A block away from our rental, this restaurant’s ambiance and food epitomize Andalusian dining. Though miles from the seacoast, this restaurant features seafood, especially the "barca" plate recommended by Rick Steves on his dining list for the Albaicin. My husband and son both agreed with him that the "barca" was good value and relished it; I didn’t enjoy it as I dislike calamari of which it was full. "It" is a huge platter of fried (in olive oil) fish, so huge my husband and son had difficulty finishing their portions. On both occasions that we dined there at mid-day, this restaurant was nearly full, mostly with locals.
The lower dining area in which we seated ourselves was under a rollaway roof that was a sophisticated cousin to the thatched roof over the upper terrace at our rental carmen. Since it rains seldom during much of the year in Andalusia this type of roof often covers dining areas in homes and restaurants in the Albaicin. When it rains any disturbing amount, this restaurant’s waiters direct patrons up the staircase to the left of the entry where there is additional dining space under a regular roof. We did not go upstairs for, on our first afternoon visit, it only sprinkled for about five minutes.
There are two El Ladrillos; the original, smaller one with out-door tables on the cobblestoned Plaza Larga and this one that is just steps away from Salvator church and on the same narrow street as El Zoraya, another restaurant where we saw two dogs resting on the roof. As my husband took the photo, one of the dogs shied away; the other boldly stayed on his precipitous perch. In this upscale "brick" restaurant, the half-tiled walls are extensively decorated with views of the Alhambra and Andalusia. The tiled bar to the right of the entry is similarly blue-tiled and had a couple of customers even at mid-day.
On both occasions, service was prompt and attentive; we had the same young waiter who seemed rather relieved when I ordered in my limited Spanish. On our first visit, I enjoyed an excellent steak with Roquefort sauce, which my husband also chose. Our son opted for conejo (rabbit) with red pepper sauce that he really dug into. We all had flan for dessert. On the second visit, son and hubby had a cold asparagus appetizer and I had my favorite gazpacho. On both occasions they had a carafe of house wine and I had my usual lemon soda. IVA (tax) was 7% and the bill for both visits averaged 26-27 euros, very reasonable indeed.