Typical tapas of Valencia: 12 you have to try and their story

Valencian cooking is much more than paella. Between the vegetable gardens and the sea, Valencia has a repertoire of tapas and small sharing dishes passed down through bars, markets and family restaurants for generations. Some are unique to the city, like clóchinas or esgarraet; others, like bravas, have their own Valencian version.

This guide covers the typical tapas of Valencia you should try, what goes into each one, when they are eaten, what to drink with them and the most Valencian custom of all: the almuerzo.

The essentials in 30 seconds

• From the vegetable gardens: esgarraet, artichokes, roasted peppers, Valencian tomato salad.
• From the sea: clóchinas, tellinas, cuttlefish, puntilla, titaina and salted fish.
• From the Albufera: all i pebre, the eel and potato stew.
• Bar classics: bravas with alioli, figatells, cacaus i tramussos to nibble.
• When: at lunchtime, at the mid-morning almuerzo, at vermouth hour and in the evening.

The typical tapas of Valencia

1. Esgarraet

Roasted red pepper and salt cod shredded by hand, with garlic and olive oil. Its name comes from "esgarrar", to tear in Valencian, after the way the ingredients are prepared. It is eaten cold, with bread.

2. Clóchinas

The small, tasty mussels farmed in the port of Valencia. They are steamed with lemon, bay leaf and pepper and are only available in season, from May to August. They are one of the most eagerly awaited tapas of summer.

3. Titaina

A seafood stew from El Cabanyal and El Canyamelar, the old fishermen's quarter, made with tomato, pepper, pine nuts and salted tuna. It is served with bread or on a flatbread called coca.

4. All i pebre

The signature dish of the Albufera: eel stewed with potato, garlic, paprika and chilli. More a stew than a tapa, but many restaurants serve it in portions to share.

5. Valencian-style bravas

Bravas are ordered all over Spain, but in Valencia they usually come with two sauces: alioli and a spicy sauce. It is the most ordered tapa at any bar.

6. Cuttlefish and sepionet

Grilled cuttlefish with alioli, or sepionets, baby cuttlefish, cooked with onion or on the griddle. A classic at bars near the sea.

7. Puntilla

Tiny squid, dusted in flour and fried whole, eaten in one bite.

8. Tellinas

Small wedge clams typical of the Valencian coast, cooked on the griddle or sautéed with garlic and parsley.

9. Figatells

A kind of patty of pork liver and meat wrapped in caul fat, typical of La Safor, the area around Gandía. They are griddled or chargrilled.

10. Artichokes

The region has artichokes with a protected designation of origin, such as those from Benicarló, and in Valencia they are eaten roasted, fried or griddled in season, from autumn to spring.

11. Salted fish

Mojama (cured tuna), fish roe, bonito or barrel-cured sardines: the tradition of salting fish on the Valencian and Alicante coast, served in thin slices with almonds and olive oil.

12. Cacaus i tramussos

Roasted peanuts and pickled lupin beans: the most Valencian nibble, the one that comes with a beer or the mid-morning almuerzo.

The Valencian almuerzo

If one custom defines tapas culture in Valencia, it is the almuerzo, or "esmorzaret". Mid-morning, between 10:00 and 11:30, people stop for a big sandwich, filled with omelette, "blanco y negro" sausages or whatever the bar has, with cacaus i tramussos, olives, a drink and, to finish, a cremaet: coffee with flambéed rum, sugar, cinnamon and lemon.

What to drink with Valencian tapas

• Ice-cold beer, the companion to almost every tapa.
• Local wine: Bobal reds from Utiel-Requena, whites and Muscats from the Valencia DO.
• Vermouth, especially at the weekend aperitif.
• Agua de Valencia, to share by the jug at the end. Here is its origin and recipe.

Where to try them

The classic tapas areas are El Carmen and the old town, the Central Market, Ruzafa and El Cabanyal. Here is our guide to where to eat tapas in Valencia.

At Àtic, Palau Alameda's panoramic restaurant, the restaurant menu has nods to Valencian cooking such as baby cuttlefish with onion, the Almussafes artichoke flower or slow-cooked tuna with dacsa flatbreads and Cañamelar titaina, plus its rice dishes and a menu of tapas to share. On Sundays the terrace becomes a vermouth bar: here is everything about vermouth in Valencia.

Frequently asked questions

What are the typical tapas of Valencia?

Esgarraet, clóchinas, titaina, all i pebre, bravas with alioli and spicy sauce, cuttlefish, puntilla, tellinas, figatells, artichokes, salted fish and cacaus i tramussos.

What is esgarraet?

A cold tapa of roasted red pepper and salt cod shredded by hand, dressed with garlic and olive oil. It is eaten with bread.

When is clóchina season?

From May to August. They are the small mussels farmed in the port of Valencia, steamed with lemon, bay leaf and pepper.

What is the Valencian almuerzo?

It is the mid-morning break, the "esmorzaret": a big sandwich, cacaus i tramussos, olives, a drink and a cremaet to finish.

What do people drink with tapas in Valencia?

Cold beer, wines from Utiel-Requena and the Valencia DO, vermouth at aperitif time and, to share, a jug of Agua de Valencia.

Where can you eat typical tapas in Valencia?

At bars in El Carmen, the Central Market, Ruzafa and El Cabanyal. With views, at Àtic, in Palau Alameda, with Valencian-inspired dishes such as baby cuttlefish and titaina.