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Spanish food culture is from another world, people tend to communicate a lot while eating, so good food and tapas are a must in everyday life. That’s why you can find restaurants on every corner in Spain. I discovered some really good ones and bad ones as well while living here in sunny Valencia. It’s time to share them with you.
It’s not a secret that I have been vegetarian for about 12 years and sometimes I do experiments and stay vegan. Here in Spain where people like ham and meat in general, it’s not easy to find really good places to eat tasty vegetarian food. There are some restaurants oriented to vegetarian or vegan food but not many. Sure you can find a really good vegetarian food in standard restaurants too. It is always better to know in advance those places that fit your eating habits.
So in this article I will share with you all these restaurants, I classified them in separate categories. I hope this way it will be easier to find your favourite ones. Of course, keep in mind that this is only my opinion and my favourite places. I will try to describe more broadly, giving you a wider look.
I WILL START WITH VEGETARIAN/VEGAN OPTIONS:
NOMÏT
Nice place for vegetarians and vegans and also dog friendly. Whole meniu is interesting and worth a try (from vegan burgers to veg thai dish). My favourite dishes in this restaurant are: salad “crudivegana” and “patatas bravas”. They make their own sauce for “patatas bravas” and also add some sweet potato and beetroot that makes this dish unique and very delicious.
Jardín Urbano
This restaurant has interesting homey interior design and dishes for vegans. I liked not all the dishes here but what I liked were vegan cheese balls, guacamole and salad with quinoa.
Oslo, Copenhagen, Malmö
These three restaurants have the same owner and menu is pretty similar in all three. I would say these are quality restaurants for vegetarians and vegans. They have some unconventional dishes and some standard ones. Tapas are really nice and everything is tasty. I like this group of restaurants. They are like a fresh breeze through the typical dishes in the other restaurants.
La Rogeta
I have never been to this restaurant but have heard a lot of recommendations about this place. My friends say that this restaurant is a really good place to eat, so that’s why I put this on my list. I will definitely try this place and update information.
Almalibre Açaí bar
If you like fruit and vegetable bowls, this is the place. This is a vegan/vegetarian restaurant. One thing which makes this place different is acai berry dishes. Here it is possible to eat bowls with acai berries and they are interesting and tasty. Hamburgers are also very tasty. At the moment this is my favourite vegan place.
Khambu
This is another vegan restaurant. They serve hamburgers, salads, wraps. They even have vegan desserts. So it’s a nice place to eat vegan food, but keep in mind that it is still a fast food place.
SALAD PLACE
BeGreen Salad Company
This place I like a lot. First of all, let me explain how they work. This restaurant has a menu, where they serve wraps, salads, hamburgers and acai bowls. You can see everything they are making at the moment, so you can choose the ingredients you like. You can create your own salad and choose the products which fit you best. From menu I like salad BeSweet, but I always ask them to change feta cheese to tomatoes, and they always do it without problem. So it’s a perfect choice for people who have allergies or like/dislike some ingredients. It’s a really nice, healthy and tasty place.
SUSHI AND ASIAN FOOD PLACES
Kento
Best sushi place in the city center. Designed to take away directly from the fridge in which everything is made very fresh. You can also choose a combo sushi box full of different menu items. Very comfortable and perfect lunch. They have vegetarian and vegan options. You can take away or eat inside in uniquely decorated place.
Kamon
The restaurant says that it is Japanese and Meditarean kitchen mix. But I would say it is closer to Japanese. In Kamon you can eat not only sushi but also other Asian food, for example, miso, ramen, yakisoba, and some meat options. The restaurant has really nice interior, tasty and quality food.
Colala Noodles Express
This restaurant is very simple, but at the same time has cozy interior design, the prices are also good. Menu options are broad, from sushi to seafood and also noodles. From time to time I like to come to this place.
Lemongrass
This is a chain restaurant. What I like most about it is that I can choose products from the menu. For example I can choose base (noodles or rice), then some additional ingredients and sauce. It’s very convenient for people who don’t like some food and they have the possibility to choose what they like. And another good reason to come here is that everything is really fast (both service and cooking).
Udon
We found this restaurant accidentally and we liked it. A lot of options of noodles, yakisoba, rice with curry and vegetables, sushi as well. They have enough vegetable food options, so it is suitable for both vegans and vegetarians.
NICE INTERIOR DESIGN, GOOD VIBE AND FOOD
La Marina Beach
A fancy, cozy, beautiful beach restaurant. The location and surroundings are the biggest advantages of this restaurant. Even though they don’t have a lot of vegetarian options, I often choose veg sushi or crispy rolls (without salmon). They are not Asian oriented restaurant but I like these two. For those who like fish, salads or seafood dishes are always a very good choice. I like that the service tends to be very pleasant. They always serve bread on a table so ask for alioli it’s a really good combination.
La Girafe
This restaurant is in front of the beach and has a terrace with the view of the sea and another one in the courtyard. The latter is very cozy and charming. I like this place because the food is very nice. You can get some vegetarian options here but I don’t think that they have vegan food. If you like crepes this is the place. They have sweet and salty crepes. I have to say these crepes are amazing. I tried salty crepes they are big and sometimes very heavy with a lot of ingredients. The way pancakes are served is completely different. They also have some nice trendy brunch ideas.
Gaspar
I found this place when we were celebrating my friends birthday. A really nice place with interesting interior design. This restaurant is packed in the evenings and sometimes at lunch time. Vegetarian options are available on the menu. I liked salads and some tapas for example the hummus. Really worth a try.
Baltasar
This restaurant has nice interior design. The food is also nice, for example tapas: humus, patatas bravas, shrimps and other. For the main dishes you can eat fish, meat or salads. Everyone can find something to eat.
TagoMago
The interior in all restaurants is really nice.
Goya restaurant
This restaurant is very well rated and has won some awards. It’s a meditarrean kitchen and they don’t have many options for vegetarians, maybe some salads only. Mostly fish, meat, seafood and paellas. Interesting interior design and quality food.
PAELLA PLACES
I need to say, even after several years of living in Spain, it is still difficult to say which places are best. Because there are too many touristy places with really bad quality of paella. But in the end we found some good options.
Taberna Española
We went to this restaurant because at that point we wanted to eat a lot. I thought it was just another touristy place, because the restaurant is in the city center. But I was surprised. The food, I mean paella was really good. It was possible to make it only for one person (because normally they make paellas minimum for two persons). But that time they served one pan to each of us. It was such a big portion… and of course very tasty. You need to keep in mind that the restaurant is very simple, nothing fancy and it’s better to sit outside on the terrace.
Alqueria del Pou
This place is interesting because you can find this restaurant in the fields where nobody lives. Maybe that’s why often people don’t know about it. It’s a pretty authentic place, very simple but the paellas are tasty.
Alqueria de la Mar
This place I know from my friends recommendations. It’s already on my list to visit. I heard a lot of good reviews of it. So I will update this article, after I visit it.
PIZZA PLACES
Yolo
Yolo is something similar to BeGreenSalad restaurant. Because here you can choose the ingredients which you like and the price will be the same. They have a large showcase with products so everyone can find what they like. They also have gluten free pizzas. To be honest it’s not the best pizza in my life but it’s still very good and tasty. I like the fact that you can create vegan or gluten free pizza with the ingredients you like. So you can make very tasty meal.
Restaurante La Piemontesa
This restaurant is in the commercial center. They have a nice terrace from where you can enjoy a nice view. I like the service here and the food is of good quality. Pizzas are very thin as I like them most.
San Tommaso
This place is very small and in summer sometimes you need to wait outside for 1 hour. And guess what? People do and we waited as well. I would say it was worth waiting because the food was very tasty. If you have the opportunity to get inside, be sure to visit it, because it’s a very authentic place.
La Finestra
This place is different from others. There are no reservations, there is no menu. You just come here, sit where you find place, sometimes even together with strangers. And you just tell them only the ingredients you dislike and they make you a surprise pizza. Pizzas are small but very cheap. It’s a very nice place where you can make a lot of friends, of course it depends on where you sit. I think people come here not because of the pizza but because they have the opportunity to meet some new people.
Ginos
This is an Italian restaurant chain. I like this chain because they make really thin pizzas. I love the fact that you can choose ingredients you like and they make pizza from those products. Another thing I enjoyed here is olive oil with cajan pepper. I started using it with pizza and for me it is now the best sauce. I also started making it at home. It was a good discovery for me in this restaurant.
FOR DRINKS
Zumería Naturalia
For me, it’s a best selection of juice in the city. As they say they have been making juice for 20 years. If you want a very big glass of juice (I would say a smoothie), just go there. You can choose fruits from the big menu so everyone can discover what they like. They also have sweet and salty crepes. I like this place mostly because of the perfect smoothie cocktails.
La manera
This restaurant has hands down the best cocktails in the city. We don’t drink alcohol but they can prepare virgin cocktails and they are the best. The taste is so different and high quality. Also the food is very nice. They have some vegetarian options. For example in this place I mostly like hot tomato soup, falafels and mushroom croquettes. “Patatas bravas” they make with their own sauce which makes this dish stand out and taste very delicious.
Hawaika
This place is very different compared to others. Interior is created in such a way that you can feel Hawaiian vibes. Lights, furniture, sculptures, utensils, music, everything is thought up to the smallest detail. For me this place looks interesting if you want something new and you’re bored with the usual restaurants. However in this place you can only drink cocktails (alcoholic and alcohol free) and eat some deserts and that’s it.
COFFEE/TEA PLACES
Cafe de las Horas
This place is a must to visit. The interior is something from another world. Very big menu of interesting teas and coffees.
La Pequeña Pastelería de Mamá
This place is a little bit far from the city centre, but if you are visiting the Science Museum you can visit this place as well. Very cozy interior, family business and very tasty and nice food. Especially on Christmas time this place turns into a fairytale with lights and some very nice live music.
La Petite Brioche Sorní
They have two restaurants near the city center. These are cozy places for when you want to meet your friend for a cup of coffee or tea.
INDIAN FOOD PLACE
TAJ MAHAL
This I think is the most popular Indian restaurant in Valencia and it offers some really tasty Indian food with a broad menu.
PINCHES PLACE
Orio
It may seem like a typical tapas bar but more often it’s called a pinch bar because the food is served with sticks. This restaurant is in the city center and has different rooms. One room downstairs is built on excavated old foundations so it looks ancient. The restaurant works in a different way. They have very small dishes (often it’s a bread bite with fish, meat, cheese, vegetables) stacked on the bar. You can take whatever you want, sit at a table and eat. From time to time they bring hot dishes to the room and you can also choose whatever you want. When you want to pay the bill they count the sticks which remain after tapas. Sometimes they have really tasty and interesting bites for vegetarians too but not for vegans. Depending on the day of the week, you may have different experiences. On weekends, when there are more people, it’s likely you will have more food choices and variations of pinches.
COMPLETELY GLUTEN FREE PLACE
CeliacRuz
This place is suitable for people who do not tolerate gluten. Here you can find the famous “empanadillas” without gluten and dessert without it as well. Not all food is vegan. They also make themed Sunday brunch. One Sunday it can be vegan brunch, another Italian brunch (with a cheese and meat options) but always without gluten.
ICE CREAM PLACES
Véneta food & Gelato Italiano
Here no words are needed. The best is the best. They got awards for some of their ice cream and they are really good. Another good thing is that they have one option for vegans too. It’s sherbet but it tastes very good.
Gelateria La Romana
Another nice place for ice cream and pancakes. I like that the interior is nice and very clean. Such a beautiful place to sit a little bit and eat some ice cream or crepes.
DESSERT PLACES
Dulce de Leche Boutique Ruzafa
This is a famous dessert place. They also have a food menu, but other popular things here to buy are desserts. Huge and very very sweet cakes. So sweet that dessert lovers will definitely find what to eat.
La Más Bonita
This place is very popular among tourists because in the restaurant near the Patacona beach you can always see very long queues. There are 3 restaurants in the city, one close to the beach, another in Ruzafa and the last one near Mercado Colon. All 3 places have really nice and cozy interior design. What makes this restaurant so exclusive that people stand in queues? They say the desserts. Yes, they have some big and nice cakes. But they also have a normal food menu.
Do not forget that in many restaurants in Spain you need to reserve your table for the night. In some of them you need to book a table before 2 days or even week.
I got some recommendations from my friends to try new restaurants. When I do it I will definitely update this article and share my opinion with you.
If you find this article useful share it with other gourmands and give their stomachs more pleasure!
Also please tell me about your favourite places in comments field below.
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