Cocktails, wine bars and dives: drinking in Valencia for grown-ups.
Cocktail bars, wine bars, dive bars and gastropubs: drinking in Valencia for grown-ups.
Cafe Madrid on Carrer de l'Abadia de Sant Marti in Valencia is the 1959 birthplace of agua de Valencia, the cava-and-orange cocktail invented here by Constante Gil Rodriguez.
Signature drink: Agua de Valencia
Food: Snacks
Tip: Closed and reopened in 2018 after a tasteful renovation. The agua de Valencia carafe is the order.
Café Sant Jaume on Carrer dels Cavallers in Valencia's Carmen is a restored 19th-century pharmacy turned cocktail bar, with the original wood-and-marble counter and a strong agua de Valencia pour.
Signature drink: Classic gin and tonic
Food: Snacks
Tip: Order the agua de Valencia or the gin and tonic. The Calle Caballeros terrace is the prime perch on weekend nights.
Destilados on Carrer del Pare Tosca in Valencia's Carmen is a spirit-focused bar with 250 mezcals, 200 whiskies and a cocktail menu built on Mexican-Spanish flavours.
Signature drink: Mezcal flight
Food: Snacks
Tip: Closed Sunday and Monday. The mezcal tasting flight runs three glasses.
Bar Negrito on Placa del Negret in Valencia's Carmen is a classic vermut and wine bar with a small plaza terrace, a tap of house vermut and a Valencian-wine list.
Signature drink: Vermut on tap
Food: Tapas
Tip: Plaza terrace from sundown. The vermut and a pickled-anchovy plate is the local order.
Cafe de las Horas on Carrer del Comte d'Almodovar in Valencia's old town is a baroque-decor cocktail and tea bar with a strong agua de Valencia pour and a candle-lit room.
Signature drink: Agua de Valencia
Food: Cakes and tapas
Tip: Open daily through the day; the room is most atmospheric at dusk. Reservations not taken.