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History
The rice was created in the 1960s by Jaime Baydal at the Restaurant Baydal in Calp, up the coast from Benidorm, for diners who did not want to peel their shellfish; Calp has counted it as a local dish since 1998. Other tellings place it in Alicante or at La Pepica in Valencia. Squid or cuttlefish, prawns and clams or mussels go in already shelled. In Benidorm it is on the menus of Casa Toni, Rice at Sierra Cortina and El Barranco.
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Common allergens: Crustaceans, Molluscs, Fish
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 400g bomba rice
- 300g prawns
- 200g squid or cuttlefish, diced
- 200g monkfish, diced
- 250g mussels or clams, steamed open and shelled
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 ripe tomato, grated
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- A pinch of saffron
- 1.2 litres fish stock
- 80ml olive oil
- Salt
Method
- Peel the prawns; fry the heads and shells in a little oil, crush them and simmer in the fish stock for 10 minutes, then strain.
- Brown the peeled prawns briefly and set aside; fry the squid and monkfish with the onion until soft.
- Add the tomato and cook for 3 minutes, then the paprika for a few seconds.
- Stir in the rice, add the hot stock and saffron, season and bring to the boil.
- Cook 10 minutes on high and 8 on medium; scatter the prawns and shelled mussels over the top for the last 3 minutes.
- Rest 5 minutes before serving straight from the pan.
Tip from the editors. Make the stock with the prawn shells; it is where the flavour lost by peeling the seafood comes back.
Where to eat arroz del senyoret
Arroz del senyoret in Benidorm
Casa Toni ★ 4.3
Casa Toni has cooked fish and shellfish in Benidorm since 1992, from bay red prawns and almadraba salazones to arroz del senyoret and fideuà for two or more.
OrderBay red prawns from the plancha, then arroz del senyoret for the table.
TipIt sits in the Los Gemelos IV building on Avenida de Cuenca, a few streets back from Levante beach; Sunday is lunch only.
Rice ★ 4.6
Rice is a rice house on the Sierra Cortina estate above Benidorm, in Finestrat, cooking seven rices plus fideuà and rossejat, with grilled red prawns first.
OrderArroz de gamba roja y corvina for two, after a grilled red prawn each.
TipRice dishes are for at least two and the kitchen cooks one rice per table; dinner runs only on Friday and Saturday, so plan a long lunch.
El Barranco ★ 4.2
El Barranco is a seafront rice and fish house on Poniente beach in Benidorm, cooking arroz a banda, arroz del senyoret and rice with anchovies and spinach.
OrderArroz con boquerones y espinacas, Benidorm's own rice, for at least two.
TipRice dishes are made for at least two; a local quoted by Guía Repsol picks the salt-baked fish and the grilled baby squid.
Arroz del senyoret in Salou
Restaurant Club Nàutic Salou ★ 4.2
Restaurant Club Nàutic Salou cooks rice dishes and fish from the auction on the first floor of the sailing club building on the port breakwater in Salou.
OrderArroz del senyoret with red prawns from the fish auction, at €35 a portion.
TipRice dishes are sold by the portion with a minimum of two; arròs negre with sepionets is the gentlest price at €22 a head.
La Taberna del Áncora ★ 3.8
La Taberna del Áncora is a Salou tavern built around tapas, octopus and paella, with a weekday menu, a weekend menu and a T-bone steak menu.
OrderGalician-style octopus with garlic prawns, then a creamy cuttlefish and octopus rice.
TipDinner runs only Thursday to Saturday; on autumn 2026 Thursdays it also pours a Tasta Salou plate and glass for €7.
Arroz del senyoret in Valencia
La Pepica ★ 4.3
La Pepica on Passeig de Neptu in Valencia's Malvarrosa beach has served paella since 1898; Hemingway, Queen Sofia and Orson Welles all ate the rice here.
OrderThe paella valenciana with rabbit, chicken and ferraura beans at lunch.
TipBook the beachfront terrace one week ahead. Closed Sunday evenings. Hemingway's signed photograph hangs in the inner dining room.
La Riua ★ 4.4
La Riua on Carrer del Mar in Valencia's old town has run a family-tavern rice kitchen since 1978, now in the third generation, with a dozen paellas.
OrderThe paella valenciana or the arroz a banda; the house Utiel-Requena tinto is honest.
TipClosed Sunday and Monday. The dining room fills with locals by 14:00; reserve ahead.
More cities are in research. Want arroz del senyoret covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.