608 Best Restaurants in Spain

After 10 years as the chief cook and favored disciple of pioneering chef Ferran Adrià, Albert Raurich opened this outstanding Asian-fusion restaurant that focuses on an eclectic assortment of tastes and textures. There are several tasting menus to choose from; an à la carte menu is available at the bar. 

Albert Raurich of the upscale Dos Palillos restaurant, transformed his favorite neighborhood haunt, Bar Raval, into a cutting-edge tapas bar that explores the history of Mediterranean cuisine. The gleaming makeover hasn't robbed the space of its old-town feel, though, thanks to little touches like the restored original facade and vintage cutlery.

Diego Guerrero, the punk-rock chef of two-Michelin-star Dstage, also runs this more casual outpost. The menu turns classic Spanish dishes—for example, monkfish in salsa verde, Canarian wrinkly potatoes, stewed verdinas (baby favas)—on their heads by adding unorthodox ingredients like seaweed, kimchi, whey, and liquid-nitrogen-frozen fruit, and the result is thrilling. A quirky wine list heavy on natural and low-yield producers complements the cuisine nicely. Take the stairs one flight down to the cocktail bar for a preprandial personality drink or nightcap.

A restaurant housed inside the Llanes fish market and right on the water means you’ll get the freshest catch in town. Watch your next meal come into the port on small fishing boats and enjoy minimalist preparations that highlight the natural quality of each fish, mollusk, and crustacean on the menu. 

Seafood lovers shouldn't miss this modern, Ibiza-chic marisquería (seafood restaurant) with original wrought-iron columns, white tablecloths, and ample alfresco seating. The griddled prawns from Dénia are always a treat, as are the cloudlike roasted sole and any number of rice dishes.

On the edge of the Old Town, this relaxed bilevel restaurant serves enticing dishes in plentiful portions. Downstairs, indulge in tapas and simpler dishes, or head to the fancier dining space upstairs for specialties like roast suckling pig, lamb chops, and sea bass baked in rock salt.

The name suggests grilled meat, but this restaurant in the heart of the Judería serves much more. In the colorful bar try sharing plates (from €5) such as the berenjenas crujientes con salmorejo (crispy fried eggplant slices with thick gazpacho), while in the restaurant opt for the supremely fresh grilled fish or the steak, which is the best in town, particularly the namesake churrasco ibérico (grilled Iberian pork, served here in a spicy tomato-based sauce). There's alfresco dining on the inner patio or upper-floor terrace when it's warm outside—also the season to try another specialty: gazpacho blanco de piñones con manzanas y pasas (a white gazpacho made with pine nuts, apple, and raisins). Save some room for the leche frita con helado de canela (creamy dessert with cinnamon ice cream).

The buzz around this down-home Santa Cruz standby is well deserved, as you'll see when you sample chef Carlos's steak tartare, the best in town, or his rustic snail stew enriched with trotters (don't knock it till you try it). The star dessert is huevo mole, a traditional Canarian confection of egg yolk and sugar whipped into a creamy mousse.

El De Alberto marries traditional Galician flavors with eye-catching modern presentation. Alberto, the passionate and friendly chef-owner, has no qualms about, say, dolloping kimchi sauce on local octopus or painting truffle butter on baked scallops (instead of the usual squirt of lemon). The sunlit dining room with white tablecloths and colorful velvet chairs sits at the halfway point between casual and fancy.

This must be one of the world's most unusual restaurants. Here, in the heart of Timanfaya National Park, chicken, steaks, and spicy sausages are cooked over a volcanic crater using the earth's natural heat. Be forewarned: the food is nowhere near as epic as the environs, and on chilly days, you might be served cold meat as all barbecue dishes are cooked outdoors, but it's still a worthwhile bucket-list dining experience. El Diablo is situated inside the park beyond the ticket booth, which means you can't eat here without purchasing entry into the park.

Around the southern end of the beach at Sant Feliu de Guixols, perched over the entrance to the harbor, this family seafood restaurant offers superb sea views as well as fine fare at unbeatable prices. Whether straight seafood such as lubina (sea bass) or dorada (gilt-head bream) or revuelto de setas (eggs scrambled with wild mushrooms), everything served here is fresh and flavorful.

This eccentric indoor--outdoor restaurant one municipality over from El Paso specializes in flavorful allergen-free food prepared for guests with any range of dietary requirements. All ingredients are organic; nearly every dish is gluten-, dairy-, and nut-free; and the best part is, you don't miss these common ingredients, thanks to the chef's creativity. Highlights include the La Palma-raised braised beef, cooked sous-vide until it's spoon-tender, and the flight of homemade sorbets made with local fruit and freshly pressed almond milk.    

Bodacious, colorful plating and innovative Canarian cuisine are the hallmarks of this cozy restaurant two blocks from Las Alcaravaneras beach. Expect cheffy dishes like rum-macerated Canarian beefsteak with mushroom cream or zucchini maki with gofio and shiso—and enthusiastic service to match.

A fixture on the quiet and pleasant Plaza San Juan, this restaurant has been run by the same family for 70 years and counting. In its jumble of old-fashioned dining rooms with wood-beam ceilings, feast on regional delicacies including venado de montería (wild venison) and perdiz estofada (partridge stew) complemented by full-bodied local wines.

Family owned since 1849, this iconic restaurant is tucked into a charming street and is famous for its roasted suckling lamb, cooked in a wood-burning oven. The cozy dining room is as Castilian as it gets: a stone exterior, wooden beams and finishes, and old family paintings. They also serve the traditional suckling pig, but stick to the lamb. 

This well-priced restaurant, with tablecloths and fresh flowers on every table, serves attractively presented international fare: you'll find steak frites made with Extremaduran beef, but there are also dishes like teriyaki-glazed duck and tuna carpaccio with avocado—played-out gastronomical relics from the aughts that we begrudgingly admit to missing.

Painting and photographic exhibits line the walls of this large and lively Born restaurant, and the menu is dominated by meat cooked over coals, pizzas, and salads. Flamenco and jazz performances downstairs are a good post-dinner diversion.

Although this is a well-established vegetarian and vegan venue, the dishes prepared here with local produce are favorites among omnivorous locals. The café has a laid-back, hippieish atmosphere, with a technicolor sunflower painting on one wall and framed photos on the others. The two or four-course menus (€12, €18) are the great lunchtime options (Mon.-Thurs.), and an excellent value; the full menu includes a salad plus two courses, dessert, and organic bread. Specialties include goat's cheese millefeuille and quinoa with roasted vegetables. Leave room for the Indian-style grilled yogurt. El Girasol fills up: unless you are traveling solo, get here early or make a reservation. 

If you've done any traveling on the Costa's main A7 highway, you've doubtless spotted this place, high in the pine-clad hills above the village—the views from the dining room stretch all the way to Africa on a clear day. The dishes, made with the freshest ingredients, have a definite touch of northern Spain, and the restaurant and tapas bar are both popular with a sophisticated Spanish clientele. Highlights include traditional stews such as fabes con almejas (beans with clams), creamy rice with king prawns, and steaks grilled over oak wood embers. There's an extensive wine list.

This old-timey restaurant, with dark wood-paneled walls lined with bottles of wine, serves classic Spanish food like huevos estrellados, grilled meats, and fish (sea bass, haddock, grouper, and more) in various preparations. Check out the pictures of famous celebrities who've eaten at this typically noisy landmark; they line the staircase that leads to the main dining area.

On the main shopping street, this restaurant is a convenient place to eat after sightseeing, especially since the kitchen is open from 8 am to 11 pm. Try to snag a table on the terrace that overflows onto the leafy pedestrian street (the interior dining room is comparatively drab). The salads, particularly the ensalada de bacalao confitado con pimientos asados (slow-cooked cod with roasted peppers), are appetizing and generous.

Part of Poblenou’s Sala Beckett cultural center, this restaurant’s vast, high-ceilinged dining room fills up with locals at lunchtime, thanks to its excellent, well-priced "menu del día" of classic Catalan dishes. Reserve a table for the popular Sunday-afternoon vermouth hour, featuring live jazz between noon and 1 pm.

Chef Nuria de la Torre's menu combines local staples with unusual partners. The lasagna has a venison base, asparagus pairs with smoked sardines, and Iberian pork steak comes with piquant Canary Island mojo picón sauce. The short but sweet dessert menu includes pineapple infused with ginger and cured goat’s cheesecake, plus a daily special. LP vinyls serve as placemats, the menu sits tucked inside Asterix albums, and corks line the walls checkered with cookbooks and Granada memorabilia. Book ahead for a guaranteed table.

A picturesque riverside location, knotty pine walls, wood beams, and a rustic prix fixe that highlights regional specialties make this a lovely spot for a meal. There is a ground-floor dining room with large windows that frame a broad sweep of the river and a second, smaller dining room tucked up in the attic.

Signed photos from the likes of King Juan Carlos and Julio Iglesias cover the walls of this elegant stone-wall restaurant opened in 1928. Specialties include lenguado a la plancha (grilled sole) and navajas (razor clams). The tocinillo de cielo, a double-rich caramel flan, is heavenly, as the name implies. The restaurant's name refers to an era when wine arrived in wooden barrels: if mosquitoes gathered at the barrel's mouth, it held good wine.

Although it's on a busy access road and inside a drab building, this restaurant is well worth a stop. Menu highlights include playfully plated appetizers and decadent meats. Save room for the locally famous cheesecake. 

Hidden away at the end of a narrow unmarked passageway off the Pla del Palau, near the Santa Maria del Mar church, this restaurant is a favorite with well-heeled and well-fed gourmands who tuck in their napkins before devouring some of the city's best traditional seafood dishes. Don't bother asking for a menu—there isn't one (although you can prebook a set menu in advance online if you prefer), rather, you can either place yourself completely in the hands of the team, or tell your server what your budget is (starting from around €60 per person, but the sky's the limit). This is the upscale version of nearby Cal Pep, so if your budget doesn't stretch as far as the Passadís---head over to the more affordable sister restaurant instead.

Owned by the proprietors of one the best fish markets in town, Pescaderías Coruñesas, this seafood restaurant with a warm modern interior welcomes guests with an impressive window display of fresh seafood—red and white prawns, Kumamoto oysters, goose barnacles, and the renowned Galician Carril clams are just some of what you might see. Fish (including turbot, sole, grouper, and sea bass) is cooked to your liking in the oven, on the grill, in a pan with garlic, or battered and fried.

With a privileged spot a block north from the cathedral, this central restaurant offers two dining spaces: the traditional inside patio, where wood, mirrors, and tasteful lighting create an intimate but airy space, or the pleasant terrace outside. The cuisine combines Andalusian dishes with a modern touch, with menu items such as bloody gazpacho, Idiázabal blue cheese risotto, and red tuna tartare. The baked cheesecake is a favorite dessert.

With rustic red-tile floors, bare brick walls, and ancient beams and coats of arms, this 15th-century inn turns out classical Castilian and Basque specialties reflective of the region. Try the cochinillo lechal (roast suckling pig) or any of the monkfish preparations. The wine cellar is a gold mine. To reserve a tasting menu, priced at around €60, be sure to call at least two days ahead.