Valencia’s Foodie Culture 🥂 Eating Like a Local (After 9 PM) 🌙
We are of the firm belief that a good trip is 50% sightseeing and 50% eating until you have to undo the top button of your trousers.
We planned a long weekend in Valencia, a city we’d been told was a foodie’s dream, a place where the sun shone and the paella was plentiful. We went with a list of restaurants we wanted to try, all with shining reviews and intriguing menus.
The only problem? We had forgotten a fundamental truth about Spanish culture: they eat late. What followed was a humorous lesson in cultural adaptation and the unyielding tyranny of a rumbling stomach.
Highlights
- Tyranny of the Spanish Dinner Hour
- A Triumphant Tapas Haul
- Quest for a Curry (in Spain?)
- The Turangalila Experience ✨
- Carrefour 🛒 Our Secret Weapon
- Book a Plaza Picasso Apartment
- 5 Must-Do Valencia Activities
- Airport Transfers & Accommodation
- Things We Carry on the Plane
- Hotel Options in Valencia
- All Short Breaks & City Stops
The Unforgiving Tyranny of the Spanish Dinner Hour 🥐
On our first evening, we were starving by 7 PM, as is our custom. Having spent the afternoon strolling through the city, we felt we’d earned a proper meal. We set off, with our list of pre-vetted, highly-rated restaurants, only to discover a rather inconvenient truth. The city, it appeared, was utterly devoid of people eating. The streets were quiet, the restaurants shuttered.
It was as if a culinary apocalypse had swept through, leaving nothing but silent, empty facades.
Our pre-planned dining venues, we found, were all closed. We checked their opening hours, and there it was, in black and white: reopening at 8:30 PM or 9:00 PM.
An hour and a half to wait? We weren’t built for this. We wanted our dinner, and we wanted it now.
What we ended up with, after much frantic searching and grumbling, was a smattering of tapas bars. They were our salvation, a faint glimmer of hope in the deepening dusk.
Many restaurants only stay open until 4:00 in the afternoon, and the ones which re-open in the evening often don’t start business until 8:30 or 9:00 pm.
Valencia Eating Out – Turia Gardens
A Triumphant Tapas Haul
So we stumbled into the Kram Bar, adjacent to the Kram Hotel on Avda Campanar. This was a place that, despite its utilitarian appearance, served up some surprisingly decent bites.
Valencia Eating Out – Tapas at the Kram Bar
We ordered what we could, and it was a tasty collection of
- Croquetas ibéricos
- Goats cheese with tomato jam
- Dates wrapped in bacon
- Crujiente de gamba
- Fried chicken wings
We washed it all down with a couple of glasses of crisp local wine. The bill came to a very agreeable €29 for two, which, for a meal that felt like a last-ditch effort, was a resounding success.
The Tapas Timetable: A Late-Night Affair
We learned a valuable lesson that night: when in Valencia, your dinner time is not your own. You must bow to the Spanish rhythm, or live on small plates and a sense of perpetual indignation.
Quest for a Curry (in Spain?)
After our tapas escapade, we thought we’d try to be more strategic. We had heard whispers of a highly-rated Indian restaurant called Shahi, and we were determined to find it.
We went well out of our way, navigating a maze of unfamiliar streets, our appetites growing with every step. The place had rave reviews, so we were brimming with optimism.
We walked in, and the place had a certain… well, a certain air. It was a bit sterile, a bit quiet. We sat down, ordered a bottle of wine and a spread of dishes, including pappadams, okra, meat samosas, paneer, and a spicy chicken madras.
Valencia Eating Out – Shahi Restaurante
The food was… acceptable. It was perfectly fine. It was exactly what you would expect from an Indian restaurant that was just… there. Not bad, not amazing. Just there.
The bill came to €49, and we left with a feeling of mild disappointment. We’d had a meal, yes, but hardly a culinary experience.
When Eating Out Becomes Dinner and a Show: The Turangalila Experience ✨
This brings us to the main event, the highlight of the trip, a tale that sounds too absurd to be true.
We’d read about a place called the Turangalila, a late-night restaurant that was also a show, a place of theatricality and pure, unadulterated kitsch.
We tried to book a table for a Saturday, but they were fully booked. Instead, we secured a booking for our final night – a Tuesday – which just so happened to be Halloween.
I felt this was a sign. A sign that we were about to walk into something special, or perhaps, something truly bonkers.
We arrived shortly after 10 PM (the place didn’t even open until 9:30 PM, a truly Spanish hour for a civilised meal).
Valencia Eating Out – Turangalila main salon
We were greeted at the door by Lisa Dust, our host(ess), a person of such flamboyant makeup and costume that she made our own half-hearted attempts at Halloween attire look frankly pathetic.
We were ushered into a room that can only be described as a fever dream. The decor was a wild mish-mash of Gothic furniture, mythological statues, and lurid colours.
It felt like we’d entered the set of Liza Minelli’s Cabaret.
A Menu with a Twist
Our table was immaculately set, and we were the only non-Spaniards in the place. Two of the hosts, in full, outrageous regalia, took great pains to explain the menu to us in English. We were offered a selection of tapas to share for starters, including:
- Pate
- Croquettes
- A mixed meat and cheese cappaccio
- Pasta
The food, to our genuine surprise, was impeccably presented and absolutely delicious. The main course was a choice of meat, fish, or a vegetarian option, followed by a vast selection of desserts.
We ate with a renewed sense of purpose: This was not just a meal; it was an event.
One of the deserts at Turangalila
The Show Must Go On (…until 2 AM)
Around midnight, after our plates had been cleared, the entertainment began.
The “girls” who had been serving us all evening had changed into even more audacious cabaret outfits. They took to the stage and burst into a series of classic show tunes. We were treated to numbers like “New York, New York” and Shirley Bassey’s “I Am What I Am.” The music was loud, the energy was infectious, and the spectacle was glorious.
The musical interludes were broken up by stand-up comedy, most of which was entirely lost on us. The locals, however, were in hysterics. We sat there, sipping our complimentary cocktails, and watched the room erupt in laughter. We were an island of bewildered foreigners in a sea of Spanish merriment.
The fun ended around 2 AM, with everyone getting up to dance the salsa. We didn’t, of course. We just watched, utterly mesmerised.
Turangalila hostesses: They’re not as scary as they look…
For €35 a head, we’d enjoyed a three-course meal, endless complimentary drinks, and a full-blown cabaret show. We left feeling tired, a little drunk, and completely entertained.
It was the kind of evening you couldn’t plan: A perfect, unrepeatable stumble into the truly unexpected.
The Self-Caterers’ Secret Weapon: A Trip to Carrefour 🛒
For those who, like us, sometimes prefer to be in control of their own culinary destiny, we discovered a little secret: Carrefour.
Yes, the supermarket. Valencia has a few of them, and they are not to be underestimated. We found some surprisingly good and inexpensive meal deals, which were perfect for a picnic in the park or a quick, no-fuss dinner in our apartment.
- A Global Feast on a Budget: We managed to assemble a full Japanese meal, complete with sushi, mochi, and miso soups.
- A Ham & Cheese Masterclass: They also make these delightful snacks from crispy baked bread, loaded with Iberico de Bellota ham and various cheeses. We bought a couple, grabbed a half-bottle of local wine, and had a makeshift picnic in the park.
It was a far cry from the theatrical spectacle of the Turangalila, but it was just as satisfying in its own way.
We’d learned that in Valencia, you could eat out late and have a fantastic time, but if you wanted to eat on your own terms, the supermarket was your best friend.
Valencia Eating Out – Picnics in the Park
Beyond the Dinner Plate: Our Valencia To-Do List
We had arrived in Valencia with a plan, a list, and a rather rigid sense of dinner time. We left with a full stomach, a head full of memories, and a new appreciation for the art of embracing the unexpected.
We didn’t get to all the restaurants on our list, but we found something far more interesting. We found our own little corner of Valencia, one delicious meal at a time.
As for activities in Valencia, we were planning to visit the Museum of Illustration and Modernity, the City of Arts and Sciences, the Bioparc and the Oceanogràfic.
We wouldn’t have too much time for idling in the park, then…
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