Restaurant in València, Spain
València's best-value tapas argument, since 1836.
Casa Montaña has been running in València's Poblats Marítims district since 1836 and now ranks #460 on Opinionated About Dining's Casual Europe list (2025). It is the city's most practical choice for serious tapas and regional wine without a difficult booking — open until 11:30 pm most nights, easy to walk into, and genuinely rooted in the neighbourhood.
If you are visiting València for the first time and want one place that gives you the full picture of what the city eats and drinks, Casa Montaña is it. Operating since 1836, this Poblats Marítims bar has been ranking on Opinionated About Dining's Casual Europe list since 2023, climbing from a recommendation to #460 in 2025. That upward trajectory matters: it signals a place that is getting sharper, not coasting. Book it without overthinking. It is easy to get a table, the hours are generous, and the format rewards first-timers and regulars in equal measure.
Casa Montaña operates out of a 19th-century bodega in the Poblats Marítims neighbourhood, the maritime district east of the city centre. The interior runs to old wooden barrels, traditional tiles, and a central bar — the kind of physical record of time that cannot be designed into existence. For a first-timer, the setup tells you immediately how to behave: stand at the bar with a glass of wine, order a few small plates, and settle in. This is not a destination for long tasting menus or theatrical service. It is a place for eating well without ceremony.
The kitchen works with local produce and keeps the cooking close to the ingredient. Opinionated About Dining's reviewer flagged specific dishes including braised leeks, asparagus omelette, and tomatoes with olive oil — produce-forward plates where quality of sourcing does the heavy lifting. The wine list is taken seriously here, which makes sense given the building's history as a wine store. Arriving with curiosity about Spanish regional wines will pay off.
The format is tapas bar, which means the experience scales well with group size but also works for a solo diner at the counter. Lunch runs 1–4 pm Monday through Friday and from 12:30 pm on weekends. The kitchen closes Sunday evening, so if you are planning a Sunday night dinner, that is a gap to plan around. Every other evening service runs until 11:30 pm, which makes this a genuine late option in a city where dinner rarely starts before 9 pm. Coming at 9:30 or 10 pm is not just acceptable here , it is how locals use the place.
For a first-timer used to earlier dinner hours, the 11:30 pm closing time changes the calculus significantly. Casa Montaña is one of the more reliable options in the Poblats Marítims area for eating well late without sacrificing quality. The 7:30 pm kitchen opening means you have a four-hour window on weeknights. Arrive at 10 pm, order conservatively at first, and let the bar direct you toward what is drinking well that evening. The format handles late arrivals better than a tasting-menu restaurant ever could.
Booking difficulty at Casa Montaña is low. This is not a counter with twelve seats and a three-week waitlist. Walk-ins are realistic, though booking ahead for weekend lunch , the busiest session , is sensible. Sunday evenings are not an option, so factor that into any Sunday plans. The address is C/ de Josep Benlliure, 69, in the Poblats Marítims district, reachable by tram from the city centre.
| Venue | Format | Price Range | Booking Difficulty | Late Kitchen | OAD Ranking (2025) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Casa Montaña | Tapas Bar | Not published | Easy | Until 11:30 pm | #460 Casual Europe |
| Llisa Negra | Spanish, Farm to table | €€€ | Moderate | Varies | , |
| Saiti | Contemporary Spanish | €€€ | Moderate | Varies | , |
| Ricard Camarena | Modern Spanish, Creative | €€€€ | Hard | No | , |
| Fierro | Modern Cuisine | €€€€ | Moderate | No | , |
Casa Montaña sits in a different category from the tasting-menu restaurants that define València's higher-end dining scene. Ricard Camarena and El Poblet are the city's creative flagships, requiring advance planning and a significantly higher spend. Fierro sits in a similar tier. If that is the experience you are building a trip around, those are the right choices. Casa Montaña answers a different question: where do you eat well, informally, on a Tuesday evening or a late Sunday lunch, without a reservation made weeks out.
For a more direct comparison within the casual-bar format, Central Bar by Ricard Camarena in the Mercat Central offers a higher-profile version of market-driven tapas in a more central location. Mercatbar is another mid-range option in the city centre. Casa Montaña's edge over both is its age, its wine depth, and the neighbourhood character of the Poblats Marítims setting , it feels less like a concept and more like a place that simply exists and has always existed. If you are comparing tapas bars across Spain, Antonio Bar and Bar Bergara in San Sebastián operate in a similar register of serious-but-informal, and are useful benchmarks for what a high-functioning tapas bar feels like.
For a full picture of where to eat, drink, and stay in the city, see our full València restaurants guide, our full València bars guide, and our full València hotels guide. If wine is a priority for your visit, our full València wineries guide is the place to start.
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Casa Montaña | If there's anything like a historic wine place in Valencia, Casa Montaña it is, with a history that dates back to 1836. With a central bar, old wooden barrels, traditional tiles and no (I repeat, NO)...; May we call this the tapas restaurant of the future ? Top local products, thorough commitment to sustainable solutions, beautiful wine list, strong professional team, and pure product cuisine that will make your mouth water. This is a real discovery ! A must do in Valencia if you get the chance. We will be back to taste the delicious tomatoes, the olive oil, the braised leeks, the asparagus omelette, or other delicacies.; Opinionated About Dining Casual in Europe Ranked #460 (2025); Opinionated About Dining Casual in Europe Ranked #530 (2024); Opinionated About Dining Casual in Europe Recommended (2023) | — | |
| Ricard Camarena | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
| Riff | Michelin 1 Star | €€€€ | — |
| Llisa Negra | €€€ | — | |
| Saiti | €€€ | — | |
| Toshi | €€€ | — |
Side-by-side comparison to help you decide where to book.
Yes, and arguably better solo than in a group. The central bar setup in this 1836 bodega makes single-seat eating natural rather than awkward. Walk-in difficulty is low, so there is no planning overhead. Order wine by the glass and work through two or three tapas at the counter without needing to coordinate a table.
Lunch is the more relaxed option, with service starting at 12:30 pm on weekends and 1 pm on weekdays. Dinner runs until 11:30 pm, which suits the local rhythm but can catch visitors off guard if they arrive hungry at 7 pm. Sunday dinner is not served, so plan accordingly. Both meals pull from the same kitchen focus on product-led tapas and wine.
It works for a low-key celebration, not a formal one. The atmosphere is a traditional bodega with wooden barrels and tiled walls, which has character but not ceremony. For a special-occasion dinner with more structure, Ricard Camarena or Llisa Negra are better fits. Casa Montaña is the choice when the occasion is about eating and drinking well without a tasting-menu commitment.
No specific dietary accommodation policy is documented for this venue. What is known is that the kitchen focuses on local produce and pure product cooking, which typically means dishes built around a single ingredient rather than complex preparations. If dietary requirements are a concern, check the venue's official channels before booking — the address is C/ de Josep Benlliure, 69, Poblats Marítims.
Yes, and the central bar is one of the defining features of the space. Eating at the bar in a bodega that dates to 1836 is the format the room was built for. It is practical for solo diners or couples, and suits the walk-in approach well. If you have a larger group, booking a table in advance makes more sense.
For a step up in format and price, Ricard Camarena and Llisa Negra are the obvious moves — both operate in a more composed, table-service register. Saiti and Riff sit closer to Casa Montaña in spirit but skew more modern in their cooking approach. Toshi is a different category entirely. Casa Montaña is the right call specifically when you want historic setting, serious wine, and tapas without a tasting-menu structure.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
