8 Best Restaurants in Spain

Inspired by her Catalan roots, Teresa Carles Borrás has been creating inventive vegetarian fare for 40 years and counting but this namesake was her first restaurant. Both the space and the food are more sophisticated than the typical vegetarian restaurant.

This long-established vegetarian restaurant has a large, pleasant dining space decorated with vibrant artwork. It's best known for its excellent, vast, and bargain-priced lunchtime buffet, which includes salads and hot dishes like red-lentil croquettes, vegetable paella, and soy "meatballs." Leave room for the house-made desserts, all delicious. Vegans are well catered to. Biodynamic wines and beer are available, as are more mainstream Spanish varieties.

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. 

The vegan and vegetarian options in Barcelona have improved remarkably in recent years, led by the likes of The Green Spot, with its extensive menu of flavor-packed plant-based dishes designed to please nonmeat-eaters and carnivores alike. The dining room's pale oak paneling elegantly frames an open kitchen and airy dining room.

There are a few fish and meat options on the menu but most visitors skip the animal proteins and opt for the impressive selection of plant-based foods. Delicious salads, tasty vegetarian curries, and fresh grilled vegetables are a hit with the health-conscious and the vegan desserts are even tastier than regular versions. There are three outposts in the city: the Barcelona flagship in Rambla de Catalunya, plus El Born and uptown in Carrer de Tuset.

Traveling as a vegan in Madrid is becoming easier thanks to affordable inviting restaurants with palate-popping food like Oveja Negra. Try vegan takes on Spanish classics like sidra-braised soy chorizo, leek-and-squash croquetas, and meatless pâtés.

If you’re a vegan, vegetarian, or flexitarian and finding the meat and fish scene in Seville a bit heavy, head for this bar inside the Mercado del Arenal. It started life as Spain’s first vegan bakery in 2009, and since then the menu has grown to encompass breakfast and brunch, plus a long list of 100%-animal-free options to make into burgers, nachos, or wraps. There’s also an excellent value menu del día (€10) at lunchtime, and a choice of pastries and cakes. 

A magnet for vegetarians and vegans, this restaurant has retro decor and a pleasant, shady terrace. Specialties include vegetable woks with tofu, vegan meatballs, and healthy organic breakfasts. There's a great-value daily lunch menu (€12) and soy milk shakes and gluten-free cakes for afternoon tea; brunch, served on weekends, is also popular.