El Famòs Restaurant

El Famós is a time trip to the most traditional Valencian cuisine. The recipes that have passed from generation to generation in a house surrounded by fields in the Valencian orchard. We are talking about the oldest restaurant in the Valencian community: a tavern that supplies wine in bulk, shoes and farm equipment to farmers in the area. Over time, the food house was transformed when the concept of a restaurant appeared, but has always been linked to the same family since 1890.

Respecting the location, although with the logical transformations through the passage of years, El Famós is a refuge in the middle of the orchard to savor products from the area and ancestral recipes. It is now the seventh generation that is at the forefront of the family business.

In their paellero, Vicente and Jose María are prepared to cook more that 15 types of wood paella. Chicken and rabbit, chicken only, duck, vegetables, shellfish, Fideuà, espardenyà, black rice, band, L’horta Paella… These are just a few of the varieties you can taste in this corner of the orchard, just two steps from the city center, very close to the university area of the Camí de Vera.

From time to time they make concessions in the menu and ad new varieties that the regular customers ask for. For example, one of the latest additions is the paella of tender garlic and crayfish. Although if you visit on a winter day and are looking for strength, the paella de Toro de a magnificent choice: rice, with bull meat, chickpeas, endive and a touch of pebrera, or hot pepper.

If you prefer the rice broths, you also have a wide variety to choose from. Chicken and rabbit, “fessols i naps”, ribs and cabbage, spider crab or lobster, are just some of the specialties.

The best thing is that you don’t have to order the rice in advance, but you can choose any variety at the time and they will prepare it for you. But that wait is part of the liturgy that involves enjoying the traditional cuisine of El Famós.

For the wait to become more bearable, you can enjoy some potatoes with a delicious aioli, a grilled octopus, grilled squid, homemade croquettes or traditional dishes like the Esgarraet. Whatever your choice, you will feel as if time stops once you pass through the entrance and into the cozy dining room; the ideal place to enjoy every bite without haste, and have a good conversation. And, of course, a good wine; more than 200 options make up this wine and beer list.

They have typical Valencian tiles, and tablecloths with red and white paintings. They also add an infinity of oil paintings decorating the walls of the dining room. These are the work of one of the current owners who combined his passion for painting with his good cooking, following the family tradition.

At El Famós they always work a la carte and its average price varies between 20 and 25 euros. Although you can also buy a daily menu and enjoy a typical Valencian lunch, with snacks to taste that is prepared for you.