Food and Drink, Spain

Beachfront bars

Whether you’re looking for the perfect spot to have a romantic meal, or just looking for somewhere to get some refreshments during your day at the beach, there are few places which give you that blissful holiday feeling like a beachfront bar.

Spain’s range of beachfront bars offer something for everyone. If you’re looking for a quiet beachside spot to grab some traditional Spanish food and a refreshing drink, pay a visit to the picturesque Cala La Pelosa in Girona, which offers a peaceful atmosphere and blissful beach views. Although slightly busier, Tumbao in Cádiz also provides a calming atmosphere and has healthy, but delicious refreshments such as watermelon and smoothies available to revitalise you throughout the day.

If you’re looking for a bar with more of a buzz, Santa Pura Club is a vibrant, family-friendly beach bar with a range of activities available, such as sailing and kite surfing, but also plenty of places to put your feet up.

Can Majo

Can Majo is a classy, family-owned seafood restaurant located nearby to the port of Barcelona. The friendly service and classy cuisine make it a favourite amongst visitors to Barcelona, with the shellfish paella and lobster dishes proving to be especially exquisite.

Can Majo source their ingredients fresh from the sea every day, using the best suppliers in the local area; ensuring you get a taste of Barcelona when eating here. The chefs make sure that these precious ingredients don’t go to waste, too, preparing each meal with keen attention to detail to ensure everyone is as close to perfection as possible.

The Caldero de Arroz Bogavante, which is a lobster dish prepared and served with rice, is a speciality of Can Majo and is a particularly popular choice. There is a selection of lavish appetizers available, too, including tasty crayfish, and Andalusian style baby cuttlefish which they call “chipirones a la andaluza,” so make sure you arrive hungry and ready for a big meal.

Cheap places to eat

If you’re looking to have a break on a budget, you can eat out in Spain knowing you can get food that hits the spot without hitting your wallet. You don’t have to break the bank to get your hands on tasty tapas or crunchy calamari; there are plenty of options for holidaymakers looking to minimise costs, but maximise flavour during their break.

A great option in Madrid is Entre Caceres Y Badajoz; it is an extremely popular tapas restaurant which is frequented by locals and tourists alike for its generous portions of tasty tapas at bargain basement prices. The system here is simple and economical; every time you order a beer, you get a free tapas and a side. This means you can have a few drinks and a meal for the cost of just a few beers. Aside from this, look out for one of the many street food festivals which regularly take place across Spain’s hottest tourist destinations; you’ll find tapas for just €1.

EspaiSucre

The EspaiSucre restaurant in Barcelona is the go-to place for holidaymakers with a sweet tooth. Literally translating to “sugar space” EspaiSecure is a specialist dessert restaurant where only perfection is good enough. They serve a range of delectable desserts and exquisite pastries, with every ingredient and technique being carefully selected and executed to ensure the best possible combination of flavours.

Even the drinks on offer here are chosen so that they enrich the flavour of the dishes rather than compromise them. If you fancy something a bit more substantial, you can opt for the tapas bar, where chefs will create a dish specifically for you based on the flavour combinations that you pick.

Pastry perfection is embedded deep into the DNA of EspaiSucre; The EpaiSucre restaurant was opened alongside an esteemed pastry school in 2000. However, you can rest assured that you won’t be being catered for by amateurs; the restaurant is run by the famous pastry chefs Xano Saguer and Jordi Butrón, so you’re in good hands.

Gourmet eateries

If you’re looking to really treat yourself during your well earned holiday to Spain, visit these special, refined restaurants for a truly exquisite meal.

Spain is home to its fair share of gourmet eateries, where you can try some of the finest food in the Mediterranean. However, that doesn’t mean you have to stick to the traditional dishes to get a taste of gourmet Spanish cuisine. Uma in Barcelona provides an ever-changing menu of unique dishes, which are modified daily depending on the fresh ingredients that the restaurant has available on that given day.

If you’re looking for a truly exclusive eating experience, visit DSTAGE in Madrid, where you will be presented with a selection of delightful dishes from their tantalising tasting menu. You’ll have to be prepared though, as the waiting list for a table here can be as long as three months. Wherever you are in Spain, there is somewhere nearby for you to get your hands on some gourmet Spanish food.

Ice bars in Spain

From Icebarcelona to Boal’s Ice Bar in Benalmánda, Spain is home to a number of mesmerising ice bars which offer a drink with a difference.

Experience the novelty of drinking in a bar made almost entirely from ice, including ice walls, ice seats, ice glasses and of course, an ice bar. As well as this, the bars are decorated with an array of ice-themed paraphernalia, such as large polar bear ice sculptures and at Icebarcelona, there’s even an ice arcade machine. The temperature inside the bars is kept at 5oC, so you may want to wear a few extra layers while you’re there, but the icy temperatures will definitely provide a refreshing break from the relentless heat during the day.

Many of the ice bars are family friendly and can be booked for group parties, meaning everyone can enjoy the novelty of these trendy bars. The music provided by local DJs creates a real party atmosphere all hours of the day which can be enjoyed by everyone.

Quique Dacosta

Quique Dacosta is an innovative restaurant in Denia, Alicante, which holds three Michelin stars and numerous awards. The restaurant is known for its chef, who the restaurant is named after – Quique Dacosta. Dacosta is the owner of several restaurants, however, this is his most famous and so far, his most successful, making it a hotspot for visiting food fanatics.

Image source: Flickr. Copyright, City Foodsters.

If you are concerned about the environmental impact of what you eat, you can rest assured that the food miles of what you eat will be minimal. All of the ingredients are fresh and locally sourced; in fact, all of the ingredients come from within 75 kilometres of the restaurant. The ingredients are then transformed into some truly astonishing handcrafted dishes, if you want to, you can even get small rock crabs to dip into your rich, Salmorreta sauce.

The restaurant also has a classy atmosphere and elegant décor, with live theatre and comedy performances taking place in the restaurant for you to enjoy during your meal.

Restaurante Azurmendi

Restaurante Azurmendi is an award-winning, Michelin star restaurant situated on the hillsides of the small town of Larrabetzu. Boasting an Elite Traveller best restaurant in the world award, a TripAdvisor traveller’s choice award as well as three Michelin stars, you know that you are going to be served something special when you enter Azurmendi.

Image source: Flickr. Copyright, City Foodsters.

A wide range of dishes are available, all of which are inspired by local cuisine, including a particularly wide selection of scrumptious seafood. What really sets Restaurante Azurmendi apart though is its chefs’ passion for what they do; their love of cooking drives them to experiment with flavours and create unique dishes with immaculate attention to detail. The result is dishes with perfectly balanced flavours and flawless presentation. Azurmendi caters for all diets; it is vegetarian-friendly and serves a range of vegan and gluten-free dishes. Its location on the Larrabetzu hillside means you get spectacular views of the area, too.

Seafood restaurants

Seafood is a big part of the Mediterranean diet, so you’ll have no problem finding a first-rate seafood restaurant in Spain. From delicious Dorada to perfect paella, all sourced fresh from local suppliers, the quality of the seafood here means it is well worth adopting the Spanish cuisine during your stay.

If you get the chance to visit Barcelona, make sure you pay a visit to Marisqueria Esthvan before heading home. Marisqueria Esthvan uses fresh ingredients in each of their dishes and serves some of the best seafood in the city at very reasonable prices.

Another popular seafood restaurant in Barcelona is La Barceloneta; a small, family restaurant which is named after the old fisherman’s region. It is renowned for its fresh, grilled fish and tasty paella. Outside of Barcelona, Canabota in Seville is well worth a visit. Their exquisite seafood is amongst the best in the area and has even won them a TripAdvisor certificate of excellence award.

Sobrino de Botin – the world’s oldest restaurant

Madrid is home to Sobrino de Botin: a small, old-fashioned restaurant which has been continuously operating since 1725, making it the oldest in the world. The near 300-year-old restaurant, which was originally called Casa Botín, was founded by Jean Botin and remains in the family today after having been inherited down multiple generations.

The restaurant has been excellently maintained and it remains in immaculate condition today, with many of its original features still intact. Even the oven features the same flame that has been used to prepare meals down the years, having been left burning continuously and never extinguished. The original recipes are also still used, including cochinillo asado, which is a roast suckling pig, and sopa de ajo, which is an egg poached in chicken broth. Whether you’re a foodie or just a lover of culture, make sure you visit this famous restaurant to experience an active piece of culinary history.