155 Best Restaurants in Spain

This casual seafood spot around the corner from the Hostal de los Reyes Católicos specializes in shellfish ranging from melt-in-your-mouth battered mini scallops to a take-no-prisoners variado de mariscos platter with langoustines, king prawns, crab, and percebes (barnacles, a local delicacy).

Owner Norberto Jorge, a quirky, jolly gent, offers a produce-centric menu with painstakingly selected wines to match at this snug book-lined restaurant. Rice dishes are the house specialty, and they're cooked in extra-flat paella pans specially manufactured for the restaurant.

Colorful and informal, this spot near the beach is known for its fried acedia (a type of small sole) and langostinos, which come from these very waters. The seafood paella is also catch-of-the-day fresh. In summer, the place gets packed with vacationers and locals.

Botín, established in 1725, was a favorite of Ernest Hemingway—the final scene of The Sun Also Rises is set in this very place. The cochinillo (suckling pig), stuffed with aromatics, doused with wine, and crisped in the original wood-burning oven, is a must. There are four floors of tile and wood-beam dining rooms and, if you're seated upstairs, you'll pass the centuries-old ovens. It's rumored Goya washed dishes here before starting out as a painter.

Segovia's oldest restaurant, founded in 1895 and still run by the same family, has a rustic interior with wood beams and bric-a-brac hanging on the walls. The decor suits the unfussy (if perhaps overpriced) cuisine, which features roast meats and stewed local judiones (broad beans).

This restaurant—a Castilian classic—is known for refined Burgos standbys, especially cochinillo and lamb served straight from the 200-year-old wood oven. Wines by the glass are local and reasonably priced.

Geared toward a tourist clientele, this place is always packed, noisy, and fun, and there is live Spanish guitar music on the roof terrace most summer nights. Antiques and some wonderful old oil paintings fill this three-floor labyrinth of rooms just around the corner from the mosque, near the Judería. A full selection of tapas (from €6) and house specialties includes cochinillo (crispy suckling pig) and the solidly traditional rabo de toro. The croquetas de jamón are reputedly the best in town. Bookings are taken only through the website.

Off the tourist track, this no-frills seafood restaurant with stunning sea views is a favorite with locals. The outdoor terrace seems to hover over the sea. The restaurant's popularity makes it a noisy place at peak mealtimes, so if you want a terrace table, book ahead or arrive early.

Carpe Diem Lounge Club is a combination restaurant, chill crash pad, and nightclub, with spectacular views over the beach and a continuously open kitchen from 1 pm until 1 am every day of the year. The cuisine is a hit-and-miss jumble of Asian fusion, with everything from sushi to Kobe beef from Japan to fiery Indian curry. Expect a loud, lively atmosphere and a hefty bill.

This legendary seaside spot opened in 1913 and spawned the term that’s given to similar bars dotting the Spanish coast. There’s nothing particularly outstanding about the food—typical seafood tapas, much of it fried—but the waterfront terrace is ideal for soaking up the sun and more than a century of history.

Cinco Jotas ibérico ham is a sight to behold: translucent and shimmering like shards of red stained glass, a shade darker than prosciutto and twice as fragrant. That's because this famous producer uses only 100% purebred, acorn-fed Iberian hogs. Let the master ham cutters at this swanky indoor-outdoor restaurant guide you to porcine nirvana with a gorgeous charcuterie plate paired perfectly with a glass of bone-dry fino sherry.

Epitomizing old-world luxury, Cuenllas (KWEN-yas) is Moncloa's most venerable dining establishment, in business since 1939. After sitting down at the bar or in the dining room for a meal of Spanish bistro fare (think warm salt-cod brandade, Santoña anchovy canapés, and marinated partridge) accompanied by reserva wines, peruse the adjoining gourmet shop for edible souvenirs including caviar, cheeses, wines, and homemade charcuterie.

Elevated sharing plates made from locally sourced, seasonal ingredients are the bottom line at this trendy Eixample eatery. The menu features unlikely combos: artichoke salad with Parmesan cream and bottarga, or glazed mackerel with pumpkin—blends that shouldn't work, but yet they really do—along with nods to the most classic of Catalan "grandma" dishes, like the decadently meaty macaroni covered in cheese. The intimate dining room is chic but unfussy, works by local artists adorn the walls, and the small outdoor terrace has four tables for four for diners who prefer to eat alfresco.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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. 

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.

In the center of Playa del Inglés, this modern Basque restaurant has made a name for itself for its well-priced classic cuisine. Interiors are a bit passé (a bit like a wedding reception hall), but there are two pleasant terraces outside. The wine list, with more than 40 bottles from Spain, is worth a look, and cocktails are served daily 7 pm to 2:30 am.

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.

This rustic former stable with whitewashed walls serves Aranese dishes with a modern, often French twist. Duck, either stewed with apples or served with carreretes (wild mushrooms from the valley), and roast lamb are favorites, as is foie gras de pato con pistachos con caramelo de Pedro Ximenez (duck foie gras with pistachios and Pedro Ximenez syrup). The wine list is particularly strong on Rioja, Ribera del Duero, and Somontano reds, as well as full-bodied whites, such as Albariños from Rías Baixas and Ruedas from Valladolid.

This warm, family-run restaurant in a stately mansion with a classically elegant interior is one of Pamplona's foremost addresses for refined cuisine. There's something for everyone on the diverse, internationally inflected menu, whose highlights include baby artichokes with langoustine tails and stewed Tolosa red beans.

An excellent place for a lunch of typical local cuisine, this restaurant is in an old windmill at the west end of Es Mercadal, on the ME1 about halfway between Mahón and Ciutadella and roughly 4 km (2½ miles) from El Toro. Menorcan specialties include squid stuffed with anglerfish, shrimp, and chicken with centrally (spider crab). It has fortress-grade, whitewashed stone walls, low vaulted ceilings, and a cheerful bustle that pulls in locals and visitors alike. On warm summer days, arrive early to claim a table on the terrace. The sopa menorquina is excellent.