Where to eat in Valencia – my honest experience

23 Feb Where to eat in Valencia – my honest experience

As I mentioned during my first Valencia article, this trip marked a change in my trips, a change I think I will keep from now on.

I think this was influenced by how I perceived restaurants in Valencia but it can easily apply to other locations also.

Why I stopped searching for restaurants in Valencia

Before reaching Valencia I did not research for locations on where to eat.

I just got there, got myself something from Viandas and went on exploring the city at night.

Just like in Cordoba I did not enjoy what I bought from Viandas and will keep from buying from them in the future.

I know many Spanish people consume their products but I guess this is just a matter of personal taste.

So that evening, at my hotel, I cropped a small list of cheap, traditional places where to eat in Valencia.

But that fell apart fast for a few reasons:

1. After walking for 20 km each day the last thing you want to do is spend another 2/3 kilometers going to a restaurant where you could have the surprise to catch it closed or out of food.
2. Out of food you said? Yes, it happened to me on my second day in Valencia. All the food prepped for that afternoon was over and even though the restaurant was open it had no food.
3. Crazy schedule. Most local restaurants open late in the evening and have the place open for 2/3 hours tops. So trust me on saying that I did not want to risk walking for kilometers just to find a place booked or with no food.

Just remember on my third day when I reached another restaurant in the evening and from their small menu they were out of some things.

4. Prices. Well, yes. Prices. I found the tapas overly expensive. It is really a shame to ask 2 to 4 euro for a tapa when I remember the delicious meals I had in Andalucia with cheap yet stunning tapas like in Seville, Ronda or Malaga.
5. Food quality. Yes, my experience is limited compared to how many meals I had in Andalucia but I found the tapas here not to have the same quality.

Still better than my tapas at Garum in Cordoba but clearly behind the rest.

6. Crazy schedules again. Most places open after 19:00 hours so if you are hungry during the day you’ll still end up eating in tourist joints.

So taking all this into consideration I decided to quit looking at restaurants and bodegas and just eat in the same places over and over again.

This way I only tested four places when I could have tried more, but having experienced the “out of food” situation after a long day, I just didn’t want the hassle anymore.

Knowing I had no special restaurant to get to, I just made my schedule and when I was hungry went to the places I knew and saved myself a headache.

While it might be true that some of you had amazing meals in Valencia, I think the crazy schedules really affected my experience.

Places where I ate in Valencia

• Lizarran

Ate three meals here and tasted a lot of the tapas so I think I could say a thing or two about them.

• 4 tapas, patatas and a beer – 14.20€
• 5 tapas and agua de Valencia – 20.57€
• 6 tapas and a beer – 16.72€

Now I don’t know about you but this is expensive.

The tapas were OK. Some were really good, some were just OK, but I did not have bad experiences.

The place is self-service. You take what you want and pay at the end.

From time to time they bring hot tapas so don’t rush filling your plate with cold ones.

All in all a decent option, but definitely more expensive than Andalucia.

• La Estrecha

One evening meal – 3 tapas and 1 beer for 13.60€.

Even though I got there early, some house specialties were already gone.

The location is great, right near Santa Catalina Tower, so it works well if you’re already in the area.

Small place, very limited seating, but overall an OK option.

• Sagardi

This is not a typical Valencian restaurant. It is a Basque restaurant.

The tapas here were the best I had in Valencia.

8 tapas + Agua de Valencia – 21.60€.

Expensive, but worth it.

Their Agua de Valencia is the best I tried.

Extra tip

If you want to explore the food scene a bit more without the hassle I had, you can check available Valencia food tours here.

Best horchata in Valencia

Aside from restaurants, I went multiple times to Chocolateria Bertal.

The horchata here is incredible.

This is by far the best horchata I tried in Valencia.

Stay away from the paella here though. Really didn’t enjoy it.

Final thoughts

This might be a limited experience, but this is how I feel about food in Valencia.

Compared to Andalucia, I think Valencia is more expensive when it comes to tapas.

Still, do try horchata and Agua de Valencia. I loved both.

If you’re planning your trip, check my complete Spain travel guide here.