Where to eat

It's time to tackle one of the key issues for this guide: where can you eat well on your trip?

Well, numerous bars and restaurants have sprung up in the old quarters of Úbeda, Baeza and Cazorla, often with dodgily-written English menus, but ubedabaezaguide.com is going to concentrate on where the locals go. This often involves taking a short stroll into the New Town, but your taste buds will thank you for it. What's more, you'll be made to feel less of a tourist.

Let's start with a breakfast bar before moving on to tapas. You can get breakfast at pretty much any bar, but some of the best toast, olive oil and freshly squeezed orange juice can be found at La Taberna de Don Juan in Úbeda, just off the Plaza de Andalucía up Calle Don Juan. It's not to everyone's taste - smoky and without tables, as people eat perched on stools at the bar, but it fills up with locals every morning.

As for tapas bars, my personal favourite in Úbeda is El Pasaje. The place isn't much to look out from the outside, but the food's great, the beer cold and service excellent and friendly. As its name indicates, El Pasaje is located in a (pedestrian) passageway leading from Calle Victoria to the Parque de Vandelvira. Once you get close, just ask, as everyone knows where it is. So, why is it popular? The tapas are fresh, varied and home-cooked, prepared with excellent olive oil, while the raciones also follow the same idea (I love their flamenquín, a tube-like cordon-bleu). All of them are served with crusty pan de la sierra - bread from the mountains - rubbed with fresh tomatoes and olive oil.

As mentioned elsewhere in this guide, bars compete to make the best caracoles when they're in season. There are so many bars doing caracoles and none of them are bad. All my friends have their own personal favourites according to taste.

Let's finish off by moving up market and looking at a few bars and restaurants that specialize in taking traditional tapas/dishes and adding a touch of modernity.

• La Cantina de la Estación in Úbeda, Calle Cruz de Hierro, has a great range of olive oils to try, modern tapas and a decent wine list that ventures beyond Rioja and Ribera de Duero
• Taberna El Pájaro in Baeza, Calle Portales Tundidores, with a varied selection of wines and local meats at the bar or in the restaurant
• Restaurante El Zaguán in Úbeda, Calle Emilio Sánchez Plaza, right next door to a children's playground (useful if travelling with kids). I've only tried raciones in their bar area, but the berenjenas fritas (fried aubergines) were the best I've ever had, lovely and crispy
• Restaurante Paquito Díaz in Baeza, Calle Enrique Moreno, in a posh 19th Century mansión
• Restaurante Antique in Úbeda, Calle Real
• Hotel restaurants such as the Úbeda Parador and Puerta de la Luna or Juanito, both in Baeza