Seafood street vendors in Spain are an integral part of life around villages, towns and cities. The trade, adds vibrancy to urban life and in many places is considered to be part of everyday existence. While shopping at a local “mercado” it’s impossible not to observe outside by entrance a vendor or two, selling directly from an improvised counter all kinds of products: from Mediterranean dry herbs and spices, to pealed prickly pears, golden toasted crunchy almonds, or why not, big bags of live snails. If some of these goods can be found all over the country, some can be found only in certain regions. For example, the seafood street vendors from Cadiz, and Jerez de la Frontera sell products not encountered anywhere else in Spain. Here, the Atlantic ocean provides fresh and delicious seafood and many locals make a living selling on the street to passers by paper packets of cooked small shrimp, or crab legs, sea urchins or wild oysters, to mention just a few. We had the chance to taste this fantastic food from friendly and happy street vendors and now we recommend to all friends who decide to visit the area to do the same without any concern.

Here is my favorite seafood street vendor, somewhere downtown Jerez de la Frontera.

Jovial and happy, sold me a small paper cornet of tiny salty shrimp. Yummy!

No, the man is not emptying a basket of rocks. He’s offering for sale tasty, sweet and creamy wild oysters. I know they look kind of strange , but as ugly they are, they are out of this world tasty. I never had wild oysters before, and I became a fan in an instant , not to mention the bargain price at around only €5 a dozen.

Of course no oyster eating is a whole without a glass of ice cold local Manzanilla

Tuna jerky, small or large cooked shrimp, boiled crab legs, anyone?

Now, I have to admit it, didn’t try the sea urchins, or sea chestnuts but they looked colorful nevertheless. Maybe next time.