El Jardín del Califa

Top choice in Vejer de la Frontera


Sizzling atmosphere and flawless cooking combine at this beautiful restaurant hidden within a cavernous 16th-century, Moorish-origin house where even finding the bathroom is a full-on adventure; it's also a fabulous hotel and tetería. The seasonal, local produce Moroccan–Middle Eastern menu – tagines, couscous, hummus, falafel – is crammed with Maghreb flavours (saffron, figs, almonds). Book ahead, for the palm-sprinkled garden or the moody interior.

On Plaza de España, Califa Exprés offers a taster, while nearby Califa Tapas serves sherries and tapas amid 1930s-inspired decor.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Vejer de la Frontera attractions

1. Plaza de España

0.02 MILES

With its elaborate 20th-century, Seville-tiled fountain and perfectly white town hall, Vejer's palm-studded, cafe-filled Plaza de España is a favourite…

2. Casa del Mayorazgo

0.03 MILES

If the door’s open, pop into this private 18th-century house to find two stunning flower-filled patios (home to 450 potted plants!) and one of just three…

3. Walls

0.03 MILES

Enclosing the 40,000-sq-metre old town, Vejer’s imposing 15th-century walls are particularly visible between the Arco de la Puerta Cerrada (of 11th- or…

4. Castillo

0.1 MILES

Vejer's much-reworked castle, once home of the Duques de Medina Sidonia, dates from the 10th or 11th century. You can wander through the Moorish entrance…

5. Iglesia de la Concepción

0.11 MILES

This 16th-century Renaissance church houses Vejer's Museo de Costumbres y Tradiciones, with displays highlighting local history and culture, including a…

6. Iglesia del Divino Salvador

0.11 MILES

Built atop an earlier mosque, this unusual church is 14th-century Mudéjar at the altar end and 16th-century Gothic at the other. In the late afternoon the…

7. Estatua de la Cobijada

0.13 MILES

Just below the castle is a lookout guarded by this statue of a woman dressed in Vejer's cloak-like, all-black traditional dress, the cobijada, which…

8. Museo de Vejer

0.15 MILES

Housed in a 17th- to 18th-century mansion, Vejer's museum has a small, impressive history and archaeology collection, running from the area's early…