On Saturday evening we set out to find a recommended tapas bar in the town. We wandered past the place at about 8.30pm but, as is the way in Spain, it was virtually empty so we walked further with the intent ion to return when there was a bit more ‘atmosphere’. When we got to the end of the street we could hear rock music and there was an illuminated sign saying ‘Street Food’ so we had to go and see. It’s a very basic open air area with dirt floor and a number of stalls selling different foods. There was a guitar duo playing a mix of Spanish and English/US rock music and they were really quite good (not often you hear a live version of Proud Mary, originally by Creadance Clearwater Revival these days!)
The atmosphere was great with lots of families, children running about and groups of youngsters and those a bit older (like us of course). You have to change Euros into their tokens to buy anything but the prices were reasonable and the food we had was good. We started with mixed fried fish and a couple of beers intending to go back to the original bar but soon got into the mood of the place and ended up staying and adding potatoes slices with ‘green sauce’ (we don’t know what it was but it tasted good) and then a burger each to the menu. There is also a bar selling wine so a few glasses of Rioja helped wash down the meal.
We ended up chatting to a Spanish couple Belen and Juanjof from Madrid who were in the area as they have a holiday place in La Manga. They had also wandered in by chance and were enjoying the ambiance. Their English was good enough for a conversation and overall we had a very pleasant evening. Belen was a bit nervous of sailing so we invited them aboard Splice the next day to show them life on a larger boat.
We have seen mixed reviews for the ‘Street Food’ place subsequently but we enjoyed it and thought it good value. It may not be open all the time and it’s probably better on a holiday weekend evening as it was when we were there and the music certainly helped. If you want to find it, walk up the main pedestrian street in Cartagena until you see the ‘Naval Palace’ on your left, turn right here, walk past the Roman Forum on your left and keep going to the end of the street.
Belen and Juanjof came the next day for a pre-lunch aperitif bringing a nice bottle of rioja and some traditional Spanish type pasties. We had another hour or so of fun conversation punctuated by reference to Google translate. Still not sure we convinced Belen to take up a life at sea!

Photo: Our plate of mixed fried fish E3.00 at Street Food