The modern grid west of the old town, low-rise and shaded, where Choco has kept a Michelin star on a residential street with no tourist footfall at all.
Astoria Casa Matías cooks spoon stews, dehesa meat and seasonal vegetables in Córdoba, well away from the Mezquita crowds on Calle el Nogal.
Signature: Salmorejo, Flamenquín, Rabo de toro, Berenjenas con miel
Order: Whichever guiso de cuchara is on; the stews are the reason locals drive here.
Tip: Only Wednesday to Saturday runs past 18:30, so plan a dinner here midweek at your peril.
Terra Olea is chef Paco Villar's tasting-menu room in northwest Córdoba, three seasonal menus, Flos to Terra Olea, reading the province through its larder.
Signature: Flos menu, Cibarium menu, Terra Olea menu
Order: Cibarium, the middle menu, is the sensible first visit before committing to the full Terra Olea.
Tip: Sole Torres runs the dining room; dinner is Friday and Saturday only, so any other day means the 14:00 lunch seating.
Choco is Kisko García's Michelin-starred dining room in Córdoba, a thirty-cover kitchen on a residential Poniente street that shuts for all of August.
Signature: Author menu of Córdoba produce
Order: The full author menu; the kitchen is built around it.
Tip: Lunch service runs only from 13:30 to 15:00, so a late arrival loses the table entirely.
Pastelería Savoy has worked in Córdoba since 1969, founded by a third-generation pastry chef and still turning out the classic pastel cordobés.
Order: The pastel cordobés, hojaldre and cabello de ángel, nothing else needed.
Tip: Production moved to a Lope de Rueda obrador in 1982; Maestro Priego López is the shop you want.
Worth the queue: Pastel cordobés
David Ruano bakes long-fermentation sourdough in Córdoba with no additives, holding two stars from the Ruta Española del Buen Pan for the work.
Order: A telera, or whichever designer loaf is baked for the restaurants that day.
Tip: There is no seating at all, so buy the bread and eat it somewhere else.
Worth the queue: Telera cordobesa
Mercado de Ciudad Jardín is a working neighbourhood market in Córdoba, twelve businesses filling thirty of its thirty-nine pitches and no tourists at all.
Order: Charcuterie from Hermanos Santiago, or whatever Casa Manolo has behind the counter.
Tip: It shuts at 14:00 six days a week, so this is a morning errand rather than a lunch plan.
Mercado Huerta de la Reina is a compact market hall on Calle Luis Ponce de León, four working businesses covering fruit, fish and a butcher's block.
Order: Morning fruit from one of the two fruteros; stock moves fast in a hall this small.
Tip: Twelve pitches, four traders: come before 13:00 or the fishmonger will have sold through the day's ice.
Astoria Casa Matías keeps its kitchen going to 01:00 from Wednesday to Saturday in Córdoba, spoon stews and dehesa meat long after the centre has closed.
Try: Guisos de cuchara, dehesa meat
Order: Whichever guiso de cuchara is left on the board at midnight.
Tip: Monday, Tuesday and Sunday it stops at 18:30, so the late window is Wednesday to Saturday.
Sala Hangar works as both concert room and night club in Córdoba, a 300-capacity space on Avenida de la Libertad with a large outdoor terrace.
Tip: Programming-led, so check the listings before travelling out; there are no standing opening hours.
Sala Hangar is Córdoba's main pop and rock room, holding 300 on Avenida de la Libertad and listed as an active ticketing venue across the season.
Tip: Doors and set times move with each gig, so buy from the listing rather than turning up.