From the streets of Jijona
In the 1920s, brothers Antonio and Enrique left Jijona — the Alicante village that more or less invented Spanish nougat — and came to Córdoba with handmade ice creams packed in cork jars. No refrigeration, no premises, just the street. In 1935 they opened a permanent shop at the foot of the Palacio de Colomera, on Plaza de las Tendillas. It was the first dedicated ice cream parlour the city had seen.
Four generations on
The original proportions have survived. Antonio's grandchildren still make the same ice creams using the same methods — the equipment has modernised, the recipes have not.
The Copa Cordobesa
The house signature is leche merengada ice cream with walnuts and cinnamon. Meringued milk is lighter than whipped cream, with a clean, slightly floral flavour that tastes specifically like summer here. The helado de turrón keeps the Jijonese connection alive — creamy, with honest notes of honey and almond. The mantecado — a lard-enriched ice cream — has a particular softness and a gentle sweetness that sits apart from any modern equivalent. The crocanti is the textural contrast to the rest: toasted almonds folded into a caramel base, with a satisfying crunch on every spoonful. Order the Copa Cordobesa to taste the house in a single bowl: leche merengada at the base, a scoop of turrón on top, finished with crushed walnuts and a dusting of cinnamon.
On the terrace
Sat on the shaded terrace at Las Tendillas, you watch Córdoban life go past rather than chasing it. The square is the beating heart of the Centro neighbourhood, and from this terrace the rhythm of the city — school runs, market days, evening paseo — plays out in front of you. Families arrive on Sunday after church, teenagers appear in the evenings. In summer the place stays open until midnight, which makes it the city's unofficial late-night rendezvous — a role it has held for nearly ninety years. Arrive mid-afternoon on weekdays for the shortest wait.
Flor de Levante appears in our Best Traditional Restaurants in Córdoba and the Top 10 Restaurants in Córdoba guides.
