In this blog post, I’ll review some high rating restaurants in Valencia, including a tourist must-try paella. However, I found that some other local dishes deserve to be putting under a spotlight too!
As usual, I did the restaurant research in a Sherlock Holme’s way. This time has no exceptions. I targeted rating over 4.5 restaurants overall.
【Day 1｜Dinner】 Jamón Jamón
Recommend: ★★★★
Tasting Menu – 30€ per person (updated price 45€)
Pros:
Nice setting, good value, cooking and generous portion of food, open on Sunday (evening)
Cons:
Lack of vegetables, and we felt too full….. 😛
For the dessert…
Overall, Jamón Jamón ticked lots of boxes. The ambience fits for couples or friends for a quiet dinner, good service with nothing to complain, food was tasty. We particularly liked the baked goat cheese (serves with bread) and the main dish – 8 hours slow cooked Iberico pork cheek, it’s REALLY tender.
Compare to similar restaurants, Jamón Jamón offers a very generous portion as a tasting menu. The first 4 tapas are meant to be shared, and you’ll each get an individual portion of main course. Also, you can choose a dessert out of 6 choices.
Since we are not a big eater, we felt quite full even just after the tapas. I’m glad that our server noticed that we felt full, so she gave us a short break before serving the main dish. And you can choose coffee instead of having a dessert.
Tip for Booking
When you make a reservation online, try to book first floor/upstair, as ground floor table setting looks little congested. Besides, each table takes 4 guests as maximum, so no big group, no noise.
【Day 2｜Lunch】 Restaurante El Encuentro
Recommend: ★★★
Pros:
Traditional Spanish cuisine, hot spoon dish
Cons:
No midday set menu, comparatively pricy
Since at the first dinner we’ve eaten too much, the next day lunch needed to be lighter. We chose El Encuentro, a restaurant since 1994. One of the reasons we came here is they serves hot spoon dish! We wanted to eat something hot, soupy and with veggies, so their lentil soups just fit in! The portion was not big, but to us it’s perfect.
We also tried a traditional dish which we don’t see in other restaurants, that’s a chistorra! Chistorra is a type of semi-cured sausage origins from Lodosa, Navarre, a town in Northern Spain. It’s like a chorizo! The difference with chistorra and chorizo is, chistorra needs to be cooked.
And for the Russian salad, it’s a classic Spanish dish(people says). However, to us, it’s just a normal potato salad, nothing special.
【Day 2｜Dinner】 Fum de LLum
Recommend: ★★★
Evening Tasting Menu (Thursday to Monday) – 26€ per person
Pros:
Less/no fried food, more veggies elements on tasting menu , open on Sunday and Monday
Cons:
No highlight dish, didn’t feel very Spanish
On Monday, not so many good restaurants open, so I chose Fum de LLum as its rating not bad. We tried the normal tasting menu (26€ per person), which consists of 4 starters, 1 main course and 1 assorted dessert plate, all to be shared.
Compare to Jamón Jamón, which offers similar price level of tasting menu, I found that Fum de LLum was a little bit behind, in terms of cooking techniques required and dishes quality, also the portion size.
The starter, tataki of duck breast, was just too similar to the main dish Iberico pork. Although the description sounds yummy, for example added some caramelised pistachio shavings and freeze-dried raspberry on the duck, the chef just couldn’t deliver the taste properly. Means, I didn’t taste the pistachio and raspberry if blind tasting.
Tip:
When you pay the bill, they will ask you politely if you can spend a minute to write a review for them. Ah-ha! That’s why this restaurant got so many reviews! Being there, next to the staff, I just couldn’t write a constructive feedback even though I wanted to, so I kindly rejected.
A Little about Paella
Do you know? Paella originally is from Valencia! Of course, through out Spain, you can find Paella everywhere. Paella is a rich rice dish which takes time to cook. In most of the restaurants, you’ll find Paella are only provided during lunch time. And the minimum order is from 2 persons. Average price is 15€ per person.
If you replace rice with a short vermicelli-like noodles, then it’s called Fideua. It’s also originally from the coast of Valencia.
【Day 3｜Lunch】 Arrosseria Boscà 29
Recommend: ★★★
Midday Set Menu – from 15.95€ per person
Pros:
Local Valencian cuisine, delicious food, great value for money, less tourist, open on Sunday and Monday (only lunch time)
Cons:
Not located in a touristic location, no English menu, closed on evening
From the google review, looks like some local recommend this restaurant, that’s why we chose here to have paella.
Arrosseria Boscà 29 offers different paellas in the midday set menu, including Valencia paella (chicken, rabbit and snail!), which we didn’t have much courage for it. So we went for a classic seafood paella–black rice! It’s moist (so no crust at the bottom), the seafood taste was very rich and not too salty. But ladies, be careful, remember to check your smile before leaving. 😛
Besides paella, we also like the red pepper esgarraet. It’s a classic Valencian starter too! Usually it’s consists of red pepper, cod with garlic and olive oil. The red pepper was super tender and smooth that you feel like you can slurp it!
Tip:
You can make reservation online. But if you can’t find a table, try to call or go to have a look (like us). We tried to email them but no reply. Went there at 13PM and got a table! Also, they only provide menu in Spanish. You can check and translate the menu online in advance, but the staff can speak a bit English, so not a big problem.
【Day 3｜Dinner】 La Salvaora
Recommend: ★★★★★
Evening Tasting Menu – from €33 per person
*pics are a-la-carte
Pros:
Local Valencian cuisine, well executed and delicious food, open on Sunday
Cons:
Slightly expensive (but it worths!)
We went to La Salvaora with a local Valencian friend, David, in the last night of our trip, turned out it became our favourite restaurant!
I’d say, every dish is well executed, with each ingredient shined in a dish. First, the Iberico ham croquette, David said it’s really good, and we agreed! Very crunchy outside, inside was diced Iberico ham with creamy sauce. Quite big a piece, not oily, makes you want to drink more wine!
Then the ceviche and tomato mackerel salad, refreshened our mouth with very fresh ingredients. David said, “Spanish tomato is just taste far richer than the german one.” (He’s living in Germany)
Finally, the local Valencian food recommended by David, Sepia (cuttlefish) and All i pebre (literally means garlic and pepper), is a fish stew.
For the Sepia, the cuttlefish was super tender, with a peanut, pepper and honey sauce, we were in the heaven and kept saying “Soooo Good!!!” Then came the killer, All i pebre. Typically, eel is the main ingredient, but here they used monkfish and mussel. They were together with potatoes, garlic and pepper sauce in a piping hot iron pan. I mean, the sauce was seriously tasty, that the guys kept soaking up with bread despite how oily it was! XD
So overall, considered the food, price performance, ambience and service, I’d say La Salvaora was the best restaurant in our trip.
Tips:
On their online reservation system, sometimes it showed set menu are not available. That’s not true. Like us, I made an online reservation without menu offer, but at that night we were recommended to order set menu actually. So I guess the menu available everyday.
If you’re looking for what to do or visit in Valencia, below are some of our recommendations.
Other Sightseeing Spots in Valencia
The Fallas museum (Museu Faller de València)
Exhibits many real size figures saved from the annual Fallas Festival parade (UNESCO).
Quite interesting, we’ve never seen something like this before.
entry fee: 2€
Closed on Monday. Sunday and public holidays only open half-day.
Orxateria Santa Catalina
A perfect spot to take a short break after roaming around in the city center.
Freshly made churros dipping in thick and rich hot chocolate. Horchata, a plant-based drink is recommended also.
Open everyday.
Valencia Station North
Train station opened in 1917. It has a waiting room decorated with beautiful paintings on tiles.
Quite unique and beautiful. Next to the Bullring (Plaza de Toros Valencia).
La Lonja de la Seda
A 15th century gothic building used for mainly silk trading, built in more than 600 years ago.
Gorgeous architecture.
Free entry. Open everyday.
Quarts Tower (Torres de Quart)
With a little climb, you can enjoy a nice city view from the top of the tower.
Free entry. Open everyday.
City of Arts and Science (Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias)
A modern complex consists of a science museum, art museum, exhibition centre, cinema and aquarium.
It’s huge! We didn’t have much time so didn’t go inside. If the weather is good, have a walk outside the complex is very pleasant.
Ticket varies to different section.
Summary
We like Valencia!
Locals are friendly, the city is full of energy, modern architecture, but also well kept old building, plenty of sightseeing spots. For the food, no worry, you’ll get unlimited paella since it’s the origin of it. And of course, don’t forget the tapas and orange!
As a Spanish city, I feel Valencia is much more safe compare to Barcelona, even though you walk alone in the night. What about Madrid? Valencia’s weather is warmer! Also, there is direct flight from London Heathrow and Düsseldorf (the city we’ve lived before), both only takes 2.5 hours one way. That makes the trip so much easier!
If you’re looking for an easily-accessible city trip which offers great food, maybe Valencia can be your next destination! 😉
