The bar that fries better than anyone
Calle Navas, Granada's main tapas street, has changed considerably since 1942. Los Diamantes has not. The original location still fries anchovies, shrimp, calamari, and cazón (dogfish) the same way it always has: lightly floured, high-heat oil, served immediately. Grease is absent. Freshness is not optional.
The setup is honest and loud. You stand at the bar or crowd around small high tables, plates arrive fast, and the waiters navigate the chaos with the calm of people who have done this ten thousand times. Seven branches now operate across Granada, but the Navas original is where the atmosphere is genuine.
What to order
The boquerones fritos (fried anchovies) are the signature. Crispy from the oil, almost sweet inside, and gone before you have finished wondering why anchovies elsewhere taste so different. Order the grilled calamari alongside them, and ask what came in that morning from the coast. The kitchen's willingness to tell you is itself a good sign.
Every drink brings a free tapa. A caña (small draught beer) or a glass of fino sherry earns you a small plate of whatever is rotating through the kitchen — often seafood, sometimes jamón, always something. Order three or four rounds and you have eaten a proper light lunch for under €15.
When and how to go
The bar fills fast at 13:00 and again at 20:30. Arrive at 12:15 or 19:45 for a fraction of the crowd and first pick of the day's catch. The standing format is not a compromise — it is the point. Los Diamantes is a station, not a destination. Ten minutes on your feet with good fried fish is Granada street food done correctly.
