Casa Carmela

Incredible Paella and the most amazing butterfly clams sautéed in butter with lemon! We’re still thinking about them…If you visit, absolutely get this dish.

Some dishes were better than others but the paella is the star, and that’s why you’re here.

Service was pleasant if somewhat chaotic at times with the number of people in the restaurant. One of our items was missed initially and then added later, and one coffee we ordered we never received, but all small stuff.

They also have an absolutely massive wine list—65 pages long. An institution in Valencia.

This restaurant was amazing! We saw 'frenchguycooks' on YouTube name this as the best paella in Valencia and I think he's totally right! The paella was definitely the star of the show and is a must try for anyone visiting Valencia but it was surrounded by other very bright stars.

We had the tasting menu and each course blew us away, starting with the biggest tastiest oysters which I'm not typically a fan of, followed by some indescribable prawns, delicious codfish croquettes and fantastic cuttlefish, which has this delicious sauce! The final starter was fried 'little fish's very tasty fish although not my thing eating fish bones and all and these weren't very little!

Pudding wasn't an afterthought at Casa Carmela, I had French toast and my partner had the lemon pie, both incredible, delicate, fresh flavours. Overall very impressed.

This place is only open from 1:30 to 4ish PM. Make a reservation as this restaurant is popular with locals and tourists alike looking for the best paella in town.
We walked in without a reservation at lunch and happened to find an open table outside at the nice open-air terrace, next to the outdoor bar, (which made for quick drinks!!). Once we were at our table, we had to wait a bit to have our order taken, but once it got rolling the service was fast and friendly from start to finish. We ordered the Black Paella de Mariscos . Which was incredible and with generous amounts of socarrat - the crusty rice at the bottom of the pan. The fish of the day was very tasty and perfectly cooked. The grilled octopus for appetizer was tender and tasty and the croquetas well balanced in crunchyness and tenderness inside. Very flavorful. Casa Carmela ,a must if you are in Valencia.

The best pella I’ve ever had (and I’ve had many). In the high end of price range but the quality is worth it. I’ve read reviews that waiters push for more food and I don’t think they do that unreasonably. We had no leftovers and followed their advice on quantity. The service was excellent, friendly, professional and kind. I’ve also read that the food is salty and here I would say that’s the taste of seafood at its best. It’s not salt, that’s how an amazing paella tastes like. It’s like saying an oyster is too fishy.

I would definitely go back again. One thing I loved was that they let you visit the kitchen and see firsthand how they make the paellas!!! The passion and skill the cooks show is worth seeing.

We had the paella with red prawn (carabineros), chopitos and tellinas (small clams). For dessert we had the apple tart with horchata ice cream and it was excellent. All homemade and fresh. If I had to mention something to improve I would say the amount of food in the chopitos and tellinas could be larger. I know they are fresh and seafood is expensive but with their economies of scale it should be possible to adjust that a bit more. Another thing was the temperature of the chopitos (cold, but at least still crunchy) which is tricky to get hot straight out of the frying pan. Lastly, I would appreciate if they used crystal water bottles of 1L and not just 1/2. That’s just for sustainability purposes. As an anecdote I leave the music we had by Taylor Swift in the background. I would advocate for Spanish music but I am definitely biased ;)

Thank you to the team and congrats!

Very popular place by the beach, a must book place as it's so popular with the locals.

We tried the paella, the best we've tasted and it's great to see the way it's cooked in the Theater kitchen windows, as they continue to cook this traditionally over wood fire.

Private rooms are available upstairs with the balcony and it's a cut above your usual paella restaurant, well deserving of the praise and reputation.

We were fortunate enough to secure a window table without reservations, a rare occurrence at this popular spot. We tried their famous paella, opting for the mariscos version. The staff was very kind and enhanced our dining pleasure. Don’t miss if you are in Valencia, but a word of advice for you: make sure to book in advance!

A superb experience for special occasion.
The lobster paella being the ultimate highlight - the UMAMI flavoured rice is a wonder. How could you make rice taste so good!!??
I liked our waiter, he did recommend great wines, and not the most expensive ones.
The tomatoe, the anchovies, the squid, ... INCREDIBLE QUALITY. Just WOW!
we paid ~ 460 eur. for 5 pax (including 3 bottles of wine), and it was absolutely worth it!
Thank you, we'll come back.

One of the best paella I ever had!
This is a true historical restaurant and you can feel it from when you enter. The interior make you feel at home (in perfect Spanish style). The staff is super professional and service is fast.
The menu is diverse with lot of possibility. Of course, la paella Valenciana is a must.
Desserts are also good and I recommend “torta de queso”.

Great experience! Best paella 🥘 I have ever tried! Rafa and Carlos instructed me in how to have the best experience. This is authentic. It’s a good idea to reserve your paella in advance so you can have the best from this place.

You need to ask for the paella valenciana days before your booking

Red prawns are amazing but quite over priced. All the rest were good quality/cost well balanced, including the wine
We spent around 120€/person having a lot of starters, paella valenciana, two bottles of wine, desert and coffee

Highly recommend

We have ordered the tasty menu (50 € per person). The menu includes 5 starters, 1 main course (paella), and dessert

Booking in advance is recommended

Best paella I’ve ever had, couldn’t believe how tasty it was! We got some starters and a fantastic wine to accompany it all.
Great service and lovely premises too
Extremely recommended

Make a reservation in advance and if you want Paella you need to reserve that in advance. There's a 40 minute wait upon arrival for your paella so you will want a starter, but don't fill up because the paella is HUGE! We couldn't eat it all. The server said it was a small serving...wrong!
We had the Valencian paella it was magical. The octopus was great and tender as well and Iberico ham is always a winner!

By far the best Paella I’ve ever hard in my life.

I have to admit I am not a huge fan of Paella, but this thing is from another world.

I ordered the Paella Valenciana (which has to be reserved a couple of days before so that they can make sure they have all the ingredients on the day of the reservation).

The Paellas are cooked on open fire and if you are a fan of the Maillard reaction you will be extremely please.

We had an entree of tuna and then we received the Paella. The service was ok given it takes 20 minutes to cook the Paella, so nibbling on an entree in the meantime makes sense.

Once we receive the Paella, we thought we would eat half and bring the other half for the next day (a lot of people bring back home the leftovers, so don’t hesitate to ask!!!), but we ate everything because it was so damn good…. Wow!!!

The rice is cooked to perfection, every single grain is delicious and has the perfect char from the cooking. Once we finished the plate we were scrubbing the black/brown parts with brerad on the plate because it had so much taste!

If I had known it was so good, I would have ordered another one just to bring it home for the next day.

I am looking forward to my next visit in Valencia because I know that Casa Carmela will be my very first visit as soon as I land. I keep having dreams about this Paella!!

We hadn't booked so got there early, luckily after a drink at the bar we were taken to a table. Wonderful food and service! Pulpo followed by a seafood Paella.

Excellent and recommended. Worth ordering the paella ahead of time and getting the tasting menu to accompany.

Freaking delicious paella! They only open for lunch and 5 days a week and have a minimum spending of €40 per pax.

Definitely need to do make reservation to avoid disappointment.

Very good restaurant, tasty dishes and paellas, a little pricey. Excellent and extensive wine list. Service could be better for this level.

An institution - one of the best arroz we ever had. Don’t miss the pulpo seco, also very good!

Very good food. The paella valenciana was amazing the best one I've had in my life also the gambas al ajillo and the croquetas de jamón. Service was fine but a little slow because the place was full. The staff was very eager to help and solve any requests.