9 of Spain’s best cities for food (2024)

Think of Spain and you might well imagine tapas and paella, but this is a country that’s as fervent about gastronomy as any in Europe. There’s plenty to choose from, whether you’re looking for boundary-pushing Michelin-starred restaurants or casual pintxo bars where you’re almost guaranteed to stand shoulder to shoulder with your neighbour. And there’s a great deal of regional variation in terms of what you can eat and and how it’s prepared. Need some inspiration? Here are nine of the best Spanish cities for food.

Main photo: Las Teresas tapas bar in Seville (Alamy)

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1. Logroño

Best for tapas
One of the stops on the Camino de Santiago, Logroño has built a reputation for itself as a centre for tapas. It’s no surprise — around its historic centre there are some 50 hole-in-the-wall joints to try, many of them specialising in just one or two dishes. For variety, you’ll have to hop from one place to another. An added attraction is that Logroño is the capital of the Rioja region, which means that bright fruity reds and robust whites are cheap, abundant and very, very good. Calle del Laurel is at the centre of all this action and will be packed with visitors on most nights. Arrive after nine and make a night of it.

2. Oviedo

Best for cheese
Surrounded by rich, agricultural land, Oviedo is a medieval city at the heart of the often under-appreciated Asturias region. There are two celebrated products here. The first is cheese. Some 40 varieties are produced in the region but the most popular is Cabrales, a creamy blue cheese made from any combination of cow, sheep and goat’s milk and aged in the caves of the Picos de Europa. The drink of choice to go with it has to be sidra, or cider. Unlike most ciders in the UK, this one is tart and flat, with the drink poured from great heights to aerate it before drinking. It’s a flourish best admired in Oviedo’s sidrerias, where you don’t have to worry about splashing it all over yourself.

3. Madrid

Best for roast suckling pig
Madrid is the most dynamic city in Spain for eating and drinking, with a staggering number of restaurants. Roast suckling pig and the chickpea-based cocido madrilenostew are the two regional favourites. A bocadillo de calamares (deep-fried squid rings in a roll) is a must, too — always scoffed standing up at a busy bar with a beer. Get into the groove with a vermouth at noon in a tiled tavern behind the Plaza Mayor, then keep moving, with a tapa in each place.

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4. Barcelona

Best for diversity
From old-fashioned taverns in the Gothic Quarter to sleek gourmet palaces in the Eixample, hip cafés in the Raval and the foodie strip along Parallel, eating in Barcelona is always a cultural as well as a gastronomic experience. For paella and rice dishes, target the Barceloneta neighbourhood by the sea. Spend a morning in La Boqueria, the city’s spectacular market, but don’t just look; use all your senses and taste your way around — order a glass of cava at one of the bars and some artichokes with clams, escalivada, roast vegetables and whatever is on the specials board.

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5. Seville

Best for Iberico ham
The recipe for happiness? A glistening glass of fino sherry, a few olives and a platter of expertly carved Iberico ham at the counter of a traditional bar in Seville. What more could you want? Actually, quite a lot — there are so many tapas dishes to try in the city’s bars that you may well never sit down to a meal during your stay. Start in pretty Santa Cruz then wander down to the Arenal neighbourhood before crossing the Betis river to the tiled bars of Triana — and you are still only scratching the surface.

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6. San Sebastian

Best for pintxos
With scores of Michelin-starred restaurants, elegant San Sebastian ranks among the top gastronomic destinations in the world. But if you’re not ready to splash the cash, the city has another offering: its pintxos bars. Found on the bar counters of the Parte Vieja (old town), these tapas-like finger foods are usually morsels of something delicious skewered onto a piece of bread using a toothpick. Each place has its speciality, maybe pipas en tempura (prawns in fluffy batter), slow-cooked beef in red wine or sweetbread ravioli. Cross the river for more gastrobars in Gros and try a glass of txakoli, the local white wine.

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7. Valencia

Best for paella
Valencia is the home of paella so start down by the beach; install yourself at a terrace table and order a traditional paella Valenciana with chicken or rabbit, or a paella de marisco with seafood. Next, head to the exuberant central market, where stained-glass windows and mosaics adorn the ironwork structure, and close to 1,000 stalls are piled high with produce from the market gardens around the city. Get a refreshing horchata (tigernut milk) to drink as you walk around. Then in the old fishermen’s district of Cabanyal, seek out tiled bodegas that serve up sizzling prawns, bowls of mussels and the local michirones broad beans.

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8. Palma

Best for sobrassada
The Mallorcan capital has quietly turned into a bit of a gastronomic hotspot. The island’s top chefs have gravitated to the city to open gastrobars as well as elegant restaurants along the medieval lanes in the Sa Llotja and Sa Gerreria neighbourhoods. The fishermen’s homes in Santa Catalina, behind the port, now house laid-back cafés with shady terraces. Try sobrassada, a soft pork and pimenton sausage, spread onto bread with a glass of Mallorcan wine, and look out for tumbet — layers of aubergine and peppers with a tomato sauce.

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9. Bilbao

Best for bacalao a la vizcaina
Wake up your senses at the Ribera market by the river. Any food lovers who mooch around the stalls gawping at the seafood and vegetables will get an idea of why Basque country cuisine is one of the best in the world. From elaborate pintxos in the lanes of the old town to gastrobars in Bilbao La Vieja and Michelin-starred places in the Ensanche area, the quality is outstanding. Order bacalao a la vizcaina — salt cod in a rich red pepper sauce — with a velvety Rioja Alavesa.

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