*Last updated October 2026*
Dan and I spent New Year’s Eve 2025/2026 in Seville, Spain. We arrived on December 28, and stayed until January 1. You can see everything we did in our 4-night New Year’s Eve in Seville itinerary. Seville is an excellent destination to ring in the New Year. The entire city’s vibes are high, and there is a lot going on during this holiday period, which extends to January 6 in Spain. The city is decorated beautifully and, while it’s a holiday period with many on vacation, most tourist attractions and restaurants remain open (except on January 1 and 6).
Seville was not our first New Year’s Eve abroad. We also celebrated Hogmanay in Scotland; see our guide on how to celebrate Hogmanay in Edinburgh and our review of New Year’s dinner at Cannonball Restaurant.
Seville on New Year’s Eve. This was at 6:00 p.m. on our hotel rooftop.
New Year’s Eve in Seville
The big tradition on New Year’s Eve in Seville (and Spain, generally) is “Las Doce Uvas de la Suerte”, which translates to the 12 grapes of luck. Practically, this tradition consists of attempting to eat one grape for each of the 12 clock chimes at midnight on New Year’s Eve, for a total of 12 grapes in a very short time period. It’s nearly impossible to do, LOL.
Aside from this tradition, many locals celebrate at home or in the city streets, which are full of people on New Year’s Eve. While sounding very fun, as we knew no one in Seville, we wanted to do something a bit more formal that included both dinner and drinks, so that we could guarantee a fun New Year’s Eve. We identified a few options, including a big celebration at Hotel Alfonso XIII, and ultimately opted for a “gala dinner” at restaurant Abades Triana.
Seville, Spain on New Year’s Eve.
Abades Triana
Abades Triana in Seville.
Abades Triana is an upscale restaurant on the bank of the Calle Betis, overlooking the Guadalquivir and the Torre del Oro. It has a lovely outdoor area overlooking the river, but it was not open on New Year’s (maybe due to weather). Its head chef is Elías del Toro. Abades specializes in upscale Andalusian cuisine in the tasting menu style, although it also offers an à la carte menu. For the last several years, Abades Triana has offered a gala dinner and party for New Year’s Eve, as well as a similar Christmas option. We chose Abades as it seemed less touristy than the celebration at Hotel Alfonso XIII, and the restaurant generally looked decent.
Booking New Year’s Eve Dinner at Abades Triana
To book the NYE Gala Dinner, I emailed Abades in mid-December 2025 to make a reservation for me and Dan, per its website’s directions. And yes, this was later than I would have liked. I was crazy busy in the Maldives and with a last-minute trip to the Christmas Markets.
Abades responded quickly, provided the cost, and took down allergy information, all in English. It sent me a link to pre-pay a few days in advance of NYE, which I did. The cost in 2025/2026 was 250 euros per person, which included all food and drink from 8:30 p.m. to 3:00 a.m.. A sample menu and information for 2026/2027 was just released on September 28 on Abades Triana’s website. It seems to be a very similar experience to that in 2025/2026, but the sample menu has changed.
Arrival at Abades
For New Year’s Eve, arrival time to Abades is 8:30 p.m.. We walked from our hotel to Abades, arriving right around 8:30 p.m.. Upon arrival, there was a small line that moved quickly. We checked our coats at the required coat check in the restaurant’s basement, and then entered the restaurant. We gave our names and were shown to assigned seats, and were presented with the Welcome Cocktail. This process was quick and well organized. I felt comfortable leaving my coat with the coat check, and had no issues picking it up at the end of the evening.
The welcome drink was a “Berry Aperol,” which was essentially a winter Aperol Spritz. It was tasty, but really just tasted like an Aperol Spritz.
A Berry Aperol.
Seating on NYE at Abades
Once inside Abades, we were seated at a round table of 12 made up entirely of foreigners speaking English fluently.
And in terms of our table, there were options when booking; we selected the base option, which was just an interior table with others who spoke English. In 2025/2026, there was an option to have a private table for just the two of us for a higher price, and there was also an option of a window seat, also for a higher price. These appear to be options again this year, although worded slightly differently. For example, the 2026 website lists a package of a private table with a window view as the “Titanium” upgrade, upgraded wine and champagne as the “Platinum” upgrade, and the Gold upgrade with both options.
We went with the base option, because we wanted to socialize and felt that the price difference for a private or window table was simply too high. We were happy that we went with the less expensive option in terms of sharing a table and sitting inside the restaurant (not a window table).
And with regard to the language, when booking the reservation, Abades requested our home country and our languages. The restaurant seated people according to this to ensure that guests could easily communicate with others at the table. We sat next to another American couple from California and a group from the UK at a table in the middle of the restaurant. Everyone at the table was nice and social, and we had a very fun time.
The tables at Abades.
The Attire for NYE
The attire at Abades for NYE is “cocktail.” I wore a short dress with feathers, and Dan wore a red blazer, khakis, and tie (the red blazer in the above picture). Our attire was right in the middle of what other diners wore; some people dressed slightly more casual, while others dressed more formally, including long dresses and black suits or even a tuxedo. The gala was a mix of foreigners and locals, with locals (or at least Spanish) making up about 50% of the crowd. The Spaniards seemed to dress up more than others.
My outfit for NYE at Abades Triana.
The Menu at the Abades NYE Gala Dinner
As promised online, the menu consisted of five courses. I found it to be seafood heavy. For a large prix fixe meal on NYE, the food was quite good. Each course was paired with a wine, and you could certainly have seconds of the wine but you generally had to ask. Dan has an allergy, and Abades was very good about taking his allergy into account and bringing substitutes when necessary. There was more than enough food to fill up for dinner.
The NYE Menu.
The Food at Abades NYE Gala
As I mentioned, the food was pretty good, especially for a large scale prix fixe meal. My favorite bite was actually this starter plate of Jamón Ibérico in olive oil that Dan was served as a substitute because of his allergy. It was tasty.
Jamón Ibérico for Dan.
Foie Gras, smoked consommé, green apple, and black truffle.
Roasted turbot with pil-pil sauce and oyster and scarlet prawn tartare.
Chateaubriand.
A very tasty dessert consisting of chocolate, orange blossom, orange, rum, and nougat.
The Drinks at Abades NYE Gala
As mentioned, each course was paired with a particular Spanish wine (except the dessert, which arrived with French Champagne). I found the wine to be good quality. You could have seconds of wine, but there was not really enough time to drink more than one glass per course. For dessert, NYE, and about an hour after midnight, Abades served unlimited Moët & Chandon Brut Impérial champagne. This was a really nice touch, and a surprise.
A white wine and some sherry.
The red wine.
New Year’s Eve and the Grapes
About 20 minutes before midnight, guests were each served 12 grapes and a fresh glass of Champagne. Everyone got into the spirit, and most people at least attempted to eat all 12 in the 60 seconds predating midnight. I failed miserably; Dan almost made it!
New Year’s Eve Grapes in Seville!
The After Party at Abades
After midnight, Abades stayed open with an open bar until 3:00 a.m.. The open bar was seemingly top shelf, with everything behind the bar an option. The crowd got into the dancing, and the DJ generally played songs that most anyone would know (such as “Sarà perché ti amo”). We only stayed until about 1:30 a.m., but the party was going strong when we left!
Would I Do The Abades Gala Again?
Yes, I would do the Abades NYE Gala again. I thought it was worth the money, especially given the quality of food and drink, as well as the unlimited nature of the drinks.
That being said, we also could easily have enjoyed NYE by hanging out in the streets and stopping into open bars and restaurants. Our hotel provided us with two sets of 12 grapes in our room, and enough things were open that we would not have had any issues finding dinner, especially if willing to eat early. The streets were packed, and we would have had a good time even without the gala dinner.
The 12 grapes left in our room.
STEAL OUR DINNER
Abades Triana Restaurante: C. Betis, 69, 41010 Sevilla, Spain. Open daily 12:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., until 11:30 p.m. Friday to Sunday.
More from Spain: see all our Spain posts.