155 Best Restaurants in Spain

By concentrating on sophisticated execution rather than groundbreaking creativity, the family-run Etapes provides a reliably satisfying dining experience that suits a wide range of palates. Take a seat on the pleasant terrace or in the narrow, cave-like interior and enjoy elegant interpretations of classic Catalan dishes. These include an Asian-inspired take on a local favorite: roast suckling pig with hoisin sauce & daikon, mango and Mexican-style salad, and a range of rustic desserts cooked at home by the co-owners' grandmother. The set lunch is a true bargain.

Sleek Scandinavian interiors and striking water-edge views over Port Vell make this contemporary seafood restaurant a hit for special occasions or romantic meals, despite its somewhat surprising location near the Maremagnum shopping mall. Cold bar options, such as oysters and sushi, precede pasta, rice dishes, and mains that favor fish fans and carnivorous types.

The cosmopolitan crowd here doesn't just come for hip vibe and stylish decor; Fismuler Barcelona re-creates its Madrid-based mothership's precise, market-based cooking and adds interesting local touches. Star dishes include a translucent, semi-cured carpaccio of gilthead bream with grapes and almonds, and a complex cheesecake that tastes more like cheese than cake and is an utterly sinful, gooey delight.

This busy bar and sedate downstairs restaurant near Plaza de la Constitución is run by the third generation of the same family. Exquisite minimalist morsels range from white Huelva prawns al ajillo to homemade foie gras to battered kokotxak (hake cheeks) and—the cult favorite—wild mushrooms topped with an egg yolk.

Weather permitting, this French-inspired oyster bar puts tables and banquettes out in the Plaça Sant Vicenç, arguably the prettiest square in Sarrià. Make your choice among 12 varieties of oysters—especially the plump sweet ones from Normandy—shucked and served fresh with rye bread and pats of French butter, as well as other more elaborate tapas dishes.

Chef-owner Rafa Peña applies the skills he honed in the world's most celebrated kitchens at this excellent value restaurant---although most locals will tell you his adjacent wine-tapas bar is the real scene stealer here. Expect a well-chosen wine list and some of the most delightful dishes you can find in Barcelona: the tasting menu is the best way to sample what's on offer.

The interior design of Oriol Ivern's small restaurant is minimalist, but his cooking is intricate—and wonderful. This is budget-conscious fine dining that avoids exotic ingredients but lifts local dishes to exciting new heights; the menu changes four times a year to take advantage of what's best in season. Local gastronomes come here for dishes like John Dory with truffle and salsify, and oxtail stew with burrata, delicately presented but always—and most importantly—delicious. The nine-course tasting menu is a steal at €85 (€110 with wine pairing).

This casual restaurant with a beachfront terrace serves fresh seafood and rice dishes, plus a decent-value three-course lunch menu (€27).

Hoyo19 (or Hole 19), open all year, overlooks the golf course, but locals come here to enjoy the serenity and beautiful green setting, just a 10-minute drive from Santa Eulària. From breakfast onward, the menu focuses on Mediterranean haute cuisine, with superb rice dishes cooked over a wood fire and excellent locally sourced meat and fish options.

Basque dishes are competently updated and delivered with a dash of style at this smart, white-walled Eixample establishment. A fiery grill turns out excellent regional meat specialties, but don't overlook fish dishes such as baby squid with cured ham and caramelized onions. Co-owners Ana and Gonzalo have impressive CVs that include stints in some of Spain's finest restaurants, and it shows in the precise service and wine pairings.

This justly popular restaurant is housed in an 1860s building that also incorporates an 11th-century Moorish well. Time may have stood still with the setting, but the cuisine reflects a modern twist on traditional dishes, including seafood mains like bacalao con cebolla, miel y pasas con crujiente de espinacas (cod with onion, honey, and raisins) or rabo de novillo con almendras (oxtail stew with almonds). Desserts such as the milhojas de manzana (apple mille-feuille) are also good, and the wine and gin lists are among the best in the city. The restaurant is fronted by a popular terrace and tapas bar (first tapa free) that is generally filled with a boisterous business crowd.

Set right on cider row on Gascona, La Finca is keeping Asturian cuisine fun and youthful by jazzing up classics like fried corn torto cakes with braised oxtail, while also holding on to tradition with local cheese boards or squid ink rice with calamari. Regardless, the cider always flows. Don't sleep on the vegetable offerings, particularly daily seasonal specials.  

This sophisticated sea-foam-green dining room is the perfect place to feast on fresh fish while sipping Albariño. Don't miss the mussels with béchamel, a dish that La Penela is locally famous for. If shellfish isn't your speed, the roast veal is also popular. The restaurant occupies a modernist building on a corner of the lively Praza de María Pita. Some tables have views of the harbor, or you can eat in a glassed-in terrace on the square.

Locals regard this bustling, informal restaurant, on the promenade at El Cabanyal beach, as the best in town for seafood paella. Founded in 1898, the walls of the establishment are covered with signed pictures of appreciative visitors, from Ernest Hemingway to King Juan Carlos and the royal family. Try the paella marinera (seafood) topped with shrimp and mussels, or hearty platters of calamares (squid) and langostinos (prawns). Save room for the delectable tarts made with seasonal fruit.

This friendly, folksy, and romantic chalet was founded in 1891. When the weather cooperates, the terrace is a perfect spot for roast beef, rice with clams, or fabada asturiana. The restaurant is 3 km (2 miles) east of town.

A favorite of Valencia's well-connected and well-to-do since 1982, this family-run restaurant a few steps from the Plaza de la Reina specializes in seafood dishes like anguilas (eels) prepared with all i pebre (garlic and pepper), parrillada de pescado (selection of freshly grilled fish), and traditional paellas. Lunch begins at 2 and not a moment before. The walls are covered with decorative ceramics and the gastronomic awards the restaurant has won over the years.

Behind the Atlantic Sol shopping mall, this well-established restaurant is one of the oldest in town and has been under the same management since 1989. As you might expect from the name, its interior has wooden furniture, beamed ceilings, and cozy lighting. House specialties include paella, goat stew, and steak. Book ahead or arrive early to shore up a table.

A few minutes’ drive from Costa Adeje lies this oceanfront restaurant overlooking the quaint harbor of La Caleta. Watch the sun set over La Gomera island while you savor fresh local fish and shellfish and Tenerife wines. Specialties on the menu include seared cherne negro (black wreckfish) and lomo de bacalao (cod with piquillo pepper sauce).

Basque chef César Martín has a devoted local following for his hyperseasonal menus that show a sincere dedication to food sustainability. Lakasa may have moved into a bigger, more modern space, but Martín's specialties haven't wavered; be sure to indulge in the Idiazabal fritters, crisp orbs redolent of smoky sheep's cheese.

At this lively restaurant you'll find crowds of Spaniards gobbling up one of the city's finest, most upscale renditions of tortilla española (Spanish omelet) with unconventional add-ins like octopus, potato chips, and truffles. The menu also includes plenty of equally succulent non-egg choices (the rice dishes stand out).

For a country that borders France, Spain has a surprising dearth of good French restaurants, which makes Le Bistroman all the more remarkable—not only is the food good by Spanish standards, it would be a hit in Paris with its homemade everything, from terrines to breads to pastries. Wild game (venison, squab) features prominently on the menu, and other highlights include an old-school cheese cart and throwback desserts like babas au rhum and vanilla bean soufflé.

Los Pinchitos is one of those dying-breed of restaurants where you can eat your fill of pristine seafood without maxing out your credit card. Settle in for a leisurely no-frills feast of octopus, scallops, squid, and whatever other sea creatures were hauled up onto the pier that morning, and wash it all down with a carafe of good house wine.

Comfy booth seating and a live paella cooking station, where chefs line up with giant pans of bubbling rice, make this a particularly fun proposition for groups. The tapas starters don’t quite match the high level of the rice-based mains, which excel for their freshness and unexpected flavors, such as chicken, prawn and asparagus, or butifarra sausage and pork rib.

So tasty is the paella here that even Valencianos regularly travel out of the city to Maribel Arrocería, off the main drag in El Palmar. Sit surrounded by the rice fields of Albufera Nature Park, either in the contemporary, air-conditioned dining room or outside at pavement tables overlooking the canal. Off the à la carte menu, diners can sample all i pebre anguilas (smoked eels simmered with garlic, paprika, and pepper), the rich and ever popular paella de magret de pato y foie con setas (with duck, foie gras, and wild mushrooms), and, if there’s room, dig into a brownie or cheesecake for dessert.

Opened in 2019 in Mercado de San Martín, Maun is not your typical no-frills "bar de mercado" but rather a gastronomical food counter whose mouthwatering dishes—such as fish stew, squid in ink sauce, and heirloom tomato salad—are made with ultrafresh ingredients sourced steps from your table.

A hundred meters from the cathedral, this cozy venue has excellent Galician fare and professional service. The bar and adjoining bodega serve plenty of cheap raciones (appetizers). The surtido de quesos gallegos provides generous servings of four local cheeses; ask for some membrillo (quince jelly) to go with them and the brown, crusty cornbread. For dessert, try the filloas con nata y miel (flambéed pancakes with cream and honey). The dining room upstairs has an inexpensive set menu.

Beginning life as an inn in the 18th century, Cándido was declared a national monument in 1941, and today displays photos of famous patrons including Ernest Hemingway, Salvador Dalí, and Princess Grace. The cochinillo is the star; roasted partridge and white bean stew with pig ear are also memorable, especially on cold afternoons. Ask for a table overlooking the aqueduct, just a few feet away, and be sure to book ahead.

According to foodies, this old-timey mesón (traditional tavern-restaurant) serves the most delectable cochinillo in town, but there are plenty of lighter fresher dishes to choose from as well. Expect a boisterous mix of locals and tourists.