Devour Food Tours Review: Seville Tapas, Taverns & History Tour

If there’s one thing we always recommend when visiting a new destination, its joining a local food tour. It’s the next best thing to having a friend show you around their home city, providing you with local knowledge of the best things to eat along with cultural and historical information. 

We had the opportunity to visit the beautiful city of Seville, Spain and though we couldn’t stay for long, we made it a priority to join a food tour from Devour Food Tours.

About Devour Food Tours

Devour Food Tours “connect curious travelers with local food and people in a way that helps culture thrive.” 

The company started in Madrid where founder, Lauren Aloise, was looking for a way to help the local economy during the global recession. What started with a couple of small tours in that one city has now grown to 17 cities in 8 countries.

Most of the offerings are in Spain and Italy, but they also are available in France, Portugal, the UK, Ireland, and the Netherlands. They have a few US locations like Boston and New York City. 

Each city offers a different variety of tours and availability so make sure to look through all the offerings to find the one that best matches your interests and schedule. Note the site also shows you options for non-food experiences through the sister company, Walks Tours, as well. 

We promise to connect you with a city’s rich history and culture through its food. By supporting family-run businesses and sharing the stories behind each dish, we’ll guide you on an unforgettable journey that blends flavor, tradition, and discovery.                 – Pledge from Devour Tours (source: Devour Tours website)

We really like what this company is all about and were excited for our first experience with them. Did our experience match their pledge? Did we enjoy the food tour? Would we recommend it?

Here’s our full review…

Disclosure: We received a complimentary tour so that we could review the experience honestly. All opinions are our own.
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Tour Details for Seville Tapas, Taverns & History Tour

Distance: We walked about 1.5 miles, broken up with several stops. Seville is flat and easy to walk, and it did not feel like we were covering a large distance. 

Time: 3.5 hours. Our guide was upfront with us that the amount of time on this tour can depend on several variables, mainly on how busy the restaurants are. We visited during the “low season” so every stop was able to bring out the food and drinks to our group pretty quickly. He noted that during the high season, it can take longer.  

Food: All-inclusive price covered 4 stops for food and drink (several alcohol tastings) along the way. Our stomachs were well satisfied, but not overly stuffed, at the end.

One of the guests was underage and had other beverage options. Another was vegetarian and was well accommodated, though the meat options are definitely highlighted on this tour. It was also a bread-heavy experience and gluten-free options are not always possible.

This tour (like many food tours) may not be a good fit if you have dietary restrictions.

Who it’s for: Foodies and travelers that enjoy learning via eating and story telling. This is also an active tour that involves some walking so we don’t recommend it for anyone with significant physical mobility needs.

Participants should come hungry and curious!

What we loved: The food tour truly highlighted local, family-owned businesses that have stood the test of time. It focused specifically on the Tapas culture of Seville, which was really interesting.

The stops and information were thoughtfully curated and the food was great. Overall a great experience.

Before the First Stop: Some Important Instructions

Our tour began promptly at 6:30pm meeting Alex our guide. Alex introduced himself as a local from the area, passionate about food and history. He was warm and welcoming and did a great job coordinating with each restaurant and answering all of our questions. 

One of the best things Alex did at the beginning was have the group introduce themselves and explain what we could expect for the tour. We had a total group size of 10 (the max number for the tour), and we were alerted that we would sometimes be in tight quarters or have standing-room-only at the bars, which was true. 

Tapas, as Alex explained, was an important cultural experience. Unlike in the US where we go to one restaurant to eat tapas, the authentic experience in Seville is to having a drink and a bite to eat at one place and then continue to the next.

The other thing we liked learning about tapas culture was that, though the food and drink are good, the purpose is really for socializing. People in the city love to be out and about, connecting with others after work.

We gained a real appreciation for tapas culture on this experience.

Seville Tapas Food Tour Stops

Every stop of the tour supported Devour’s mission of connecting with local, family owned and operated establishments.

The first stop was a business that had gone back many generations as the oldest bar in the Jewish neighborhood. The placed oozed history from the moment you stepped inside.

The walls were covered in memerobilia and Iberico ham. Along with the lighting, it almost felt like you were in a old movie or stepping back through time. 

At this stop Alex introduced us to two appetizers. A humble-yet-unique potato salad and a more well-known ingredient found throughout all of Spain: the world famous Ibirico ham.

We also had a our first local drink, a Vermouth which was unlike any thing we’ve had before. Here Alex shared a little bit about the history of Seville, the importance of olive oil, what makes Iberico ham special (and how to identify the best quality). 

All of the stops were unassuming and didn’t feel touristy. In fact, many of these places I might have walked by and totally missed them. The next stop was like that.

Tucked in between a row of busy restaurants and cafes was a place that could only fit our group of 10. At this stop, Alex introduced us to the orange wine special to this region along with bites of Manchego cheese and chicharron (pork).

We also learned why pork became the main ingredient in so many Spanish dishes, as Alex told the story of three key periods in Spanish history. We always enjoy learning about history and food and how closely tied they are to each other.

As you may or may not know, dinner in Spain typically starts late. We were headed to our third stop and Alex pointed out that the place was just opening (8pm). Had we arrived later, it would be even busier.

Once again, we were transported back in time. Until the 90s, this place only sold wine, evidenced by the HUGE vessels around the room.

Here we got to taste an unusual but locally-popular wine, along with two bites meant to be paired with the drink: a taste of sobrasada and bacalao (cod). 

The final stop was dinner, and by this point we were starting to feel full. We also felt we didn’t need more alcohol, though two more rounds of drinks were offered at this final stop.

The dinner was family-style in which we tasted four different dishes.

We had a table in the back and enjoyed bites of pork cheek, adobo fried shark (yes!), spinach and chickpeas, and pringa – a type of local sandwich with stewed meat.

By the time we finished, we definitely felt full. Actually, we felt that this tour did a fantastic job regarding portions. It never felt too much nor too little. Just right!

After the final meal, Alex walked us all to the cathedral where he concluded the tour and the group parted ways.

We held back some specifics in this review to avoid “spoilers” and protect what makes this experience special. We hope it’s enough for you to know what to expect.

Book your Seville Tapas, Taverns & History Tour here >

Final Thoughts: Devour Food Tours and Seville Tapas

This was our first food tour with Devour Tours and overall we were really impressed.

We felt the experience lived up to their mission and pledge. We love their focus on local, historical businesses. We enjoyed trying new foods and visiting places that we would never have found on our own.

Were all of the things we tried things we would order again? No. But we enjoyed just trying new things and learning about the historical connection to the city and culture. 

There was some room for improvement in Devour’s communication with guests. It was mostly helpful and clear, with these small exceptions:
– We received a “How was your tour?” email the morning before our tour started.
– The tour description listed “finish with a traditional Spanish dessert” which was not offered to our group.

Otherwise, we felt we knew what to expect and had no unpleasant surprises. Alex was a great, knowledgable guide who made the experience a pleasure. And we had the opportunity to download a list of the locations visited during the tour and were emailed about other recommended things to do in Seville.

Pro tips for food tours:

• Try not to eat much ahead of the tour (if at all): The goal of most food tours is to leave you feeling full and satisfied, so avoid eating a heavy meal before the tour.
• Pace yourself: With tapas, the portions are not huge so pacing happened naturally with the food on this tour. At the end there was a family-style meal so you could fill up as much or as little as you wanted. Pacing on the alcohol was perhaps more critical on this particular tour, as we had generous samples of local drinks at each stop.
• Communicate with your guide: If the guide has not already ordered at a particular stop, feel free to communicate what you like, don’t like, and how much of something you can eat/drink to help avoid waste. 

Overall, we were really happy with this food tour and recommend them to our fellow travelers.

Read our other food tour reviews here: Lisbon, Porto, and Istanbul 

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