Along with tortilla de patata and sangria, paella is probably Spain’s most famous export. This traditional Spanish rice dish, often made with chicken or seafood, can be found everywhere in Spain and almost every restaurant has paella on the menu, but the best place to eat it has to be where it was first invented, in Valencia. Don’t worry if you can’t get there though, because today we’re looking at the best paellas in Barcelona, Valencia, Madrid, Seville and Palma de Mallorca.
What is paella?
The best description of a Spanish paella is boiled rice with saffron and other ingredients. The most common paella recipes include seafood like mussels, prawns and calamari, although some, such as the typical paella valenciana, also contain chicken or rabbit. You can even get vegetarian paellas with carrot, peas, courgette and any other veggies you can think of.
All the ingredients are stewed together with stock over a fire in a great big paella pan, known in Spanish as a paellera or a paella. In fact, the name of the dish comes from the Valencian word ‘paella’, meaning simply pan. Be careful when ordering a paella in restaurant in Spain, though: the double L is actually pronounced like a Y, so the pronunciation is more like “pie-eya”. If you say “pie-ela”, they might not understand you!
The best paella restaurants in Spain
- Quinto Quinta, Barcelona
Barcelona is a close cousin of Valencia, just up the Mediterranean coast, and they share similarities in language between Catalan and Valencian, and also in their cuisine. In fact, Barcelona is probably the best place for paella outside of Valencia. Quinto Quinta is the perfect restaurant to enjoy a good paella in the centre of Barcelona, right next to the Plaça d'Espanya and the Barcelona-Sants train station. It offers incredible views over the city from its charming rooftop terrace, and a traditional paella cooked to perfection.
- Where: Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, 373-375, 08015, Barcelona, Spain
- Opening hours: Sundays to Thursdays, 12:00 – 01:00; Fridays and Saturdays 12:00 – 01:30
- Paella price: 15.50 euro
- Website: www.quintoquinta.com
- Restaurante Levante, Valencia
All Spanish people like to think their mother’s cooking is the best in the world, and all Valencians believe that nothing beats a home-cooked paella. Even so, the city of Valencia has lots of beachfront restaurants where you can try the best paella money can buy. One restaurant in a small town outside of Valencia city centre, Restaurante Levante, lets you try authentic paella that’s just as good as any of grandma’s recipes. It even won an award for the best wine in Valencia, with over 10,000 bottles in their bodega. For the intrepid traveller, they also offer the opportunity to try a personalised paella cooking course!
- Where: Carrer Verge del Fonament, 27, 46181 Benissanó, Valencia, Spain
- Opening hours: Wednesdays to Mondays, 13:00 – 16:00; closed on Tuesdays
- Paella price: 11 euro
- Website: www.restaurantelevante.com
- Glass Mar, Madrid
There are those who say that landlocked Madrid gets the best seafood in all of Spain because it’s rushed straight to the capital in freight trucks as soon as the day’s catch comes in. Chef Ángel León has been using these fresh ingredients to innovate in the world of haute cuisine paella in Madrid in his restaurant Glass Mar near the Puerta del Sol. Here you can try unique paella dishes from sticky rice with plankton to an arroz with cuttlefish broth or garlic sauce. Truly groundbreaking.
- Where: Carrera de S. Jerónimo, 34, 28014 Madrid, Spain
- Opening hours: Every day, 13:30 – 16:00 and 20:30 – 23:30
- Paella price: 26 euro
- Website: www.glassmar.es
- L’Albufera, Seville
If you want to eat like a local in Seville, head to this restaurant in the far south of the city. It’s a bit of a long journey from the city centre but well worth it for the more than 20 different types of paella and Valencian-style arroces with every ingredient you can imagine. You can choose whether you want a portion for two, four or six people and the price is very reasonable too.
- Where: Calle Corbeta, 5, B, 41012 Seville, Spain
- Opening hours: Tuesdays to Sundays, 8:30 – 23:30; Mondays 7:00 – 17:00
- Paella price: 9 – 14 euro, on average
- Website: www.paellasensevilla.com
- La Payesita, Palma de Mallorca
Finally, if you’re looking for a restaurant right on the beachfront in Mallorca’s capital city, you should definitely check out La Payesita, one of the best paella restaurants in Spain and possibly one of the great restaurants on the island of Mallorca. It’s nothing fancy – just good old, honest food and excellent service in a truly marvellous setting.
- Where: Carrer de les Nanses, s/n, 07610 Can Pastilla, Balearic Islands, Spain
- Opening hours: Mondays to Sundays, 12:30 – 00:00
- Paella price: 16 euro
- Website: www.facebook.com/LaPayesita
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