155 Best Restaurants in Spain

While many of the restaurants in Beget close for the off-season, Can Jeroni was serving locals well before the roads led visitors to its doors (think 20th century) and is open all year-round. The family-run establishment serves both traditional Catalan dishes, like stewed chicken with apricot and prunes, as well as creative riffs, seasonal soups, and an exceptional coca escalivada (roasted veggies, anchovies, and romesco on local bread). Enjoy lunch in a sunlit plaza in the center of town.

A monstrous wood-fired stone oven welcomes diners into this traditional Segovian restaurant. While heralded as a prime spot for cochinillo, the restaurant's roasted lamb is what really sets it apart from the other asador-style spots in town. If the weather is nice, a table on the patio boasts views of the aqueduct and surrounding valley.

This spot just around the corner from the Liceu opera house is one of Barcelona's best tapas restaurants, with a long bar overlooking the burners and part of the kitchen that leads down to the 20-seat communal tasting table at the end of the room. Specialists in Ibérico products, they serve obscure cuts of Ibérico pork, such as pluma ibérica and secreto ibérico (nuggets of meat found on the inside of the shoulder blade and much-prized by Ibérico fanatics), though the real highlight of the menu is the market-fresh seafood that ranges from oysters to grilled baby scallops and house special dishes like the baby squid (chipirones) with white Santa Pau beans.

A Menorca institution set above Cala Sa Mesquida, a short drive from Mahón, Cap Roig owes its well-deserved fame to the quality of its seafood and the splendor of its views. The mussels from the port of Mahón are excellent, as is the lobster, which can be served grilled, in a stew, or as part of one of the restaurant's celebrated rice dishes or paellas.

Charming and cozy, this centenarian Bilbao institution is essentially a series of nooks and crannies tucked into a fine food, wine, olive oil, cheese, and ham emporium. Leave it to the affable owners to recommend specialties such as txuleton (gigantic T-bone steak), which pairs wonderfully with the house Rioja or any red from the 1,000-bottle-strong wine list.

According to Spain's top food critics, this restaurant ladles out the best cocido madrileño in all the land. Each component of the multicourse dinner, from the chickpeas to the chorizo to the pickled peppers, is sourced from top-notch producers from around the peninsula. Fret not, summer visitors: a variety of traditional seafood, vegetable, and meat dishes is available for days when a hot stew doesn't appeal. 

In his thirties, Salamanca-born chef Carlos Hernández del Río cut his teeth in such star-studded kitchens as Elkano, Zuberoa, and DiverXO before returning to his roots in 2020 to open this restaurant showcasing the best ingredients, techniques, and wines from his native region—with a few geeky French touches. Expect immaculately prepared appetizers like sobrasada (cured sausage) eclairs followed by mains including stewed white beans with duck and marinated Tormes river trout, all served in a bright dining room with checkerboard tile floors.

This family-run restaurant and B&B in a former 19th-century residence has a crackling fire in winter and a willow-shaded patio in summer. Prix fixes change seasonally and center on well-executed classics like secreto ibérico con crema de hongos (Iberian pork steak with wild mushroom cream) and txangurro a la Donostiarra (baked crab). Rooms fill up fast in August and during public holidays.

Locals will point you here for fresh, reasonably priced tapas and mains including croquetas (try the wild mushroom rendition) and secreto ibérico (seared Iberian pork shoulder steak). The weekday lunch menú del día—three courses plus wine—is a steal.

Tucked away in the warren of alleyways in a restored Albayzín villa, this lovely restaurant offers what may be the best food in the area. There's a formal dining room, an outside garden with pear and quince trees, and a roof terrace with Alhambra views. House specialties include codillo asado con salsa de manzanilla (roast pork with dry sherry). The owner welcomes diners personally and keeps a very close eye on the kitchen.

Presided over by a legendary Basque fishermen's guild, this central restaurant serves the freshest fish money can buy at fair prices. At simple wooden tables and a handsome mahogany bar, locals dig into local comfort food—think sopa de pescado, steamed mussels, and clams a la marinera (in a thick, garlicky sauce).

This tony gastro bar serves newfangled tapas that are well worth their higher-than-usual price tag. Spring for the tempura soft-shell crab bao with chive mayonnaise, garlicky artichoke flatbread, or any other tapa del día, but whatever you do, order the famous tortilla de patata, irresistible with its molten core and handfuls of caramelized onions. The dulce de leche "volcano," cooled off by a scoop of banana ice cream, may be Madrid's most craveable dessert.

Shaded by a splendid ficus that keeps the terraza cool in the midday heat, La Bodega de Santiago is worth going out of your way to visit. The traditional Canarian menu is exquisite, integrating meats and produce from the surrounding farms and complementing dishes with island wines. The rosemary-scented kid goat is memorable, as are the freshly pounded mojos and stewed garbanzos (chickpeas). Call ahead to book a patio table.

This inviting white-tablecloth taberna established in 1959 serves soul-satisfying cuisine in a cabinlike dining room decorated with taupe curtains, blond wood chairs, and original artwork. Steak frites is the go-to here with roast turbot coming in a close second.

This eatery has a rustic atmosphere with arches, wooden beams, and a fireplace for winter nights. The chef has worked at several top restaurants, and his menu includes traditional grilled meats as well as innovative dishes such as gazpacho with carrots and sardines, and ham croquettes with a curry sauce. He also creates regular themed menus, often based on a sherry or a local winery. Try the menú de degustación (€75): five courses, each accompanied by a different type of sherry. Both the tapas menu and the wine list are excellent.

La Catapa's tapas are classic but never old hat, inventive but never pretentious. The burst-in-your-mouth croquetas and garlicky razor clams may lure the crowds, but the hidden gems are in the vegetable section: it's hard to decide between the artichoke menestra with crisped jamón (cured ham), ultra-creamy salmorejo (gazpacho's richer, more garlicky sibling), and umami-packed seared mushrooms. Be sure to ask about daily specials.

La Galana is a typical Asturian sidrería with colossal barrels lining the walls, thick wooden tables, and plenty of standing room at the bar, where locals munch on Cabrales cheese. The kitchen serves refined cider-house fare: expect cheeses with quince jam, bubbling cauldrons of fabada, and a range of creative tapas. There is also a terrace overlooking the porticoed Plaza Mayor and a sit-down dining area beyond the bar with fancier fare including coal-fired steaks, suckling lamb, and grilled sea bass. 

Under co-owners Fede and Diana Cervera and chef Xicu Ramón, this distinguished restaurant in the center of town continues to reinvent and deconstruct traditional Valencian cuisine. The setting is an architectural tour de force: a 16th-century town house transformed into a sunlit modern space with an open kitchen and a three-story-high wall sculpted to resemble a billowing white curtain. The midweek menus, available for lunch or dinner, include a selection of creative tapas—minicourses, really, that might include a soup or a salad—and one rice dish or other main course, giving you a good idea of the chef's repertoire at an unbeatable price.

Step outside the historic center for some of the most spectacular stews in Oviedo. Whether it's fabada, pote, callos, or lentils, chef Lucía Fernández has the accolades to prove every dish's worth---the walls are covered in "best of" awards from stew competitions throughout the region. One is usually featured on the weekday menú del día, but if it doesn't work for your schedule, make sure you call ahead to specifically reserve a pot.

Furnished with simple wood tables beneath hams hanging from the rafters, this lively, deceptively simple bar attracts locals and tourists alike for its exceptional pintxos and affordable breakfasts. Don't pass up the deconstructed Galician-style octopus on a bed of mashed potatoes laced with pimentón (paprika) or the appetizer of house-made foie gras with three preserves. For a more exclusive (and pricier) fine-dining experience, reserve a table at the abutting El Taller, and be sure to peruse the gourmet food store stocked with local conservas, cured meats, wines, and cheeses.

Huesca's top restaurant makes inventive use of local ingredients like wild mushrooms, wild boar, venison, and lamb. The glass-walled kitchen is as inviting as the food that emerges from it, and the wine list is strong on Somontano, Huesca's own D.O. A recent menu included dishes like crispy pork knuckle with revolcona (paprika-garlic) mash and roast turbot with crab cream and a seafood macaron.

On a hill overlooking the port, this small family-run restaurant is all about the catch of the day (try the barracuda if available), served either fried or grilled and always accompanied by papas arrugadas. Arroz caldoso con bogavante (soupy rice with lobster) is another highlight. Try to score a table on the outdoor terrace, where you can watch the boats ply across the harbor; inside, eclectic family artworks are on display.

At this buzzy fire-focused restaurant on the ground floor of the Kursaal—the newest passion project by Mugaritz chef Andoni Luis Aduriz—expect pitch-perfect, pared-down modern Basque cuisine with clever international flourishes.

At the intersection of soulful Basque cooking and special-occasion alta gastronomía lies this white-tablecloth restaurant where you can have both—in the form of flame-licked dayboat seafood (lobster, turbot, line-caught red mullet, and so on), cozy braises, and seasonal vegetables like borage, artichokes, and some of the most umami piquillo peppers you'll ever taste.

For upscale tapas, sharable raciones, and a more sedate atmosphere, step into Palomeque. Dishes hinge on market produce and fuse traditional recipes with playful modern plating. Staff are happy to recommend wine pairings for any of the zany, updated versions of risotto, gazpacho, and other restaurant standbys.

Duck into this cozy hole-in-the-wall and be treated like family—Ana, the owner, recites the nightly menu to each table and flits around with a smile until the last guest saunters out. Barrera's famous patatas revolconas (paprika-spiced mashed potatoes topped with crispy pork belly) are always on offer; they might be followed by roast suckling lamb, wine-braised meatballs, or seared dayboat fish depending on the night. Inquire about prices when ordering to avoid sticker shock.

At the edge of the serene Adaja River, El Molino, housed in a 15th-century mill, is one of the most idyllic restaurants in the region. Lamb, the chef's specialty, is roasted in a medieval wood oven; it's best preceded by smoky, bacon-y revolcona (mashed) potatoes or a bowl of stewed white beans from nearby El Barco de Ávila. The garden has waddling geese and a small playground for children. Reservations are essential for weekend lunch.

In the town of Villaverde, between Puerto del Rosario and Corralejo, is one of the island's best-kept culinary secrets. At this small restaurant, Canarian dishes are served family style and include huevos amarrados (literally "tied-up eggs," soft-boiled with fries and spicy sausage) and paprika-dusted fried octopus with potatoes.

Of all the seafood restaurants in the tiny hamlet of El Golfo, this harborside standby stands out for its ultrafresh fish and homemade Canarian dishes. Order the parrillada de marisco, or grilled seafood platter, for a sampling of local fish (the barracuda is consistently exceptional), calamari, and fried shellfish, all of which soar to new heights when dunked in cilantro-packed mojo verde.

Fire is the secret ingredient at Roostiq, where pizzas sizzle and puff in a wood-burning oven and meat, fish, and vegetables char until tender over white-hot embers. Even the cheesecake is of the Basque "burnt" variety, brown and caramel-y on the outside and gooey within. The open-hearth technology may be older than the hills, but the buffed concrete walls, zany ceramic plates, and sturdy wooden and marble tables are unmistakably cutting-edge.