A guide to Jerez, the perfect city to drink the Sherry and eat the tapas
And fall in love with Flamenco
If there was ever a place to make my home in Spain, it would be Jerez. This tiny city nestled deep in Andalusia is also the epicentre of flamenco. And flamenco does things to me. Weird things like making me cry my little eyes out more than a therapy session ever has.
Alas, Jerez will probably never be home for me because it gets close to 50 degrees during the summer. I’m a pale, blond human whose perfect habitat is more Aberdeen than Andalusia.
Despite this, I still visit at least once a year (always in the cooler months). I once spent a month living above a bustling square in the centre of town. I can tell you, there’s nothing more life-affirming than falling asleep in the afternoon to the hubbub of a Spanish plaza.
Having just spent my 40th birthday in Jerez, I thought it time to write a food and wine guide to the town.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I don’t take these travel guides lightly. I want to know the town before I recommend anything. No one needs another fly-by-night TikTok listicle — or worse, something cobbled together by AI.
This is my 100% human-generated, highly recommended little black book. The places I will always visit. Those that make my little Sherry, tapas and flamenco-obsessed soul very, very happy.
I’ve also included some bonus material at the end including a quick Sherry masterclass. If you’re planning a trip to the Sherry Triangle—the towns of Jerez, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, and El Puerto de Santa María —or even the more famous Cádiz, you’re going to want to know about Sherry.
You won’t be able to get away from it.
The first two recommendations are free for everyone but most of this guide is for the eyes of my wonderful paid subscribers.
As a reminder, $5 a month or $50 a year gets you access to all of The Sauce including recipes, essays on the state of food and drink culture, and these in-depth travel guides.
For this guide, you’ll get:
All the food and wine joints I recommend in Jerez (and one in a nearby town) to ensure your Andalusian odyssey is the best it can possibly be.
That Sherry masterclass, including a guide to the differences in Sherries from each town in the Sherry triangle.
A list of my favourite Sherry bodegas and which of their Sherries I recommend the most. Many of these are available in the US and Europe.
Chicharrones forever — Bar Ragan
I always start a night at Bar Ragan. This is a bar we stumbled into one very boozy January night a number of years ago. It’s scruffy and non-descript but they do an excellent line in chicharrones.
A tip — in southern Spain there are two types of chicharrones. Chicharrones and Chicharrones de Cadiz.
Chicharrones are bite-sized pieces of sliced pork belly with a punchily spiced outer layer. If you see Chicharrones de Cadiz, this is a different beast — cold thinly sliced pork belly.
Ragan specialises in the former. They have a great spot in the town on one of the main pedestrianised streets. Order a caña of beer, a tapa of chicharrones and start your evening right.
The bar that made me bawl — El Pasaje
It’s dancer Carmen’s eyes that do it. She has a way of making you feel like you’re the only one in the room, and she’s looking straight at you with a stare so intense, it makes you feel everything.
She’s made me cry. She’s made my normally stoic husband cry too. The mark of a flamenco dancer who knows what they are doing.
This is El Pasaje, the original — and in my opinion, best — Jerez flamenco bar. In fact I would go so far as to say El Pasaje is my favourite bar in the world, period.
El Pasaje is a tabanco, a Jerezian concept of a combined shop and bar that dispatches Sherry directly from the barrel. Most tabancos in Jerez are linked to specific Sherry bodegas within the town and luckily, El Pasaje is linked to two of the best — El Maestro Sierra and Cayetano del Pino.
There is a tiny stage at the back of the bar where three times a day, a small (and free) flamenco performance happens. You can book a table (with a minimum charge per person redeemable against food and drink) but that’s no fun. Instead, get there 30 minutes early and snag the corner part of the bar — the best place to perch yourself.
The food comes from a tiny (and I mean tiny) kitchen. The chicharrones de Cadiz are a marvel — thinly sliced pork meat and fat sprinkled with an unholy amount of salt and a squeeze of lemon.
I always order the alcachofas con Pedro Ximinez — warmed artichoke hearts drizzled with a sweet Sherry sauce.
Like many towns in Spain, Jerez has a thing for montaditos — small sandwiches filled with classics like cured meat, cheese, or tortilla. El Pasaje’s cured meat montaditos are legendary thanks to their incredible quality of filling (the Chorizo Iberico is my go-to).
To drink, Sherry is poured into shot glasses from €1.80 a pour. They’re small but that means you can have more than one (or two, or three). Considering this is El Maestro Sierra Sherry territory, I would highly recommend you do exactly that.
As for the flamenco, if you’re anything like me, it could make you cry too. And it’s totally and utterly worth it.
Tabancos ahoy!
El Pasaje isn’t the only tabanco in town. Four others are worthy of much of your time.
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