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Catalonia, Valencia, and the Costa Blanca Restaurants
Catalonia's eateries are deservedly famous. Girona’s Celler de Can Roca was voted the best restaurant in the world in 2015 in the annual critics’ poll conducted by British magazine Restaurant, and a host of other first-rate establishments continue to offer inspiring fine dining in Catalonia, which began in the hinterlands at th
Catalonia's eateries are deservedly famous. Girona’s Celler de Can Roca was voted the best restaurant in the world in 2015 in the annual critics’ poll conducted by British magazine Restaurant, and a host of other first-rate establishments continue to offer inspiring fi
Catalonia's eateries are deservedly famous. Girona’s Celler de Can Roca was voted the best restaurant in the world in 20
Catalonia's eateries are deservedly famous. Girona’s Celler de Can Roca was voted the best restaurant in the world in 2015 in the annual critics’ poll conducted by British magazine Restaurant, and a host of other first-rate establishments continue to offer inspiring fine dining in Catalonia, which began in the hinterlands at the legendary Hotel Empordà. You needn’t go to an internationally acclaimed restaurant, however, to dine well. Superstar chef Ferran Adrià of the former foodie paradise elBulli dines regularly at dives in Roses, where straight-up fresh fish is the day-in, day-out attraction. Northern Catalonia's Empordà region is known not only for seafood, but also for a rich assortment of inland and upland products. Beef from Girona's verdant pastureland is prized throughout Catalonia, while wild mushrooms from the Pyrenees and game from the Alberes range offer seasonal depth and breadth to menus across the region. From a simple beachside paella or llobarro (sea bass) at a chiringuito (shack) with tables on the sand, to the splendor of a meal at El Celler de Can Roca, playing culinary hopscotch through Catalonia is a good way to organize a tour.
Dine on fresh seafood, grilled meats, and pasta on the tranquil, tree-shaded patio or inside the rustic-chic dining room. From here, it’s a short stroll to the secluded Aiguafreda swimming cove. It’s a great alternative in summer to Begur’s perpetually packed beachfront restaurants.
Under co-owners Fede and Diana Cervera and chef Xicu Ramón, this distinguished restaurant in the center of town continues to reinvent and deconstruct traditional Valencian cuisine. The setting is an architectural tour de force: a 16th-century town house transformed into a sunlit modern space with an open kitchen and a three-story-high wall sculpted to resemble a billowing white curtain. The midweek menus, available for lunch or dinner, include a selection of creative tapas—minicourses, really, that might include a soup or a salad—and one rice dish or other main course, giving you a good idea of the chef's repertoire at an unbeatable price.
This stylish restaurant, just around the corner from the Teatre-Museu Dalí, focuses on seasonal Empordà ingredients from the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean. Look for classic Catalan fare like prawn and cuttlefish fideuá alongside more modern dishes such as tuna tataki with black garlic.
Carrer de la Jonquera 18, Figueres, Catalonia, 17600, Spain
On the edge of the old town, this relaxed bi-level restaurant serves enticing dishes in plentiful portions. Downstairs, indulge in tapas and simpler dishes, or head to the fancier dining space upstairs for specialties like roast suckling pig, lamb chops, and sea bass baked in rock salt.
Locals regard this bustling, informal restaurant, on the promenade at El Cabanyal beach, as the best in town for seafood paella. Founded in 1898, the walls of the establishment are covered with signed pictures of appreciative visitors, from Ernest Hemingway to King Juan Carlos and the royal family. Try the paella marinera (seafood) topped with shrimp and mussels or hearty platters of calamares (squid) and langostinos (prawns). Save room for the delectable tarts made with fruit in season.
A favorite of Valencia's well connected and well-to-do since 1982, this family-run restaurant a few steps from the Plaza de la Reina specializes in seafood dishes like anguilas (eels) prepared with all i pebre (garlic and pepper), parrillada de pescado (selection of freshly grilled fish), and traditional paellas. Lunch begins at 2 and not a moment before. The walls are covered with decorative ceramics and the gastronomic awards the restaurant has won over the years.
Calle del Mar 27, Valencia, Valencia, 46003, Spain
So tasty is the paella here that even Valencianos regularly travel out of the city to Maribel Arroceria, off the main drag in El Palmar. Sit surrounded by the rice fields of Albufera Nature Park, either in the contemporary, air-conditioned dining room or outside at pavement tables overlooking the canal. Off the à la carte menu, diners can sample all i pebre anguilas (smoked eels simmered with garlic, paprika, and pepper), the rich and ever popular paella de magret de pato y foie con setas (with duck, foie gras, and wild mushrooms), and, if there’s room, dig into a brownie or cheesecake for dessert.
Carrer de Francisco Monleón 5, El Palmar, Valencia, 46012, Spain
An Alicante institution, this inviting exposed-brick and wood-lined restaurant is very popular with locals, who come for the excellent-value tapas, market produce, and freshly caught fish, a tribute to the city’s enduring relationship with the sea.
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