The Best Sherry Bars In Spain's Sherry Triangle

Dating back to 1925, Tabanco El Pasaje has become more than just a bar; it’s a piece of Jerez culture and tradition, where locals gather to enjoy events such as flamenco dancing, singing, and wine tasting. In this friendly, colorful bar, the famous Bodegas El Maestro Sierra sherry is served straight from the barrel. It also serves excellent tapas dishes, which pair perfectly with its sherries.

Tabanco San Pablo, a lively traditional bar, is lined with old sherry and wine barrels and prides itself on its food just as much as its drink. A family-run business since 1934, the interior seems to have changed little since that time. They claim to serve one of the best tortilla de patatas (Spanish potato omelette) in the province of Cádiz, with the recipe being created and passed down by Doña Mari Carmen Nieves, known as ‘La Nena’ – the third generation of owners. You can even see her fork proudly displayed on the wall, which she has used to make tortillas for 20 years.

A seemingly rough and ready bar, Taberna der Guerrita is hidden on a street corner in Sanlúcar de Barrameda and may not look like much from the outside, but once inside, you’ll find a sophisticated air and one of the widest ranges of sherries available in town. Owned by Armando Guerra, a wine and sherry aficionado, it specializes in manzanilla wines, although it has over 200 varieties of Andalusian wines and sherries from which to choose. Guerra also runs regular wine and sherry tasting events here, which have now become so famous that they’re attended by people from as far as Paris and London.

The oldest bar in El Puerto de Santa Maria, Bodegas Obregón was founded in 1935 by José Luis González Obregón, one of the great experts in sherry wines and brandies in Cádiz. Obregón worked for a number of other companies, learning the trade, before establishing and bottling his own brand of sherries, brandies, and liqueurs. Bodegas Obregón is essentially the storehouse for the business, filled with barrels, boots, bottles, and hogsheads in which the spirits are stored. Decorated with old bullfighting posters, it has the odd barrel table and a few mismatched chairs, but the majority of its patrons just stand around inside or out on the street sipping their glasses of sherry.

More of a restaurant than just a sherry bar, Casa Balbino hails itself as the temple of tortillas camarones, a kind of shrimp fritter typical in the Cádiz region, made from a batter of chickpea flour, onions, and parsley. Sitting on one of the prettiest squares of Sanlúcar de Barrameda, framed by elegant buildings, fountains, and palm trees, this place provides an atmospheric experience both inside and out. They have a big wine and spirits list, but don’t forget to order a glass of the house sherry – manzanilla Solear Barbadillo – a unique award-winning sherry made in Sanlúcar itself.