La Taberna Lomo en Manteca – a great new bar in Vejer.

Vejer just stole my heart (again!), and this time, it’s all thanks to a new tapas bar called Lomo en Manteca.

Recently I’ve hung my head in despair when witnessing changes in Vejer de la Frontera such as people installing electronic steel blinds & using marble in place of our traditional toscos (bricks). Such things belong in places like Ibiza. Not in our beautiful traditional pueblo blanco.

Then along comes Juan Melero, his sister Ana & local gastro expert, Benjamin Colsa, storing my faith, with their vision of a tapas bar showcasing the traditional food of Vejer. La Taberna del Lomo en Manteca (opened March 2024) not only respects the traditions of Vejer, but amplifies them with tremendous charm. Juan & Ana have always been a visionaries. As ice cream entrepreneurs of El Mastrén ice cream shops, Juan & Ana created the delicious Cobichocs – choc-ices on stix in the image of a woman wearing the cobijada – the historic local dress of Vejer.

Lomo en Manteca is the most revered of all of Vejer’s traditional dishes. It’s basically pork loin cooked and then preserved in pork fat. Much loved by all who know it. What is Lomo en Manteca?  Read here to find out

To appreciate how special this tapas bar is, you need to understand the local culture of pork preservation, something I knew absolutely nothing about before I arrived here. Or you just sit at the bar and work your way through the reasonably priced  ‘charcuteria’ menu – all of which are pork. One of the best culinary educations in town! Everything is ‘0’ kms and beautifully presented on paper-lined tablas/boards.

Don’t be fooled by the fridges, they are very cleverly alarmed

The main reasons I love this bar:

• They are supplied by not just one, but by all the tremendous local butchers we have in and around Vejer.
• It offers Gutierrez Colosia Fino by the glass or by the bottle. Yes please!
• I don’t have to get in the car to enjoy a tapa of Chicharrón de Corte (see photo above with the lemon wedge) & a copa of Gutierrez Colosia Fino
• Their bodega of Amontillado, Oloroso, Cream & Vermut is from the fabulous Bodegas Baron in Sanlucar.
• They offer great local cheese
• Great tostadas & montaditos (little sandwiches). I can recommend the chicharron & payoyo cheese one. Served warm. YUM
• There’s preserved tuna too for any non-meat eater
• It’s a mini deli, you can take away wine, jars of dips, cans of tuna and all the preserved pork