According to a study done by a research group for the Cervecerias of Spain, the most popular aperitif of Valencians is a glass of cold beer and patatas bravas. Excellent — that just happens to be Hola Valencia’s choice, too.

Beer (70%) was followed by cola (50%), vermouth (24%), wine (19%) and sangria (17%). I’m surprised to see wine so far down the list — Valencians drink it all the time. Just last week I was at a restaurant, where a burly crew of construction workers were sharing a bottle … at 8am!

Patatas bravas (49%) beat out olives (46%), nuts & dried fruits (34%), cheese (29%) and calamari (27%) as the perfect accompaniment for a drink.

Valencians commonly congregate after work for a drink or two around 7 or 8pm. The bars in the city center can get full, especially on the outside terraces. So, where should you go for your beer & bravas? Here are a couple recommendations:

El Gau del Rall - for ambiance (location)

Close to the city center, El Gau del Rall is tucked away in a small courtyard on Calle del Mar and serves up both great bravas and the perfect combination of tourists and locals. The terrace seating merges with that of another bar, Sol i Lluna, which doesn’t serve warm tapas — so make sure to sit at the right table!

El Café del Mar - for taste (location)

This small bar is a little on the grimy side, but it’s got the best bravas we’ve eaten thus far in the city. It’s located right on the back side of Santa Catalina. Make sure to bring an ambivalent tolerance for loud, drunk regulars.

Valencia Plaza - for convenience (location)

Despite its location at Tourist Ground Zero, Plaza de la Reina, this bar is worth a stop for its tasty, cheap bravas and beer. The staff is super friendly, and multi-lingual.

Cafe Almar - when at the beach (location)
After a long day of swimming and sunning, what tastes better than a huge, cold beer and spicy bravas? Nothing. At the end of the Malvarrosa beach, restaurante Almar serves cheap bocadillos and the spiciest bravas we’ve had. It’s good value, given the beach-side location.

Can you suggest other great places in the city to have beer and bravas? Please leave a comment or post in our forums!

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Gypsy Prince in Valencia from Valencia Blog on Vimeo.

Meanwhile, we’ve been back to Radio City for the third time: taking our guests to see Flamenco is now on our must do list, and for some reason Tuesdays always works best. But we’re dying to check out Flamenco nights in other bars.

Anyway, the performance of this young flamenco dancer was amazing. At first I thought it was a girl but after hearing "guapo" I realized it was a boy. He couldn’t have been older than 14. It was the best flamenco show I have seen (out of three!)

Does anyone has more information about him? I would really like to take some portraits… he’d almost be a guarantee to produce some interesting images.

Olé!

More info: Flamenco at Readio City in Valencia

Every Tuesday night, there is a Flamenco session at Radio City (location). We went this week, and had an excellent time.

I’m not an expert in Flamenco (and in fact, before I bought a Camarón de la Isla album 4 weeks ago, I had never really listened to it at all), but I think the performance in Radio City was pretty great. The performers all seemed to be a part of the same, extended Gypsy family. There were two singers, an older matriarchal figure & a younger one who looked as though she was giving birth, so pained was her expression while singing. Two guitarists provided the accompaniment — a grizzled, older dude who didn’t look up even once, and a much more lively & handsome younger man. ¡Gitano que guapo!

The musicians were fun enough to listen to (”fun” might be the wrong word — whatever it was they were wailing about cannot have been happy), but the highlight came when the dancers took the stage. First, a tall and very skinny guy stomped about, whipping his jacket from side to side and whipping himself into a frenzy. It was intense. At the apex of the dance he suddenly stopped and stared into the crowd, and at the same time the matriarch let loose with a wild gypsy howl — awesome.

And the second dancer, a woman, was even better. Every muscle was taut while she danced, and the tall guy was clapping the whole time for her, keeping the beat, yelling “Olé” and “Guapa” every once in a while. It really seemed as though the whole clan didn’t care whether an audience was there or not.

It must be said, though, that this was a stage performance, during which the audience was asked to remain quiet — not one of the wild, participatory sessions that can be found in Seville or elsewhere in Andalusia. Still, it was an incredible time.

The price is €7 and includes a drink. The show starts at 23:00, but show up a half-hour beforehand to ensure you get seats. There’s no need to buy tickets beforehand. As always, make sure to check the website of Radio City, to verify that this information hasn’t changed.

Link: Radio City
More information on Flamenco in Valencia, at ValenciaValencia.com
Location on our Google Map

El Albero - the Andalusian Tavern - offers authentic tapas and atmosphere at a very reasonable price. This was my very first tapas bar in Spain and I loved it. I’d never eaten shark before and, although I don’t really like eating fish, this was delicious.

Don’t show up before 9pm! We got there at 10 and had reservations, which I would recommend, especially on a weekend.

Sometime around 11pm, they dimmed the lights inside and sang Andalusian songs. If you want atmosphere you came to the right place.

It’s also very helpful that the menu was in English.

El Albero
Calle de Ciscar 12

tel. 96 335 62 73

Location on Our Valencia Map

What is your favorite Tapas Bar in Valencia? Share your tips on the Valencia Forum.

We’ve not been in Valencia for long, but a few times, we’ve had to meet people somewhere in the city. On 3 separate occasions, the person we were scheduled to meet has suggested Café Lisboa in Plaza Dr. Collado. It is extremely central, easy to find, and seems to be one of those spots which all Valencia knows.

So if you ever get stuck and have to suggest a place to meet a friend, use this one. And if they don’t know it, you get to act haughty. “Ach, everyone knows the Lisboa!”

The plaza, tucked right behind the huge Mercado Central, is a great place to spend a lazy hour or two, eating tapas or drinking a beer with friends. There are a few restaurants and bars lining the square, one of which is the Lisboa.

The drinks & tapas are reasonably priced, and with plenty of seating outside & in, this is a great place in the heart of the city. We’ll probably be coming here a lot.

Location on Our Valencia Map

J-List is a peaceful island of Japanese pop culture for you

My very first night in Valencia — just hours after I had arrived and signed the contract for our new apartment — I was invited out for dinner, by a guy in my building. I was exhausted, but agreed to meet him and his friends for pizza.

After getting a few glasses of wine in my system, I was feeling better and agreed to go out for a drink after dinner. This is how I ended up at my first gay bar in Valencia: North Dakota Western Bar.

Although it’s close to where we live, I’m not sure how often Juergen and I are going to stop in. The main reason is that it caters to bears — at least, that’s what I assumed from the fliers advertising a Mr. Bear 2008 pageant the next evening. I have nothing against that subculture, but it’s not really my scene (I’m more of a ‘cub’, if anything). Still, the bar was cool and I appreciated the American West decor. A fun first night out in the city.

Link: North Dakota Western Bar
Location on Our Valencia Map