A standing bar, not a sit-down meal
Casa Manteca opened in 1953 on Calle Corralón de los Carros, in the working heart of La Viña. A 2026 radio-presenter's list of Cádiz favourites still recommends it in the present tense, and a Carnaval guide written for 2027 lists the same address. Expect a crowded counter, not a table. The walls are covered in old photographs, newspaper clippings and bullfighting memorabilia, and the crowd spills onto the pavement.
The house speciality is cold tapas. Eldiario.es calls the chicharrones de Cádiz the star dish, and the menu is led by cured meats and tinned goods rather than anything from a pan. The founder is named there as Lorenzo Ruiz Manteca, who later handed the bar to his son Pepe.
What to order
Order a caña and a ración of chicharrones or papas aliñás, which is how the Spanish press recommends starting. Chacinas arrive on wax paper, and the cheese and tinned fish are the sort of thing you would otherwise buy to take home. The salmorejo has been served here with olive oil ice cream and flakes of tuna.
Fried fish is the catch. It is cooked in the family's restaurant across the street, so fried items are not available for a while after the bar opens. If you want fried seafood such as tortillitas de camarones, plan to arrive later or eat at the fried-fish takeaway opposite.