Show up early if you want a table in the sun at La Lambrusqueria, on Calle Conde Altea (location). On a sunny day, the outside tables are snatched up quickly — this is one of the most popular restaurants in the neighborhood, and with good reason. The price is incredible, given the quality of food. The menú del día costs just €7, and is probably the best Italian we’ve had all year.

The portions are generous, particularly the wonderful salads which come gigantic bowls. I had a spinach salad with fresh tomatoes and cheese, which was delicious. The pasta was great, too.

The only bad thing about La Lambrusqueria is that it’s too popular. People wait impatiently for tables. While we were finishing our meal, an ugly couple was making it more than obvious that they’d like our table, so please hurry it up now. Sorry, folks — standing so close to us and staring so intently is only going to cause us to eat slower. You can sigh all you want to, we’re going to order coffee, and savour every sip. Show up earlier next time.

But otherwise a great eating experience and, at that price, we’ll be back often.

La Lambrusqueria
Calle del Conde de Altea, 36
46005 Valencia, Spain
96 334 07 53
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Similar in concept to the nearby Ao Yama, Samurai is another great place for all-you-can-eat Japanese grub.

Sushi is what most people come for, and at €9,50 (excl. drinks) it’s difficult to beat in terms of price. We stuffed ourselves on it — mistakenly ordering these giant ones almost exclusively. By the end of our meal, I felt like I had an entire salmon swimming around my stomach. Think I’ll stick to small sushis next time.

Samurai also offered a lot of other plates, though perhaps not as wide a selection as at Ao Yama. It’s nice for variety, though, and we can certainly recommend it in terms of quality and price.

Samurai
C/ Conde de Altea, 43
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963 745 652

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Ruzafa is certainly at no loss for great restaurants. Diners can find just about anything here, from decent budget food for the impoverished, to fancy cuisine for the wealthy. Comfortably occupying the middle ground is the Casa Botella Tavern, near the Mercado Ruzafa. Putting a unique spin on traditional rice & stew dishes, it’s an excellent and affordable (€12) menú del día.

Show up on time! By 15h, you’ll have a hard time finding a table. Casa Botella is both popular and small. The menú del día is a bit different than the traditional two plates of other restaurants. You’ll start with a homemade cream. I chose cream of lentil, with caviar, and it was interesting, in a good way. A fresh salad is brought for the table to share before the main dish, usually a rice dish or stew. I had a rich rice dish with spinach, cod and raisins… delicious. Juergen enjoyed gazpacho manchego.

As its name suggests, Casa Botella is also proud of its small wine list. Drinks aren’t included in the menú del día’s price, so be aware of that. Our waiter was friendly and helpful, and spoke English, which was nice because the dishes were so unique. Enjoy the pictures of our food, and check out the restaurant! We can definitely recommend it.

Casa Botella’s Website
Pintor Salvador Abril, 28
654 849 333
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We took seats at our table in Che Baires with a little trepidation. The excitement of eating out had quickly faded when we entered the restaurant on C/ Reina Doña Germana and found it completely empty. Barren tables, eerie quiet and a bored wait staff were our only companions.

But we needn’t have worried: Che Baires was excellent. We went on the day after Three King’s Day, so perhaps no one was in the mood for eating out. Maybe it’s more of a dinner place. I don’t know, but I can’t imagine it not being popular.

Naturally for an Argentinian restaurant, the highlight of the meal was a steak, or entraña. I hesitated to order it, confusing the word with entrañas, meaning entrails! But the waitress eased my mind: entra-ñas are guts, but entra-ña is an absolutely delicious cut of Argentinian steak.

That’s like if the word for “dog shit” were “chocolath”. Stop trying to trick me, Spanish!

By itself, the steak would have justified the €12 cost of the menú del día, so when you add an additional plate, dessert, a drink and coffee, you’re talking about a serious deal.

C/ Reina Doña Germana 10
963 280 981
chebaires.com
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