Cervecería Alhambra: Best Tortilla de Patatas in Town

Bar Alhambra

Calixto III, 8, Valencia, 46008, Spain

34 963 84 30 57

After the third person told me that I needed to go to Cervecería  Alhambra for the best tortilla de patatas in Valencia I made a point of going the very next morning. The only thing keeping me from going much sooner is the location across town which on a bicycle is a nightmarish gauntlet of traffic lights and aggressive drivers. An old woman was recently killed crossing one of the thoroughfares I would need to negotiate to sample what is one of my favorite dishes in the world. A good tortilla de patatas is worth dying for so I set out on a wet, gloomy day to cross this off my bucket list.

This area of Valencia is hell for cyclists as the roads are clogged with cars going way too fast and there is little in the way of bike paths. It is, without a doubt, the least civil part of town for pedestrians. Walking around here is enormously frustrating because you’re constantly being stopped by traffic signals that seem to only value those in automobiles. I finally made it to the general area and stashed my Valenbisi bike about three blocks away.

The place is indistinguishable from countless other little bars in Valencia but as soon as you see what they have inside the counter refrigerator display you know this place is different. The tortillas were thicker than a New York phone book and every stool at the bar was taken. I stood at the end of the counter and a woman quickly took my order for a beer and a sandwich. I never, ever drink beer this early but when in Rome... I immediately got into a conversation with the man next to me and I told him that I was a bit ashamed to say that this was my first time here. He had a laugh when I said that they should rename the place Bar Mecca as I’d been planning a pilgrimage here for quite some time. Even though I'm dieting like a madman I just had to take another sandwich to go.