Andalusian Spanish tour: Teteria Petra 5/5 restaurant in Cordoba

You might initially think that a trip to Spain’s Andalusia will include plenty of eateries offering Halal Spanish cuisine, but you’d be mistaken.

The surprising truth is that most Halal restaurants in, for instance, Cordoba and al-Hambra are, in fact, Moroccan.

It might surprise you to learn that we could not find a single authentic Spanish restaurant that’s Halal during our entire tour.

Let us also dispel any assumptions you might harbour of readily finding high-end restaurants serving refined food.

To the contrary, the Moroccan-oriented places in Andalusia are quite traditional, both in terms of their aesthetics and cuisine.

Teteria Petra in Cordoba is rare as a fully Halal restaurant

Don’t let first impressions lead you to believe that Teteria Petra in Cordoba is merely a tea shop (Teteria means ‘Tea Shop’); it’s actually more than that, far more.

Believe it or not, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a restaurant that serves a fully Halal food menu, but doesn’t offer alcohol.

As such, Teteria Petra is not just fully Halal, but also a bona fide Moroccan restaurant which, while tucked away around the corner of an alleyway, is sign-posted from the main street of Calleja de la Hoguera.

With both indoor seating, as well as an outdoor garden space, the interior really sets the scene and ambiance with its authentic Moroccan décor.

Zumo (Mint juice), €3.50

They definitely grow their mint in this part of the world different; makes ours here in the UK seem insipid in comparison. That’s probably the reason why this Zumo was so good.

Full of that minty goodness being offset by the addition of the lemon juice, with the bits of blended mint to chew on towards the end, this was a large refreshing glass of goodness.

Hummus with bread, €6.90

If silk could have a taste, it would be this bowl of smooth, freshly-made hummus, made better by high quality olive oil, earthy olives, and a pair of large, warm bread. This could have passed for a main.

Veal Tagine, €12.90

The lifting of the lid to this Veal Tagine was enough for us to know that this was going to be a winner.

And so it turned out, with the insane, lightly spiced depth of the sauce driven by the premium quality of the veal beef, whose gamey flavour was beautifully complemented by the sweetness of the large, soft prunes.

Whenever you have a tagine cooked in a traditional pot, the meat invariably turns out tender. Here it was dreamily soft, and covered in plenty of the gravy too.

Lamb Couscous, €13.90

Virtually faultless in every way possible this Lamb Couscous! An unbelievable dish whose perfectly-seasoned, succulent lamb – entirely smothered in sweet, semi-caramelised onions and a rich gravy sauce – rested atop plenty of quality couscous.

Chicken Couscous, €11.90

Describing this Chicken Couscous as the weakest of the three mains would be a disservice, because, relatively speaking, this was probably better than any other chicken couscous we’ve ever had.

Everything was on point, with the juices of an utterly moist chicken – again topped by that delicious, sweet and spicy soft onions – being absorbed by the couscous.

Taking into consideration how big the portion size is here (in fact, for all three tagines), this was a bargain at €11.90.

Assortment of homemade baklava, €1.90 each

The difference between homemade baklava and your standard factory variety is simply chalk and cheese.

Moroccan Mint Tea, €5.50

And though you might think, “What! €1.90 each?!” that’s the price you pay for the effort required in producing such a wonderful selection.

If you’re not convinced, then you might also want to take into consideration that homemade baklava are not widely available in Cordoba.

In any case, the reward for the cost of such desserts? Light, addictively crispy and crumbly, not overly sweet, and worth every penny.

And with desserts this good, it would be a crime to be in such an outstanding Moroccan restaurant and not order a fragrant pot of traditional Moroccan mint tea.