Berenjenas con miel de cana are crispy fried aubergine batons drizzled with sugar-cane molasses, a Sephardic-Andalusian Granadina classic on every tapas counter.
Where to eat it: 5 restaurants across 1 city.
Berenjenas con miel is a Sephardic dish that survived the 1492 expulsion and became a Granadina classic, where the molasses (miel de cana) comes from sugar-cane mills on the Costa Tropical south of Granada. The dish is canonical at Bodegas Castaneda and the citys tapeo crawl: aubergine sliced thin, dredged in chickpea flour, fried crisp, then drizzled with cana molasses at the bar. Modern variants use honey but the canonical Granadina version uses miel de cana from the Frigiliana sugar mill.
Tip from the editors. Miel de cana keeps in the fridge for months; substitute buckwheat honey if you cannot find the cane molasses.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
Bodegas Castaneda on Calle Almireceros in Granada runs to 00:30, the citys most reliable late tapeo stop with free tapas and house vermut on tap.
Try: Free tapas with vermut
Tip: The tapas rotation slows after 23:00 but does not stop; the kitchen runs until close.
Carmela on Calle Colcha in Granada is a tapas-first Mediterranean kitchen with two terraces near Plaza Nueva, winner of the citys tapas contest in 2012.
Signature: Creative croquetas, Tuna tataki, Berenjenas con miel
Tip: The covered terrace stays open year round with heaters; sit on the open one in May for the best people-watching on Calle Colcha.
Mirador de Morayma in Granada is the Albayzin carmen named for Boabdils wife, with terraced gardens facing the Alhambra and a remojon-bacalao menu.
Tip: Closed Sundays and Mondays; book the carmen terrace not the indoor room from May to October.
Antigua Bodega Castaneda on Calle Elvira in Granada runs to midnight with house vermut on tap and Andalusian raciones, a late-tapeo classic.
Try: Vermut and Andalusian raciones
Tip: Two-stop crawl with Bodegas Castaneda around the corner; this one is heavier on raciones.
Restaurante Sevilla in Granada is the 1930s cathedral-district room where Federico Garcia Lorca and Manuel de Falla used to lunch, still in the family.
Signature: Sopa sevillana, Tortilla del Sacromonte, Cordero a la moruna
Tip: The dining room is tiny and the entrance is barely marked; listen for the guitarist playing de Falla and you will find the door.
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