A few notes from our recent quick visit to Valencia in September. Thank you to everyone who made recommendations!

We arrived in Valencia at 11:45 am on a Saturday. Really loved our stay at the Only You hotel—nice service, good location and a beautifully appointed, spacious room and bathroom.

We immediately took a taxi to Casa Montana, a truly charming tapas bar that transports you back in time. Service is warm, friendly and knowledgeable where the waiter deftly guided us through the menu and suggested some of the casa’s signature items. We had Atun Marinado with 7 spices, cod croquette, goat cheese toast with carmelized peppers, fried anchovies, stewed baby broad beans (baby habas con jamon Iberico), pippara peppers, smoked eel, Txistorra de Irura (white sausage) and a Longaniza Valenciana sausage (red). All of it polished off with a white wine from the Merseguera grape varietal found in the Valencia area as well as the Jumilla DO. Everything was very good with perhaps the atun with 7 spices and smoked eel being our favorites. I would say this is a must-visit spot if we are ever in Valencia again! There were many other items on the menu that we’d have loved to try.

Then we made a quick stop at La Sastreria, which is just down the street. It was already almost 3 pm when they close lunch. After some pleading, they let us sit at the bar for a digestive. This turned out to be fortuitous as we had a great view of the fish on display behind the counter, varieties that I’d not seen before! A fish called borriquete and another called breca, which appeared to be a Royal Dorade. See pic. In addition, we saw the bartender whip up a coffee + liquor drink called Cremaet, a Valencian coffee made with espresso, brandy, sugar, lemon/orange peel, and cinnamon. All of it is vigorously stirred into a small jug and then set alight while the bartender keeps stirring. It was a delight to watch and a tasty way to finish our first lunch in this city!





Thanks to our use of the Time Shifter app, we had very little jet lag despite the long journey from the US to Madrid and onwards to Valencia. So after a nap and shower, we set out to wander through the plazas and get our bearings. There are glimpses of historical architectural grandeur in this city, but the scale is smaller as it was bombed a fair bit during Franco’s reign. However, the star architect, Santiago Calatrava, is a son of Valencia and has done his bit and built a beautiful albeit modern opera house as well as a city of Arts & Sciences close to the city’s marina and malecon (boardwalk).

For dinner, we had reserved Llisa Negra, a more casual restaurant than its 3 Michelin sister restaurant, Quique Dacosta, in Denia. It is known for its paellas and open fire cooking. Upon arrival, we were taken to the second floor, out of sight of the open kitchen where the grilling on orange tree wood happens. Alas, the entire main floor had been booked for a corporate event. We started with Gamba Roja de Denia. Josper grilled eggplant with grilled tuna, garlic prawns lazy omelette (an open faced omelette) and a paella. The paella was a bit too salty for me, but the lazy omelette and eggplant were tasty. On Wednesdays only, they serve a special “socarrat” paella, which looks fantastic, which I’d have readily ordered had it not been Saturday! Regardless, next time I’ll skip the paella here and maybe get a seafood/fish for a main.

After dinner, we were tired and after discussing activities to do on a Sunday with our hotel staff, we went straight to bed, but not before booking a bicycle tour of the city and Túria park.

Sunday morning: after a leisurely morning finalizing the day’s agenda, we set off on foot towards Rausell, where we had a 1 pm lunch reserved. En route, we stumbled across Cafe Madrid, a bar where the Agua de Valencia cocktail was created. Of course, although we’d not had any food yet, we had to stop to try this quintessential Valencian cocktail: 3 shots OJ, a shot of gin, a shot of vodka and half shot of syrup. Que loco! Delicious!

When we got to Rausell, we were both intrigued by a long, really long line of people that wound around the block! They were all waiting at a place next door to Rausell. It seemed to be some prepared-food type of place from where people were taking a lot of to-go orders. We soon realized that this was Rausell’s to-go operation. The excitement was building fast… if so many locals were willing to wait in line for to-go food from this place, the dining-in was bound to be great! It’s a simple, but elegant restaurant. Friendly service with a charm that makes you feel at home right away. We got the Cazuelita de Puntillas (baby squid) con habitas (baby beans) y ajetes (garlic shoots); calamar plancha, anchovies, quisquillas (baby shrimp), canolli with chicken and mushrooms and roasted shoulder of lamb. Every single item was delicious!! The menu has a lot of fantastic options and I’d highly recommend Rausell! Different from casual Casa Montana, but very, very good. When we left, the line outside for the take-out operation was just as long as when we arrived. I was really hoping to get some more food from this part of the restaurant to try later. But we had booked our bicycle tour of the city for the afternoon with Pelican Bikes and there was no time to take food back to the hotel.

Line at Rausell take-out. It went around the corner!


https://pelicanbikerentals.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=map&utm_campaign=off ice-1

The bicycle tour is a great way to see the highlights of the city. We rode for a total of over 12 km and had over 22,000 steps at the end of this day!

For this Sunday dinner, the hotel recommended Q’Tomas. We sat at the bar overlooking the kitchen and had a fantastic tuna tartar, roasted sea cucumbers, grilled Virrey (alfonsino fish in English or kinmedai in Japanese). All excellent and also a highly recommended spot!

Q’Tomas


So far, we were off to a strong start in Valencia. The next day, a Monday, was our last day in this city before we made our way to Barcelona for a friend’s wedding.

On our final day, we headed straight to Mercado Centrale. The line at Bar Central was already 15 people long. It moves fast though and within 20 minutes we were slurping down some oysters, tomato salad (merely okay), and an esgarraet (a Valencian dish of grilled red peppers with cod, evoo and garlic. It reminded me of the Catalan escalivada).

This was just going to be our brekkie as we had lunch booked at Casa Carmela, considered to be among the top paella specialists in the region! As required, we had pre-ordered the paella Valenciana in advance. The other paellas do not have to be ordered in advance.

When we arrived, we were surprised by the scale of this place. There were local families, some tourists, and many others waiting within the entrance area to be seated. Everyone had a reservation. Despite the chaos and a couple or two who jumped the line, we were seated within a few minutes of checking in. This place is massive, but the operation is managed and conducted like a symphony. For example, inside the bathroom there’s a timetable with check marks showing that the bathrooms are cleaned every 10 minutes! Across the way, the kitchen has a long corridor of raging fires with 20-30 pans or more of paella fired up! After some
Apps of tuna tartar, roasted red peppers, baby squids in ink, and ortiguillas de mar (sea anemone), the pièce de résistance arrived. Surely this was what it was all about: paella Valenciana with chicken, rabbit, duck, snails, and vegetables. This was truly delicious and lived up to the hype! It’s a large portion however. We struggled to finish it.

Paellas galore

Paella Valenciana

Baby squid with ink

Mojama? Air dried and cured tuna?


We spent the afternoon walking off the calories, exploring the city further. In the evening, we walked to the Mercado Colon for an aperitif and the streets around it, before having some light bites at Marisqueria Civera, a seafood centric place. This was fine, but maybe not as good as Q’Tomas.

With an early morning train to Barcelona the next day, we made it an early night. Overall, Valencia delivered in terms of food and I can see why the city has its appeal. Does it go into my favorite cities in Spain bracket? I’ll have to go back once more before I decide. 😉

Yums, mdn!

Oh, my!!! Thank you a thousand times! Please give me that baby squid right now!!! I adore the dish and this incarnation looks wonderful! Cannot wait until you post more!!!! (we are going to Valencia next month and staying in your hotel, for 7 nights--do you feel that is enough time to really see the city and delve into the restaurants out of town??? I've not yet bought my airline tickets....).

Have to read again and take notes.

That does look like mojama; years ago we ate at a restaurant in Nazaret, which was then maybe a dicey corner of the city, specializing in those dried fish products, CASA JOMI, and it was enlightening to me how they use the various sea products in so many guises......the owner has passed, to much local sympathy, but I will never forget his kindness to two foreigners about 12 years ago.......they waited for us outside until we arrived by taxi and waved us off after dinner with much emotion. It was among the most memorable experiences I've had in a Spanish restaurant, although I do admit that I knew nothing, and was not wowed, by most of those dried fish products back then......

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaura...Community.html



Maribel, are these known as "salazones?" What does that term actually mean? It is on so many menus, not only in Valencia but in much of Spain....

Great report MDN! Really enjoyed the detail of the dining. I'm curious about the particular paella that you were not able to have that went by the name
" socarrat paella" I was under the impression that socarrat was the delicious crusty toasty rice bottom in any paella.... but I could be wrong.
Good question Scrunchita ! I thought that salazones referred to fish dishes cured in salt. But is there a difference between salt cured & brined? I will await comments from the experts & Maribel.

Thank you for sharing this again and if you have a moment can you elaborate a little bit more on the weather please?

Amsdon-cita: Bienvenidos otra vez....porque tanto tiempo que no estabas aquí? Te extraño! (Yes, you can see right there that my Spanish is not exactly as fluent as it might be!!).

Let's hope for Maribel to explain those salazones..I see that they even have their own category on many menus, even in Madrid.....along with "embutidos."

I thought the same about the socarrat. ALL paellas are supposed to have that, like the tahdig in Iranian rice dishes, no??? That's why I was so unhappy with the paella I had at La Matandeta on my last visit to Valencia where we spent a wonderful day with a former Fodor person, Linda, who lives in Valencia.....I was the one who chose that place because I saw a tv show with Mario Batali that featured Valencia and paella and they raved about that restaurant....no, no, no!! Hope to do better this time around!!

https://www.seriouseats.com/tahdig-persian-crunchy-rice-7187445

Which reminds me, with the obvious inclusion of present day horrible happenings, I would LOVE to go to Iran.....I had even been in contact a few years back with a recommended woman who ran food tours, especially to the north which has its own distinct dishes....but that idea has fallen by the wayside.......



Are you coming back to Valencia?


I will put Rausell on my list, thanks to MDN and her always great reports...and photos!!
I already booked Llisa Negra...my only advance booking in Valencia so far....

This report is just great, and so timely for me!!!!!

mdn,
Loved your report, as always! You hit some of my favorites in Valencia, especially Casa Montaña, which never fails to deliver for us, but I've never been there for clotxinas season (cousin to the mussel-a Valencian variety of mussel-season runs from May-August, the months without an "r").

I wondered whether you would be able to hit up La Sastrería just a close walk from Montaña so as at least to see their fish display. I had borriquete crudo recently at Sevilla's Barra Baja. Not usually available here in Madrid, a fish from the Costa de la Luz, but they do serve it sometimes at KultO, since the owners are from Zahara de los Atunes.
The cremaet was a nice way to finish your luncheon adventures, Cremat (in catalán) is also served during the Habanera festival on the Costa Brava in Calella de Palafrugell.

And the always bustling Rausell in the Eixample.

It´s a shame that you weren't able to sit downstairs at Llisa Negra to watch the action in the open kitchen, preparing the paella over an open flame of orange wood and vine shoots. Paellas here sometimes tend to be quite salty and that surprises visitors. I had one the other day at Uskar that I thought most visitors wouldn't enjoy (I did only because I'm used to it) because of the heavy use of salt.
We took a paella cooking class once and were astounded by the amount of salt that they chef threw in.

My husband participated (much to his chagrin, as I volunteered him!) in an interactive "show cooking" supervised by the head of the International Paella Competition in Sueca at the Comunitat Valencia stand at last year's Madrid Fusion, He was only in charge of the sofrito. Another volunteer, who had won this competition 2 years ago finished the paella off and it did have a nice socarrat, but he has had years of practice.

About Dacosta's paella "socarrat". Well-made paellas (if one is just plain lucky, like my husband is sometimes, or very talented) should have that bottom cap of socarrat but... Dacosta takes it to a whole new level!! of crunchiness at Llisa Negra, a socarrat, one you can scrape the entire bottom and pick it up with one hand and eat it almost like a huge rice cookie! See the difference in HIS paella socarrat from a usual paella here in this video-- This is the ultimate for socarrat lovers!

There are also video's of Dacosta's Llisa Negra dishes on Tik Tok.

I also went to La Matandeta with the Valencia Tourist Board and no socarrat in ours either, but it was a gigantic paella to feed our entire group.

I love Dacosta's original ensaladilla rusa, caramelized and served like a crema catalana. Ymm. The other dish that we enjoy there are his cocas
BTW, a “llisa” is grey mullet, also called mújol, the first fish Dacosta’s son ever caught. We also had the pulpo seco a la llama, the “Mediterranean ham”, octopus charred around the edges, served on a bed of honey and as an amuse bouche, mosquitos de mar fritos, which look similar to baby crawfish with many long legs that we were told to eat whole. Pretty tasty!

Also glad you enjoyed the always bustling Rausell in Ruzafa. It's an institution.

Glad, too, that you enjoyed your stay at the Only You (the former Ayre Astoria Palace) that couldn't be better located. It's so nice that the Palladium group renovated it and turned it into a boutique Only You with interior decor by Lázaro Rosa-Violán (the famous hotel interior designer).

I'll put Q Tomás? "a temple of producto", in my guide. I´ve never been. It's fairly new. Sounds like the Valencian equivalent in a way to Sevilla's Cañabota, with similar pricing. It gets a nod from both Repsol & Macarfi.

And what you had in the photo at Casa Carmela is mojama.

Salazones=the art of curing fish covering it with a very thick layer of sea salt and drying it, air curing it for a period of a month or even more to preserve it. An ancient method of curing, supposedly brought by the Phoenicians along with the almadraba technique of trapping blue fin tuna.
There's an explanation from the blog of Foods & Wines of Spain that I'll post later.
Vicente Leal of the Mercado Central de Alicante is known for his salazones.

Hi Maribel,
Such helpful and interesting information.
I do not see the link to the video. 🤔 I'm still very much getting used to " Fodors on the phone" So I may not have seen any link you may have posted. Is it there?

Re the socarrat , I have lost all of my amateur level home cooking skills. But I recall how difficult It is to get the timing and the heat right on a paella to get the soccarrat just right ( Or even to come out crispy at all without burning. ) I would actually love to try the one mentioned by mdn ( The socarrat pnd one they were not able to try) It sounds delicious. Is there any other restaurant that you know of that would serve this in other cities that you know of?

I'm game to try paella at home but can I do this with an indoor gas stove?

Should I buy a paella pan in Valencia..I know they are available all over and are not pricey.....
Can I use this on a gas barbecue outside in the summer?

Ha, ha, says this home cook who has just managed to burn a FANTASTIC tomato/trahana soup from the new Jose Andres cookbook, ZAYTINA. A wonderful and very easy recipe!
When I left my home in NYC in late August, I had about 10 big heirloom tomatoes and I did not want to throw them out.
I put them, whole, in a Zip-Loc bag and froze (along with a quart of milk). Lo and behold, the tomatoes were perfect for the soup dish, and the milk, once defrosted, was great.

Off topic, but here is the recipe from ZAYTINA;



Jose Andres' tomato soup recipe..you can play with this a lot..use fregola if you do not have trahana, for example. I added plain yogurt yesterday, before I bought some feta which we will have tonight in the soup.

Photo of the soup....

Hi amsdon and ekscrunchy,
The socarrat is very tricky, as one has to get the heat just right. Socarrat in Spanish is "chamuscado", not burnt, but instead caramelized.

For making paella we have the Williams Sonoma paella burner kit (vaello), 3 different sized pans (in valenciano the pan is called a paella rather than a paellera), a Weber gas stove and a Weber charcoal stove.

We just had our first barbeque here but the patriarch of our family did espetos de corderorather than paella. When he makes paella, he (or anyone else in the family) must follow the recipe of Moncho, the former son-in-law, who hasn't been a family member for years, but one never veers from that recipe, which is sacred!

Quique Dacosta's socarrat is unique. You wouldn't find it anywhere else, I don't think.
I hope these links work:


https://www.directoalpaladar.com/cul...forme-paella-1

ekscrunchy,
You can find these pans in all sizes outside of the Mercado Central, probably the rubber holders for the handles and also the wooden spoons, with which one traditionally eats the paella, everyone scoops out of the same pan.
There are 2 new books out that I want to purchase both available at La Casa del Libro:
Paella by Omar Allibhoy
Paella by Alberto Herráiz

Oh wow! Maribel, thank you for enlightening all of us!
The Casa Carmela paella was very tasty, but there could have been just a touch more socarrat for my liking. But no complaints! Everything there were traditional, classic preparations, which is just how I like it on most occasions. Fancy deconstructed paella is not my copa de vino.

ekscrunchy that tomato soup looks delicious! Thanks for the recipe! The restaurant, Socarrat, in NYC had my favorite paella, but I haven’t been in a while. There’s a location on 51st and 2nd Ave, which I suspect is close to you.

As for Rausell, every bite there was delightful. The simple grilled squid was so fresh and exquisitely done. Q’Tomas also delivered.

Yes, I live about two blocks away from that restaurant.....never been, though. I will look at their menu today....there are so few interesting restaurants in this area that it would be great to find another one.
Very impressed with the ONLY YOU in Valencia so far--a few hours after I sent my e-mail, they booked dinner for us as Raussell.

So now I have two nights booked, out of seven...will be difficult to hone down the list.....

Just a note about the salt in the rice---it's super prevalent, which surprises many non-Spaniards' palates and even surprised me today.

We had a fantastic starter today at Pescaderías Coruñesas Desde 1911 in Madrid, that I would consider one of the top 3-5 Madrid dining spots, and one of the starters was a rectangular cast iron pan of rice, tender duck, mushrooms and shrimp. Very, very tasty and filling (one of 3 starters in the tasting menu) but yes, quite salty. I think it's something that one has to get used to. But if in Madrid and you want to celebrate, throw caution to the winds for a celebratory meal, this restaurant is the one to book! Impeccable service, exquisite dishes, gorgeous front room but not inexpensive, clearly a celebratory meal.
Rice dishes in Spain are surprisingly salty.

There are 2 great paella dish cookbooks on sale now here, both simply titles "Paella, one by Alberto Herráiz (from Fogón in Paris where we dined) and the other by Omar Alibhoy. Don't know if B&N or another book store has them though. There's always Penelope Casa's Paella, which is a standard in our house.

Oh, this is great..I just booked LA SASTRERIA.

Penelope's book is our favorite! DH has it down now using the Weber outside.

Hi amsdon,
Is your Weber gas or charcoal?
We have both only because the patriarch in our family planned to prepare his espetos de cordero at our house for our first barbeque. But...he said that he couldn't prepare them on a gas grill, it would ruin the meat!!, so off we went to Verdecora (that handles everything Weber here) to buy a charcoal grill!