Eating out with your family and friends at cafés, restaurants or bars is much more common in Spain than in Northern Europe. Going to a café for a siesta snack, meeting your friends for some tapas in the afternoon or sharing a paella with your extended family late in the evening are all every day things.
The Spanish cuisine is delicate and varied. Obviously paella and tapas are the two most famous types of Spanish food but in fact both are umbrella labels for a wide range as dishes. Eating at a restaurant in Javea isn’t necessarily about trying traditional Spanish food though, as the availability of restaurants from around the world can literally take your taste buds on a tour of the entire globe.
Spanish Food in Javea Restaurants – Paella and Tapas
It would of course be shameful to visit the Valencia area and Jávea in particular without trying out some of the local specialties. There are plenty of restaurants on the Arenal Beach serving paella and a variety of tapas bars to choose from in the same area, however to get the real taste of Spain you really should make the effort and seek out your Spanish food in one of the small cosy restaurants of Javea old town – you don´t survive serving poor tapas or boring paella up in Xábia centro historica, take advantage of it.
The paella valenciano is based on seafood and once properly done by a Spanish chef the delicious fresh foods from the sea make for an excellent meal to share directly from a giant paella pan with your friends or family. Normally you order a big paella pan for at least two people, but the general idea is to meet up and share among a bigger gang of people.
Tapas is of course just a label for “little delicious dishes” and each restaurant or tapas bar will have their own homemade selection of goodies to choose from – patatas bravas, squid rings, oysters and mushrooms, cheese bowls, meat balls in spicy sauce etc, its all tapas. Now some tourist restaurants will charge you 5-8euros per tapas dish and their sizes will be close to a full dish, this is a misunderstanding. The ideal way of eating some genuine Javea tapas yummies is to sit down with some friends, order 2-3 tapas each, have them all served to share and mix your own meal of several different flavors and types of food. The cafe at the fresh food indoor market by the church in Javea old town tends to have offers of around 5euros/5 tapas, which is perfect for creating a table full of excellent little dishes.
What Restaurants to choose in Javea Old Town ?
Finding good places to eat and try out the Spanish cuisine is incredibly easy in the old town of Jávea. Unlike in the tourist parts of town you don´t as such need reviews or recommendations, they quality is generally very high and the service welcoming – I have yet to walk out of a restaurant in Javea old town feeling ripped off. Of course, personal taste differs and every chef takes pride in making his own special offerings flavored exactly to his version of perfections but that is really for you to individually try out. Have a pleasant stroll through the narrow streets, have a look at the menus and offers (the “menus del dia” are always worth looking out for) – and choose one of the countless inviting, friendly and charming places to have your meal.
If I had to name a few nice restaurants for Spanish food and/or having pleasant meals in Jávea old town I would recommend Bistro Casa Grau, Tasca El Salaito or maybe Bar Jóse for tapas, perhaps Fuentes or La Refugi for paella. Other places not to be missed include La Musa, La Parilla Del Cellar which is amazing for all kinds of meat dishes (traditional or not) and if you take a little drive out from old town round Montgo towards Jesus Pobre, one of the very best restaurants in the Javea area, El Gaucho Jávea, greets you with a menu of absolute culinary delights. But seriously, the options are endless and you are unlikely to go wrong.
Of course, other parts of town have excellent meals in Jávea – and we will be straight back to have a look at some of the restaurants ready to fill your tummy with fresh dishes on the Arenal, the port and elsewhere…. But first, do try the tapas bars, paellas and other specialties in Javea old town, its a world of exquisite food and outstanding chefs right at your fingertips!
Restaurants In Jávea Spain,
