Welcome to the vibrant district of El Cabanyal, where a culinary adventure awaits you! If you’re a food enthusiast looking to delight your taste buds, you’re in for a treat. I’ve curated a list of the best restaurants in El Cabanyal Valencia that will leave you craving for more! From traditional Spanish tapas to innovative fusion dishes, El Cabanyal restaurants offer a diverse and delectable dining experience. So join me and explore the unique flavors and cozy atmospheres of the best restaurants El Cabanyal Valencia has to offer!
If you’re not familiar with El Cabanyal, it’s the coolest neighborhood in Valencia. Three miles (or five km) east of city center, El Cabanyal is right by the beach and not overrun with tourists. Filled with quaint, old fishing houses and bursting with colorful murals, El Cabanyal is a real joy to visit.
The Best El Cabanyal Restaurants
I lived in El Cabanyal for a month and tried out the full spectrum of the neighborhood’s culinary offerings from seafood to vegan dishes and Spanish ice cream – from casual to posh to trendy food trucks. So, here are my top picks for the best restaurants El Cabanyal Valencia has to offer plus a few fun hipster hangouts with food and music.
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1. Agua Salada Seafood Restaurant El Cabanyal Valencia
Agua Salada (Carrer de la Marina, 38; T: 632 13 13 27) is a top destination for seafood and raw seafood in El Cabanyal Valencia. With recipes that combine tradition with modernity, the friendly staff deliver artfully presented platters of locally sourced seafood.
This is the perfect restaurant to order a raw seafood platter or try dishes including flame-grilled wild sea bass drizzled with basil-spirulina oil – and served with creamy parmesan-infused spinach and elegant dollops of sepia mayonnaise. For dessert, try a glass of Mistela, a sweet wine liqueur popular with locals.
Soak up the wavy, marine-themed, blue-and-white interior or relax in the outdoor seating area and enjoy the gentle breeze of the Mediterranean as you dine.
Agua Salada Seafood Restaurant: From top left: Raw seafood platter; mackerel on fig carpaccio; prawns; dorado tartar with grapefruit vinaigrette; flame-grilled wild sea bass; tuna carpaccio; the owner Fabio Rocca.
2. Bodega La Pascuala – The BEST Cabanyal Restaurant to Get a Bocadillo
If you’re looking for lunch in El Cabanyal, let’s hang out with locals.
A Bocadillo is a Spanish sandwich made with a baguette and the best place to get one is at Bodega La Pascuala (Carrer del Dr. Lluch, 299; T: 963 713 814). Founded in 1921, this Cabanyal restaurant is a local institution.
While I had two delicious tapas for lunch, the Spanish around me all ordered the horse meat sandwich and raved about how good it was.
With complementary peanuts and olives, I was already full after indulging in a delicious goat cheese tapa topped with tomato sauce and anchovies. So I took home most of the second tapa: squid topped with prawns.
Highly recommended with lots of sidewalk seating and a spacious indoor dining room filled with historic photos of this Cabanyal restaurant’s colorful history. Also try the daily special or paella here.
Bodega La Pascuala: Clockwise from top left: Goat cheese tapas with tomato sauce and anchovies; the entrance to Bodega La Pascuela; squid topped with prawns; a sausage and potato Bocadillo; the author; a horse meat and potato Bocadillo. Note: The big sandwiches are actually the half-size order!
3. Ca La Mar – El Cabanyal Restaurant
Ca La Mar (Carrer de Just Vilar, 19; T: 963 25 98 27) is a much-loved seafood restaurant. With cozy sidewalk seating on the picturesque corner of Carrer de Just Vilar and Carrer d’Escalante, it’s a fabulous place to try seafood classics, tapas, salads, meats and Cabanyal specialties.
With changing daily specials, I enjoyed the Arrós del Senyoret which is a seafood paella where all the seafood shells have been peeled off so you don’t have to do it.
You’ll find vegetarian and vegan options too, including hummus and lentil dishes.
Ca La Mar is always packed, so it’s a good idea to make a reservation (T: 963 25 98 27). But if you don’t get in, do not fret. There are plenty of other great restaurants in El Cabanyal to choose from.
4. Cienfuegos Brasa y Vino in El Cabanyal Valencia
Cienfuegos (Carrer de la Reina, 180; T: 960 64 79 25) is an upscale Cabanyal restaurant that is prized for its top-tier steak dishes, including Spanish T-bone steak and tomahawk steak from a Galician Frisona cow.
Cienfuegos also prepares grilled Norwegian salmon, octopus and organic chicken dishes. Starters include salads, Basque Idiazabal cheese croquettes, roasted lamb samosas and unique Cabanyal fusion cuisine bites. Reservations recommended at this exquisite restaurant in El Cabanyal Valencia.
Cienfuegos: Top line: Tomato salad with capers, avocado salad with macadamia nuts, skirt steak. Middle line: Grilled pork, a glass of Valencian Mistela liqueur wine, grilled salmon. Bottom line: Grilled octopus on a bed of potatoes, the author.
5. La Bodeguita del Cabanyal Valencia
La Bodeguita del Cabanyal (Carrer de la Reina, 217; T: 639 25 18 79) is a charming Cabanyal restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating and friendly staff. It’s a great place to order tapas or the daily menu – a starter, main dish, dessert, and wine or another beverage.
My favorite dishes include Mediterranean fried cheese, calamari in black garlic sauce, Valencian paella, and a traditional Spanish flan for dessert.
La Bodeguita del Cabanyal: Clockwise from top left: Valencia paella; the author and the friendly waiter; black rice with seafood; fried cheese; the restaurant; Spanish flan with whipped cream.
6. La Sastrería El Cabanyal Valencia Restaurant
La Sastrería (Carrer de Josep Benlliure, 42; T: 960 83 52 25) is a posh Cabanyal seafood restaurant. With a stunning tiled interior, it features Mediterranean cuisine, indoor and outdoor seating, and a chic cocktail bar.
Try the oysters, Spanish cheese specialties, Iberian ham or Titaina – a Cabanyal specialty made with tuna, peppers, tomatoes, pine nuts, and other local ingredients.
La Sastrería Seafood Restaurant in the El Cabanyal quarter of Valencia, Spain.
7. Mestiza – 100% Plant Based, 100% Vegan Cabanyal Restaurant
Mestiza (Calle de la Reina, 186; reservations on WhatsApp: 693 80 14 33) is El Cabanyal’s 100% vegan restaurant with a friendly staff and cozy indoor and outdoor seating.
With a colorful mix of dishes inspired by Spanish, Thai, Japanese, Indian, Mexican and other cuisines, starters include mushroom ceviche, cauliflower and mango tabouleh, nachos, tacos, and Thai meatballs – a tasty spin on classic Spanish albóndigas.
With main dishes like Tofu Pad Thai, Vegan Massaman Rice Curry and Plant-Based Greek Moussaka, you’ll find vegan desserts too.
Mestiza vegan restaurant in El Cabanyal: Top line: Pad Thai. Middle line: Nachos, Potatoes “Brava,” Plant-Based Greek Moussaka. Bottom line: Vegan Massaman Rice Curry, Grandma’s “Thai” meatballs.
8. Taska La Reina Cabanyal Restauant
Taska La Reina (Carrer de la Reina, 173; T: 961 52 76 86) is a really nice, casual restaurant where you can try high-quality tapas, fresh fish, traditional Spanish rice dishes – and creative dishes like Ceviche Corvina which fuses Japanese and Peruvian flavors with local fish.
With indoor and outdoor seating, it’s a good idea to reserve a table in advance especially on weekends at this Cabanyal eatery.
Taska La Reina in El Cabanyal Valencia: The beautiful tiled facade; Iberian pork tacos with black mole, pico de mango and yellow pepper mayonnaise.
9. La Batisfera: Funky Cabanyal Cafe and Restaurant with Adjoining Bookstore
With lots of indoor and outdoor seating, La Batisfera (Carrer de la Reina, 167; T: 962 045 845) is a really cool place to hang out with friends and groove on classic blues, rock and funk tunes. With lots of character and delicious vegan, vegetarian, seafood and meat dishes, you can also catch live music, exhibits and literary readings in the charming, multi-use space in El Cabanyal Valencia.
La Batisfera Restaurant: From top left: The exterior; a mural on the restaurant’s wall; shrimp tacos; baked provolone cheese with tomato and oregano; the view from the restaurant into the bookstore; octopus; vegan burgers, the author with friends; grilled sardines.
10. The Best Restaurants El Cabanyal Valencia Also Include Bar El Mercado at Cabanyal Market Hall Which Will Cook Your Meat and Fish for You
Known for their delicious croquettes, sandwiches and friendly service, Bar El Mercado in the Cabanyal market hall (Carrer de Martí Grajales, 4; open 7am to 2pm) will cook your meat and fish for you. Except sardines, that is.
So pick your favorite meat or fish from the many merchants at the Cabanyal market hall. You’ll even find a vegan meat and sausage stand.
And don’t forget to try a Valencian Café Cremeat – a delicious blend of espresso, rum, sugar, 2 coffee beans and a sliver of lemon rind.
Bar El Mercado in the Cabanyal Market Hall: From top left: The bar; croquettes; poster; Café Cremaet with rum; fresh fish; vegan sausages.
El Cabanyal Restaurant on the Beach
Wondering which tourist restaurant on the beach to pick? Here’s the one I love.
11. Cerveceria Freiduria
I took the whole family to Cerveceria Freiduria (Carrer de Isabel Villena, 16; T: 963 52 99 52) and we absolutely loved it. If you haven’t tried black paella before, this is a great place to try it.
What is black paella? It’s made with squid, squid ink, white wine, onions and bomba rice, a variety of rice grown in Valencia that is used in paellas. The salad, clams and brownie were also excellent.
Don’t forget to try an Agua De Valencia cocktail made with orange juice, champagne, gin and Contreau.
Cerveceria Freiduria: Clockwise from top left: Cerveceria Freiduria seafood restaurant; fresh clams; an Agua de Valencia cocktail; black seafood paella.
After Trying the Best Restaurants El Cabanyal Valencia Has to Offer, Pop into the Ice Cream Parlor and Pastry Shop
What would a trip to the beach in Valencia be without authentic Spanish ice cream and dessert?
12. Jijonenca Ice Cream Parlor
With two locations in El Cabanyal, one on the beach boardwalk (Passeig de Neptú, 26) and one in the hood (Carrer del Pare Lluís Navarro, 307), I got to know the owner and friendly staff.
After dining at a Cabanyal restaurant, Jijonenca is a great place to discover Spanish ice cream flavors and horchata.
Valencia is famous for its horchata and has been making it for centuries. Made from chufa (tiger nuts), you typically order a glass of horchata together with a farton, a light sugary pastry which you dip in your horchata.
At Jijonenca, you can even order ice cream in the flavor Horchata con Fartons. Other must-try Spanish flavors include Turrón con Trocitos (nougat ice cream made with honey and nougat pieces); Leche Merengada (meringue ice cream made with milk, egg whites, a dash of lemon and topped with fresh cinnamon).
Jijonenca Ice Cream Parlor in El Cabanyal: Clockwise from top left: Jijoñenca ice cream parlor; meringue ice cream topped with cinnamon; horchata ice cream with farton pastry; the author; a glass of horchata and a farton pastry.
13. La Tahona del Abuelo Bakery in El Cabanyal
La Tahona del Abuelo (Carrer los Àngeles, 84; T: 963 712 005; closed weekdays from 2-5pm) is a traditional, bakery that has been in El Cabanyal since 1886. Located on a quaint residential block, it’s a great place to pick up fresh bread and sample the ever-changing local specialties.
These include the Virgen de Valencia Tarta, a delicious tart that recalls the almond-flour-based Galician Tarta de Santiago. The Virgen de Valencia Tarta is, however, made with almond flour and pumpkin purée so it’s wonderfully moist. It also, of course, features an image of the Virgin of Valencia.
Or try Valencian Panquemao, a sweet bread roll made with olive oil and lemon and orange rind. Typically eaten during Semana Santa (Holy Week), the bakery sells the bread roll throughout the year.
La Tahona del Abuela Bakery: Clockwise from top left: The bakery; the Virgen de Valencia Tarta; the caramel-topped Mousse de Galletas María Tarta made with Marie biscuits and condensed milk; a Valencian Panquemao bread roll and a mini Virgin of Valencia Tart; a friendly employee.
Hipster El Cabanyal Restaurants with Food, Music and More
14. Mercabañal Food Trucks: Super Hip El Cabanyal Restaurants in One Place
Feeling hipster cool? Head to Mercabañal (Carrer de Eugènie Viñes, 225), Valencia’s unique outdoor food truck space that runs through the whole block. With two levels, food trucks sell everything from traditional Spanish tapas to Thai food, pizza and all kinds of beverages. Fun vibe and mellow industrial-urban atmosphere.
Mercabañal: Clockwise from top left: Outside seating; croquettes; Thai food; Spanish tapas; empanadas; one of several bars.
15. La Fábrica de Hielo: Basic Street Food and an Arty Place to Dance It All Off
Let the funk flow at La Fábrica de Hielo (‘the ice factory,’ Carrer de Pavia, 37), a multipurpose venue and culture center with a bar, food, live music and other events. A great place to dance or just hang out and people watch! No cover.
The Ice Factory.
Conclusion
Embark on a culinary journey through Valencia’s vibrant El Cabanyal district, where an array of exceptional restaurants awaits. From charming seafood bistros serving freshly caught delights to cozy tapas joints brimming with local flavors and vegan restaurants, the dining scene here offers something to tantalize every palate. With its blend of authentic cuisine and coastal charm, exploring the best Cabanyal restaurants promises a memorable gastronomic experience.
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DID YOU EAT AT ANY OF THESE EL CABANYAL VALENCIA RESTAURANTS?
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