza Nueva-area bars.