It’s no wonder that Valencia is the best place to go for paella. This is where the original recipe comes from and this great dish is the culinary symbol of the city. In Valencia there are many good restaurants, often located on the beach or near the “Ciudad Vella”. Most of them have put a lot of effort into decoration and the atmosphere is really cozy. It doesn’t matter what you do in Valencia: you must taste the paella at least once during your stay. Check out these 3 restaurants so you can eat the best paella in town.
La Ruia Restaurant
It’s probably the best place to eat if you’re looking for a genuine traditional Valencian restaurant. It offers a wide range of local options: more than 15 traditional types of paellas and rice dishes (it is difficult to find such an offer in any other restaurant in the city), fish and meat dishes from the area. The interior is typical Valencian with ceramics and meborabilia on the walls. La Riua is truly a legend: it is a beloved and respected place and that is why there are usually many guests. You can call and reserve a table or also order your paella while you arrive. Eating paella costs almost 15 euros, meat 7, fish and seafood 10.
Tapelia Restaurant
This restaurant is a real “rice restaurant” with a wide range of rice dishes (15 – 20 different types of paella). You can even taste the unique paella with deer. You can also order good creative meat dishes, excellent starters and salads. It is also possible to have paella to go. The price range varies between 15/20 euros for a paella, 5/7 for meat dishes, 12 for salads. The atmosphere is really cozy with stone walls, intimate lighting, artwork with a great jazz soundtrack, lots of small tables together, and a few people. There are two other “Tapelia restaurants” in town, one near the beach and the other near the City of Arts and Sciences.
Taverna Alkazar
La Taverna Alkazar is a historic restaurant located in the center of Valencia with more than 50 years of history. It is one of the most popular, even for Valencians. It’s probably not cheap, but the great level of quality combined with the idea of simplicity makes it one of the best places to eat. It offers Spanish themes on the walls and a large dining terrace for the summer that is shared with two neighboring restaurants, perhaps a little cheaper (so why not visit the Givera and the Palacio de Bellota?). You can enjoy fancy traditional fish, seafood and meats, as well as some varieties of paella. Fish / seafood dishes can cost around 15/20 euros, meat 10.