723 Best Restaurants in Spain

Just above Diagonal, this elegant retro space serves first-rate products ranging from wild sea bass to the best Ibérico hams. Crowded, noisy, chaotic, delicious—it's everything a great tapas bar or restaurant should be. The wine selections and range of dishes proposed on the chalkboard behind the bar are creative and traditional and the service is superb. The menu changes with the seasons, but staples include the solomillo with seasonal mushrooms (or foie gras when mushrooms aren't in season) and the utterly decadent lobster with egg and brandy. Don't let the friendly and casual feel of the place lull you into thinking that la cuenta (the check) will be anything but sobering. Entrepanes Diaz, directly opposite, is a spin-off that serves more humble (and more sensibly priced) snacks and sandwiches in a similarly elegant style.

Since opening its doors in 1928 (then under a different name), Bar Muy Buenas boasts a modernist design, more than 30 Catalan wines to choose from, and an extensive menu of classic recipes from the region.

Always a popular place to hang out and watch barcelonins kill some time, this lively café has hosted everyone from local poets to King Felipe. The tapas are nothing special but the sandwiches are excellent and the beer is cold. Plus, this old-fashioned bar de toda la vida (everyday bar), with its long counter and jumble of tables, is open 365 days a year.

This very small, quintessentially Spanish bar, with no seats and numerous photos of matadors and flamenco dancers, seems out of place surrounded by the tourist shops and overshadowed by the Mezquita, but its appearance—and its prices—are part of its charm. Tapas (from €2.50) such as albóndigas en salsa de almendras (meatballs in almond sauce) and bocadillos (sandwiches that are literally "little mouthfuls") are excellent in quality and value, while the tortilla de patata (potato omelet) is renowned and celebrated both for its taste and its heroic thickness. When it's busy, drinks and food are served on plastic and you often have to eat outside on the street.

This take-no-prisoners abuelo bar near the top of El Rastro is famous for griddled sardines, served hot and greasy in an odiferous heap with nothing but a flick of crunchy salt. Beware, super-smellers: eau de sardine is a potent perfume.

This sun-filled corner lunch spot at the foot of Montjuïc, with coveted terrace seating just across the street, is a cut above the neighborhood’s typical tapas joints. Nearly everything is organic, from the simply prepared Mediterranean-style dishes to the ecological wines; even the sodas are sourced from lesser-known, sustainability-focused brands.

Thanks to independently owned gems like Toboggan, La Chopera neighborhood is beginning to attract a younger, cooler crowd. This corner bar with outdoor seating serves well-priced international tapas ranging from tacos to tortilla to homemade hummus, all in a sunlit space. It's a five-minute walk from Matadero.

Famous for its patatas bravas amb allioli (potatoes with fiery hot sauce and allioli, an emulsion of crushed garlic and olive oil), accompanied by freezing mugs of San Miguel beer, this old-fashioned Sarrià classic is worth seeking out. You'll have to elbow your way to a tiny table and shout to be heard over the hubbub, but the effort is richly rewarded.

In an enormous, riverboat-like building at the end of the yacht marina in Barceloneta, this seafood restaurant is geared for high-volume business, but the paellas and grilled fish are reliably excellent. The hundreds of fellow diners make the place feel like a cheerful celebration.

One of very few decent spots within a short walk of the Sagrada Família, this "meat bar" doesn't take reservations; instead it offers a walk-in-and-graze tapas menu of items like steak tartare and aged filet mignon in a tiled, industrially chic dining room that doesn't invite lingering but is rarely empty—arrive early for a table. Former Catalan Chef of the Year Dani Lechuga throws in the occasional fine-dining dish to lighten things up. 

Decorated with an ornate barometer to gauge the famously unpredictable local weather, this family-run seafood spot is in a 19th-century building on the harbor. In addition to an inexpensive menú del día (prix fixe), there's outstanding seafood à la carte including fried calamares (squid) and uni-stuffed asparagus. If there were ever a place to splurge on bogavante, large-claw lobster, it's here. For dessert, the fig ice cream is delicious.

A solid bet on a street packed with middling tourist eateries, this seafood restaurant has polished wood floors and a bustling terrace. The caldo gallego, santiaguiños (slipper lobsters), arroz con bogavante (rice with lobster), and seafood empanadas are superb—as any of the university-faculty regulars will tell you.

Eleven km (7 miles) south of Mundaka and 1 km (½ mile) northwest of Gernika, you'll find this restaurant in an idyllic 18th-century caserío, or traditional Basque farmhouse. Garlands of red peppers and garlic hang from wooden beams in the cathedral-like dining area, where loyal guests tuck into hearty yet refined fish and meats cooked over a wood-fire grill.

Winner of many a miniature cuisine award (don't miss the prawn-filled txalupa tartlet), this Gros neighborhood standby offers outside-the-box takes on traditional tapas and pintxos. It also serves more substantial dishes for sit-down meals.

The kitchen is open until midnight in this unfussy Casco Viejo pintxo spot. The industrial design—think tables with a green polyethylene finish and exposed pipes—belies a comfort-food-heavy menu with star dishes like octopus brochettes and juicy grilled steaks.

Set in a charming Moderniste space dating back to 1892, this bar hits the perfect balance of quality, price, service, and ambience. The menu mixes classic dishes like deep-fried calamari and spicy patatas bravas, with house specials like the steak tartare.

Tucked behind the cathedral, this tapas bar specializes in products from El Bierzo, a comarca (subdivision) in Castile-León, either in the animated bar or in one of the stone-walled dining rooms. Visitors stopping in for a drink at the bar can expect a generous portion of free tapas, while the menu has a selection of grilled meats, revueltos (scrambled eggs with a variety of toppings), cold meats, and cheeses.

Halfway up a pleasant pedestrian street in Vegueta, this French café--restaurant with red walls and old photos of Las Palmas specializes in mushroom dishes. Choose from more than 15 preparations, or forgo the fungi and try the gambas al ajillo, creamy croquetas, and hearty revueltos (scrambled eggs with a range of add-ins).

A neo bistro serving creative Mediterranean dishes inspired by classic Middle Eastern recipes. Try their famous lamb shawarma, made with toasted spices, ginger, cardamom, tzatiki, and pita bread, or order a glass of wine from their rotating list of organic wines. 

Blanc's menu couples traditional Catalan cuisine with fresh, seasonal products, and the three-course lunch menu, and the ever-changing, five-course "Sundays at Blanc" tasting menu are popular. The dining room is in an airy atrium at the heart of the Mandarin Oriental and feels lively most of the day, starting when the first hotel guests come in for the (excellent) breakfast. 

This three-floor design triumph by Spain's hottest interior decorator, Lázaro Rosa Violán, makes up for in sheer panache what it lacks in consistency. Don't plan on a quick visit: the fresh seafood and rice dishes on offer here can take a while to reach your table. Abandoning the post-Modernisme minimalism that has dominated Barcelona for the last decades, Boca Grande is a baroque celebration of colonial and safari-chic, from the second floor bar, Boca Chica, with its enormous elephant tusks behind the counter, to the spectacular unisex restrooms downstairs. You'll want to linger for a postprandial cocktail on the roof terrace.

This stylish restaurant, just around the corner from the Teatre-Museu Dalí, focuses on seasonal Empordà ingredients from the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean. Look for classic Catalan fare like prawn and cuttlefish fideuá alongside more modern dishes such as tuna tataki with black garlic.

A short stroll from the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion and CaixaForum, this bustling brick-walled restaurant serves top-notch seasonal Catalan cuisine prepared on the Josper charcoal oven. Order à la carte or go with the multicourse prix-fixe menu, which is a good deal.

Andalusian cuisine meets Basque tradition at this authentic restaurant in the heart of the older part of Fuengirola. Dine on fresh local produce either outside on the pleasant corner terrace or inside the rustic dining room. The menu takes Andalusian cooking as its base but adds Basque traditional dishes in a unique and very tasty north-south fusion. Try the txangurro (Basque-style crab), milhoja de foie con queso, membrillo y manzana (mille-feuille with foie gras, quince, and apple), or the house specialty, duck. There's also the cozy Charolais Tapas bar next door where you can enjoy inexpensive tapas (from €2.50) and sharing plates. The wine list runs very long and staff offer good advice on pairing.

The paintings on wine-barrel ends that decorate this classic restaurant have given it the nickname "Museo Redondo" (Round Museum). The building dates back to the 16th century when it was a wine cellar, apparent in the heavy wooden beams overhead and the rough, rustic tables. With meaty culinary specialties from La Rioja and fresh seafood from the Bay of Biscay, there is plenty to choose from. The menu changes daily and seasonally, but the fish of the day is a sure bet.

A block from the cathedral across Gran Vía, this is a delightfully typical Granada bodega with low ceilings and dark wood furniture. In addition to the wines, specialties here are plates of cheese, pâté, and embutidos (cold meats). You can also order a bandeja tradicional that comes with a taste of all traditional Spanish tapas or the value menú del día (weekday lunch only; €14).