Valencia

As usual check the web sites www.booking.com and www.venere.com and try to choose somewhere as near the old centre as possible, recommended are

Ad Hoc Hotel, C/Boix 4, www.adhochoteles.com is a very nice hotel in the old part of the city, five minutes walk from the Cathedral, this was new when we used it and good to see it is high up the list of best places to stay.

There are some lovely apartments available through www.friendlyrentals.com we have used the company in several cities.

Old City

Jamon, Jamon Calle Bolseria 36 has a great selection of cheeses, meats, bread with toppings (Embuditos) and good wine, friendly and reasonably priced. It is very popular. El Molinon, C/Bolseria 40 is very similar to Jamon Jamon and specialises in meats and cheeses, recent reports indicate a possible change of ownership as the service does not seem as good as previously, perhaps just an off night.

Tasca Angel, C/Purisima 2, between the Market & P/Reina is an old fashioned bar where the speciality is grilled, boned, butterflied sardines. It is also possibly the smallest bar in the city so be patient and you will be served, once you have got in the door of course.

Taberna La Purisima, C/La Purisima 3, a couple of minutes walk from the Mercado central and the Lonja, has an excellent value menu del dia for 12 Euros at the weekend including a glass of wine. Helpful staff who will seat you at the bar if you have to wait for a table, which is likely given the amount of locals eating there.

Taberna de la Reina, P/Reina, is another excellent bar with a good selection of pinxtos, it is a good to sit outside and watch the world go by. Reasonably priced.

Bar Las Cuevas, Off P/de la Virgen, C/Samaniego 9, has a fabulous variety of tapas including lots of baked filled vegetables and seafood, the rice dishes which I have not tried also get great reports.

Seu-Xerea, C/Comte de Almodovar 4, does very good modern food, Spanish with an Oriental mix there is an excellent value menu at lunchtime. Just wish we had been able to return on our last short visit as the recent reports make me want to experience the great cooking again..

Plaza del Tossal & C/ Caballeros is the buzzy night area with bars and clubs but also places to sit out. Bar San Jaume on P/Tossal is a great place to people watch, the bar itself is an old pharmacy and a lovely building.

Bocatin, C/Calatrava 21, came across this while wandering around this area and decided to give it a try for a glass of wine and a couple of tapas and left delighted by our find. The pincho de moruno came as a small casserole with potatoes and sweet onions and a bit of a kick, the croquettes, always a test, were excellent.

Barrio del Carmen

Maria Mandiles, C/Padre Huerfanos 2, Barrio del Carmen, they have two or three restaurants with the same name around the city. We tried this one twice, the first time for some jamon and cheese and one or two montaditos with a bottle of wine and were delighted with the friendly service and reasonably priced food. The second time we went back for a Sunday lunchtime seafood paella which was outstanding value for the quality. I noticed that they really make an effort with customers to make their visit enjoyable.

La Rentaora, Placa del Mossen Sorrell 11, Barrio del Carmen, this was a real find, there are a number of places nearby but this seemed incredibly popular and we agreed to come back in an  hour when there would be a free table. Delighted that we did as the food was good, plentiful and cheap, as was the wine. The service was really friendly and the dishes were so large we changed our last of three choices for a salad.

Café De L’Abad, C/Alta 21, a great place for a post lunch coffee or other drinks. They have an excellent coffee list including local specialities of Café Bonbon, layered with condensed milk, or Café Belmonte, the same but with the addition of brandy.

Tasca El Botijo, C/San Miguel, Barrio del Carmen, an open from morning till night place, in the evening it gets packed. It can be slightly uncomfortable as it gets crowded but the dishes served are worth the squeeze.

Bar Restaurant Almudin, C/Almudin 14, what a lovely place to come upon while wandering around the Barrio del Carmen. Charming staff, lovely wine and a free (generous) tapas of excellent patatas bravas. Having seen a number of dishes coming from the kitchen, this is a must next time.

Santa Companya C/Roteros 21 Lovely modern tapas bar with Italian influence pinxtos (snacks) also cheese and meat plates and specials has a very good wine list, very popular and little chance of a table without a reservation at the weekend.

Port & Beach

Take the tram or the bus to the port area, and walk along the beach but don’t miss the area behind, called Cabanyal with its original fishermans houses.

Bodega Casa Montana, C/Josep Benillure 69 is one of the best bars I have been in, a wonderful old fashioned bodega with excellent tapas and a fabulous wine selection, go for a pre lunch drink and tapas or just stay and eat and drink. These days unless you getting there early it is advisable to book a table.

Casa Guillermo, C/Progreso 15, Cabanyal, this has been run by the same family for generations and moved a couple of years ago to a new location, only minutes from where it was originally. This is an improvement as the new place is brighter, larger and with a patio. It is famous for it’s anchovies, it is known as the king of the anchovies, and also for its lovely owner and staff and the rest of the dishes it does.

La Lonja del Pescado, C/Eugenia Vines 243, is near where the tram reaches the beach one street back from the front. You get your list of grilled fish/seafood dishes and fill in what you want at the table then this gets collected along with your drinks order, a great place and very reasonable. In the winter evenings only, except weekends.

Eating a paella at the beach should be experienced in Valencia and there is a large selection of places, however the jury seems to be out as to which ones are good and which ones not. One we thought good a few years ago seems to have deteriorated, therefore reluctant to recommend one.

L’Eixample

Taperia Hispania, C/Hernan Cortes 20, L’Eixample, a great place to try modern tapas in a very modern setting, we were lucky to get seats at the bar as it soon filled up. The two dishes we tried were both top notch, artichokes, veal cheeks and a red wine reduction and eggs with jamon and potatoes(may not sound exciting but done properly it’s great). Re-reading the menu as I write this I want to try many more of the dishes.

Cervecceria Maipi, C/Maestro Jose Serrano 1, L’Eixample, this is mentioned as a very traditional Valencian restaurant and it certainly is, the walls are adorned by the great players from Valencia FC. We only tried a couple of dishes at the bar and the quality was excellent, the prices are definitely on the high side.

This part of the city has some very upmarket bars and restaurants so it is worth doing some homework and seeking out a couple of places to get a feel of this area.

Ruzafa (Russafa)

This is a great area to explore, it has been “up and coming” and now is packed with unusual shops, galleries, places to eat and loads of quirky bars. Start your wander at Backstage Russafa, C/Literato Azorin 1, as the name indicates a theatrical style bar and then you are spoilt for choice with places to try.

Drink

Here you have a great opportunity to sample some excellent and probably lesser known wines, Utiel-Requena in the Valencia region produces both reds and white, the reds mainly from bobal grape and some other allowed varieties such as tempranillo and garnacha.

Further south just into Murcia there are two areas producing excellent reds, Yecla and Jumilla, they mainly use the monastrell grape variety, both areas also produce white wines. Keep an eye out and try some new local wines.