10 authentic restaurants in Valencia you need to know
Trip to Valencia? Sí, por favor. Besides enough space in your suitcase – you can shop like the best of them here – enough room in your stomach is a must, because the food in this city is absolutely delicious. Especially if you’re a fan of local gastronomy, you can indulge your culinary heart here. There are plenty of authentic little restaurants where you can eat the tastiest local dishes, lovingly prepared by chefs who know Valencian cuisine inside out. Wondering where to go? These are our 10 favorite authentic places to eat in Valencia.
2 Estaciones
At 2 Estaciones, you discover what gastronomy in Valencia is all about: health and sustainability. In this atmospheric restaurant, located in the lovely Ruzafa neighborhood, you eat seasonally and locally. On your (insanely beautifully presented) plates from top chefs Alberto Alonso and Mar Soler are fresh, local ingredients, brought together in delicious dishes. Choose individual dishes from the menu or go for a set menu. Fun fact: 2 Estaciones has been awarded a Bib Gourmand by Michelin. That means it’s not only genuinely excellent here, but also reasonably priced.
Mood Food
The motto of this restaurant is ‘Cooking is an act of love’ and yes, that wins us over immediately. Here you eat traditional dishes with local produce in the spotlight. The menu, for example, features lots of fish caught nearby. It doesn’t get much fresher! The restaurant is small but atmospheric. This makes you feel at home, which is exactly what the owners of Mood Food want to achieve.
Pelayo Gastro Trinquet
At Pelayo Gastro Trinquet, you eat in a very special location: the oldest sports court where the game of Pilota Valenciana used to be played. It’s a kind of tennis, but played with your hands. A fun fact for the dedicated sports fans among us (and also pretty interesting if you’re only fanatical about food, of course). Within the 150-year-old historic walls, you can enjoy classic Mediterranean dishes with a twist. Rice, tapas and seasonal produce dominate the menu. Also fun and delicious: the extensive wine list. And don’t you dare skip dessert. We recommend the tiramisu with Valencian fartó (a kind of sweet breadstick) and cocoa cookies.
Casa Montaña
Do you hear Martien Meiland shouting in your head that it’s time for wine, wine, wine? Then walk straight to Casa Montaña by Valencia’s harbor. This is a centuries-old bodega where you can choose from a gigantic number (more than 1,000!) of different wines. The pride of the collection naturally lies in the Valencian wines, of which you should definitely try a few. The food menu features authentic local tapas dishes. Anchovies from Santoña, for example, and grilled sardines from the boats of Castellón. If there’s anywhere you want to experience an authentic and traditional Valencian vibe, it’s Casa Montaña. Truly highly recommended.
La Sastería
Are you a sucker for design and beautiful interiors? Then you’re (literally) in the right place at La Sastería. This place consists of two sections, a bar and a restaurant, both of which look pretty Instagrammable. Think those lovely colorful Spanish tiles that you’d prefer to bring home to the Netherlands in bulk for your own kitchen and bathroom. The atmosphere is clearly on point, but what do you eat here? Mainly traditional dishes featuring produce from the sea, which lies just a stone’s throw from the restaurant. Authentic tapas with a modern twist. You can linger here for hours after your meal (and take hip photos for the gram, of course).
Casa Isabel
You may prefer to avoid some Spanish dishes. Paella is (obviously) not one of them. In fact, our search for a good paella restaurant begins as soon as we get the idea of booking a plane ticket to Valencia. One gem we came across while searching is Casa Isabel. They have been making paella the same way here for years. And rightly so, because why change a winning team? Also hugely popular: the quintessentially Valencian all i pebre, a dish based on eel, potatoes, peppers and garlic. Our advice: order the all i pebre as a starter and then dive into the paella. You really don’t want to miss either. Or simply come back the next day – you certainly won’t be the first to do so.
Palace Fesol
In the heart of the city you’ll find Palace Fesol: a restaurant where the art of making paella has been showcased for more than 100 years. In this atmospheric place, where you still eat at those classic dark-brown tables with white tablecloths, you can taste what a real paella should taste like. It’s packed with fresh, local ingredients, prepared according to a recipe passed down through four generations of the family. Also not bad: the wine list. Finding it difficult to choose among so many delicious options? The friendly staff will be happy to recommend the perfect glass to go with your dish.
Bon Aire en la Albufera
If you ask locals where to eat good, authentic paella, there’s a good chance they’ll mention Bon Aire en la Albufera. This restaurant’s paella has won awards several times. You wouldn’t know it from the restaurant’s prices, by the way: you can eat here very affordably. In summer, you can enjoy a phenomenal view of the vast rice fields from outside. Can you already picture yourself sitting there, with a delicious glass of red wine, picking the last bits of paella from the pan?
Nova Conca
Nova Conca is hip, popular with locals and serves excellent paella packed with fresh ingredients. The rice and vegetables come from the fields of nearby El Saler, and the fresh fish comes from Valencia’s beaches. Recommended: the authentic paella valenciana. And be sure to order the sangria here, which is genuinely to die for. It can get pleasantly busy here, which is very much part of the Spanish vibe. An ideal place to stop after a wonderful day at the beach.
Bar Central
Have you ever heard of esmorzaret? It’s one of Valencia’s best-known culinary traditions. It revolves around having lunch early (exactly what esmorzar means in Valencian). Sometime between 9:00 and 12:00, you take on a ‘three-course meal’. If you want to do it like the locals, you start with an aperitif: a cold beer or – more our kind of thing – vi amb llimonà, wine with ‘gaseosa’ (a kind of Sprite). You then move on to the main course: a large sandwich topped with pork sausage, various other types of meat, fried eggs and vegetables. Still have room left after this monstrous meal? Then finish with a cremaet: coffee with a little rum, some cinnamon, a coffee bean and a small strip of lemon peel. Now you’re probably wondering: where should I go for esmorzarren? We recommend Bar Central, located in the Mercado Central (central market). According to two-Michelin-star chef Ricard Camarena, this is the ultimate place to enjoy esmorzaret.
