Built around the small Jávea marina and fishermans port, the area has a natural vibrancy with boats landing their cargo of fresh fish and outdoor cafés serving delicious siesta dishes

The Javea port feature numerous small specialist shops selling health food, designer wear, second hand books and jewelery among many other things. A stroll through the narrow streets of the port resembles the diverse shopping streets in Northern Europe several decades ago.

The local Javea cinema, Cine Terraza Jayan, showing English and Spanish films most evenings throughout the year has its home on the port along with a local museum regularly featuring displays from the history of the area.

Holiday rentals on Jávea port or within walking distance are readily available. On the port itself the majority are in the form of apartments, however villas and duplex bungalows are found nearby at quite reasonable prices. The area is generally slightly lower priced than the Arenal beach but if you require luxury facilities such as British tv, aircondition or a pool you need to inquire specifically for it, as the port is less of a tourist setup.

Apart from the vacation rentals the port is home to a couple of cosy little hotels such as the seafront Hotel Miramar and Hotel Javea with the rooftop restaurant Attico.

Even if you choose a vacation break in other parts of Jávea, the port is a worthwhile visit for a peaceful night out or an excellent meal in one of the many restaurants. The main port promenade along the sea holds an overload of high standard restaurants with brilliant paellas, Italian food and many other specialties. Non surprisingly the port has a superb selection of fresh sea food restaurants as well.

Slightly withdrawn from the seafront promenade several outdoor cafés such as Bar Marcon, Area 1 and El Varadero are ready to serve impressive selections of lunches, smoothies and tapas.

A few more pictures from the Jávea port, the marina and the beach:

The Jávea marina and fishermans port is small but vibrant, set in jaw dropping surroundings at the foot of the Montgos stretch out towards Cap Sant Antoni.

The charming port promenade and the many tapas bars in the little sidestreets are popular choices for evening meals and tranquil walks by the Mediterranean.

On the Arenal Beach strip itself there are more than 50 restaurants each delivering their own special take on cuisine from countries such as Spain, Italy, Austria/Germany, Thailand, India, China, Indonesia and many more.

Spanish Food – Tapas and Paella
Spain is famous for its Mediterranean cuisine with huge paella pans of goodies to share being the most popular dish. Locally the Paella Valenciano is the dish of choice with a generous supply of fresh seafood ingredients.

The tapas bars are plentiful and generally of extremely high quality with heaps of interesting choices on their menus. The idea of tapas is to sit down a little gang of people or as a family, order a couple of different tapas dishes each and have them all delivered on the table for sharing freely among everyone. This way you can taste several delicious mini meals without settling on just one item on the menu and the choices of others might help challenge you to try things you would have never ordered yourself.

Paella is another social meal concept. Normally you order a paella as a minimum of 2 people, though some places do a small tapa de paella. One big paella pan is brought to the table and if the place is traditionally minded, everyone round the table eats directly from the paella pan. The restaurants in the tourist areas have typically adjusted the paella service to include individual plates to be filled from the pan.

Vegetarian Food in Spain – Jávea is Vegetarian Friendly
Vegetarians in Javea have a relatively easy time finding excellent meals compared to most places in Spain. Particularly in the Arenal part of Jávea most restaurants have multiple menu options for vegetarians and a general willingness to go off-menu to deliver exactly what your taste buds fancy.

On the Arenal alone several Indian restaurants are ready with a wide range of vegetarian options, the Michelin Guide listed The Great Indian being a prime example. The Monsoon Thai restaurant has tofu options of all their meals. Superb Italian restaurants Pepas Pizzeria and the food artists of Lungo Mare both have pizzas, pastas and several other vegetarian items on the menu. Even the main steakhouse on the Arenal, Acqua, has a huge impressive bbq style dish with fried vegetables.

Most Spanish restaurants in the area will do a vegetarian paella and/or several kinds of tapas without meat such as patatas bravas, onion rings, cheese bowls and omelets.

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!