Valencia · Spain
La Pepica
A practical guide to La Pepica in Valencia: paella by the sea since 1898, what to order, what it costs, how to book the dining room with the Hemingway photos and how to avoid the tourist-paella traps.
Yes, it's worth it for the history, the dining room and the sea 50 meters away, as long as you order paella valenciana. If you care more about the perfect paella than the place, go to Casa Carmela or El Palmar.
La Pepica has been cooking rice across from Valencia’s beach since 1898. It started as a wooden shack on the sand, and today it has a terrace facing the sea and an inside dining room of brick and wood, with photos of the people who ate there: Hemingway, Orson Welles, Ava Gardner, King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía. It’s the most famous paella restaurant in the city, and also the most touristy.
Our experience
It was the big lunch of Tuesday, May 26. We booked it in April through CoverManager for 14:00, in the photo dining room. We took a taxi there after the Central Market and La Lonja, and ordered the paella valenciana as soon as we sat down, because it takes 40–45 minutes and the table is for an hour and a half. When we finished, we crossed the promenade to the beach and from there walked into El Cabanyal.
At first we had been thinking of Casa Carmela, but we switched to La Pepica believing that day was a Monday, when Casa Carmela is closed. It was a Tuesday. We kept the reservation: we traded the more purist paella for the history and the dining room. It’s in our big day in Valencia.
A bit of history
In 1898, Francisco Balaguer Aranda, from Sagunto, and his wife Josefa Marqués Sanchís started selling fried fish, food and wine to port workers from a shack on the beach. The name comes from Pepica, the Valencian nickname for Josefa. Today it’s run by their grandson, Pepe Balaguer.
Hemingway devoted pages to it in The Dangerous Summer, about his summer of 1959: “a big, clean, open-air place,” where everything was cooked in plain sight. Paella Pepica, the one with peeled seafood, is owed to Joaquín Sorolla: when arthritis no longer let him peel his shrimp, the restaurant started serving them to him already peeled.
What the reviews say
They’re split: some talk about the socarrat, the dining room and the sea; others about high prices, uneven service and seafood that isn’t always fresh. The valenciana is the most consistent, and you pay 25–35% more than at a rice restaurant in the center for the address and the history.
What to see, in order
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Paella valenciana
Chicken, rabbit, garrofó beans and green beans, no seafood. It's the one this kitchen makes most consistently and the one that dodges almost all the bad reviews. Order it as soon as you sit down.
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Steamed clochinas
The small Valencian mussel, with lemon and bay leaf. Only from April to August. A good starter while the rice cooks.
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Garlic shrimp
The other classic starter. One or two starters are enough to keep the bill from getting out of hand.
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The socarrat
The toasted crust at the bottom of the pan. When there's little rice left, ask them to serve it: "¿Nos puede dar el socarrat, por favor?"
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The photo dining room
Brick and dark wood, with black-and-white photos of Hemingway, Orson Welles, Ava Gardner, Brigitte Bardot, bullfighters and King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía.
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Paella Pepica
The one with the seafood already peeled, created for Sorolla. Order it only if you're here for the seafood: its reviews are more mixed than the valenciana's.
Tips we wish we’d known
Tips
- Having a reservation doesn't mean the paella is underway: the 40–45 minutes start when you order it.
- If olives or pan con tomate show up that you didn't order, ask before eating: they can appear on the bill at €3–5.
- Service is included by law. If the service was good, leave €2–5 in cash; there's no need for the American 15–20%.
- Ask for tap water if you want it free; a bottle costs €3–4.
Do
- Order the paella in your first sentence: "Una paella valenciana para dos, para que vayan haciéndola ya."
- Drink the house white, from Utiel-Requena, or a vermouth.
- When you leave, cross the promenade and put your feet in the sea.
Don’t
- Don't order "the seafood paella" thinking it's the valenciana: paella valenciana has no seafood.
- Don't fall for "Hemingway's table": it doesn't exist. According to the owner, he went from table to table all over the dining room.
- Don't order the pitcher of sangria or the cascade of starters they rattle off.
- Don't accept a photo from the photographer working the terrace: they charge €8–15 afterward.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need a reservation at La Pepica?
Yes, and even more so for the terrace. In May, one or two weeks ahead is enough; in July and August, a month. Book at lapepica.com, CoverManager or TheFork.
How much does it cost to eat at La Pepica?
Paella valenciana runs €19–22 per person, two-person minimum. With starters and drinks, €60 to €85 for two. There's a €30 per person minimum spend.
Which paella should you order at La Pepica?
The valenciana, with chicken, rabbit, garrofó beans and green beans. It's the most consistent; the seafood ones depend more on that day's product.
Did Hemingway really eat at La Pepica?
Yes. In The Dangerous Summer, his book about the summer of 1959 in Spain, he describes it as a big, clean, open-air place with the best rice dishes on the beach. His photos are still in the dining room.
La Pepica or Casa Carmela?
La Pepica for the history, the dining room and the sea out front. Casa Carmela, from 1922 and cooking over orange-wood fires, is the purists' favorite, in a simpler setting. Casa Carmela is closed on Mondays; La Pepica is open every day.