18 Best Restaurants in Granada, Andalusia

Located southeast of Granada's cathedral, this modern hot spot is a world apart from Granada's usual traditional tapas bar. It attracts an eclectic crowd of students, families, and businesspeople with a diverse international menu, including Mexican fajitas, poke bowls, and Thai cod. The good-value lunch menu offers three courses plus a drink for €14. Seating is outside on the pleasant sidewalk overlooking the Botanical Garden or inside in two sizeable dining areas.

The modern wood-paneled dining room and warm lighting form the perfect setting for the creative Andalusian cuisine cooked here by local chef Lola Marín, who learned her trade with some of Spain's top chefs, such as Martín Berasategui. The tasting menu changes weekly and always includes in-season produce in its six courses (cold and hot starters, fish, meat, and dessert). For another €20, each can be paired with wine from the list that runs to more than 120 choices, including several Granada wines. Thanks to its slightly hidden location in the Realejo, Damasqueros is not highly frequented by tourists.

Tucked away in the warren of alleyways in a restored Albayzín villa, this lovely restaurant offers what may be the best food in the area. There's a formal dining room, an outside garden with pear and quince trees, and a roof terrace with Alhambra views. House specialties include arroz con jabalí y setas silvestres (rice with wild boar and mushrooms) and arroz negro con habas y chipirones con alioli de genjibre (black rice with broad beans, baby squid, and ginger aioli). Try the tasting menu that has a wine-pairing option. The owner welcomes diners personally and keeps a very close eye on the kitchen.

Also known simply as Casa de Vinos (Wine House), this place, up a pedestrian street just behind Plaza Nueva, is a must for Spanish wine lovers. The cozy interior is reminiscent of a ship's cabin, with wood paneling lining the walls along with more than 150 bottles of Spanish wines. A different wine is featured each week, and vermouth and sherries are on tap in barrels behind the counter. Choose from tapas (€3.50–€6.50) or cold meats, cheeses, and pâtés, served on 11 different types and sizes of boards (€10–€25). The house board includes three cold meats, goat cheese, and two pâtés.

This lively bar (with a sister branch on Plaza Nueva) is a big favorite with locals and draws crowds whatever the time of year. Specialties include fried fish and seafood—try the surtido de pescado (assortment of fried fish) to sample the best—as well as sesos (fried lambs' brains). No reservations are taken and seating is inside or outside with views of the Plaza de Bib-Rambla, so arrive early (1:30 pm or 8 pm) to be sure of some bar space or a tall table outside. Even when it's crowded, the service comes with a smile.

A block from the cathedral across Gran Vía, this is a delightfully typical Granada bodega with low ceilings and dark wood furniture. In addition to the wines, specialties here are plates of cheese, pâté, and embutidos (cold meats). You can also order a bandeja tradicional that comes with a taste of all traditional Spanish tapas. If you like garlic, don't miss the Spanish tortilla with creamy aioli.

Around the corner from the cathedral, this is one of Granada's longest-established fish restaurants. Catch-of-the-day fish and shellfish, fresh from the boats at Motril, are displayed in the window at the front of the tapas bar, adjacent to the cozy wood-paneled dining room. Fish both frito (fried) and parrillado (grilled) are good choices, and this is the only place in Granada serving angulas (glass eels). If it's chilly, you can warm up with caldereta de arroz, pescado y marisco (rice, fish, and seafood stew). There are tables outdoors overlooking a busy plaza.

Eclectic decor and innovative food are on offer at this cozy venue off Plaza Nueva whose chef, Nuria de la Torre, won the local Culinary Masters competition in 2021. Her menu takes seasonal ingredients as its base while dishes combine local staples with unusual partners. The lasagna has a venison base, asparagus partners with smoked sardines, and Iberian pork steak comes with piquant Canary Island mojo picón sauce. The short but sweet dessert menu includes pineapple infused with ginger and cured goat’s cheesecake, plus a daily special. LP vinyls serve as placemats, the menu sits tucked inside Asterix albums, and corks line the walls checkered with cookbooks and Granada memorabilia. Book ahead for a guaranteed table.

Even if you aren’t a vegan, the plant-based menu won’t disappoint at this quirky restaurant, located just a block east of Casa de los Tiros. You’ll find a good choice of food—there are even four types of vegan burgers with hand-cut French fries—while firm favorites with regulars include the vegetable lasagna and seitan cordon bleu. The weekday lunchtime menu (€15) with three courses plus drink offers a good value and the kitchen is open all day. Sit inside and take in the vibrant murals, or sit outside on the quiet terrace, blissfully sunny in winter and shady in summer.

Just off Calle Puentezuelas, this authentic patio complete with original pillars provides a cozy vibe. Specials include the house cod (with prawns and clams) and Galician-style octopus, best enjoyed with a cerdito (a "little pig" ceramic jug of sweet white wine, so named for its snout pourer). The weekday menú del día (€10) is an excellent value with giant portions. This is a busy venue, especially on weekends, and reservations aren't accepted, so arrive early (1:30 pm for lunch or 8 pm for dinner) to snag a table. You can also put your name on the list and order a tapa at the bar while you wait.

The interior may look a bit bare, but whatever this fish restaurant lacks in warmth it makes up for with the food. It serves simple but high-quality dishes like grilled mullet, dorado baked in salt, prawns with garlic, and monkfish in saffron sauce. The tapas bar, which is more popular with locals than the dining room, offers classic dishes (from €1.50) like migas (fried bread crumbs), beans with jamón serrano (dry-cured Spanish ham), and tortilla del Sacromonte (tortilla with lamb testicles and brains, as traditionally prepared by the Sacromonte Gypsies). Service is friendly.

The Moroccan tapas at this small and bustling venue make a pleasant change from the traditional local fare. Tagine, couscous, and kefta are all menu staples. You’ll find a selection of Middle Eastern dishes as well, also available in vegetarian versions. Choose your complimentary tapa with your first drink and then go for more tapas (from €2) or sharing plates. The plato de degustación (selection of tapas) gives a good overview of the house best.

Inside a pretty brick building and with an informal terrace sprawling over the wide steps of the Cuesta de Abarqueros, Paprika offers unpretentious vegan food. Most ingredients and wines are organic, and dishes include salads, stir-fries, and curries, such as Thai curry with tofu, coconut, and green curry sauce. There are choices of gluten-free dishes and a value menu of the day for €14, which includes three courses and a drink.

Sweet and savory treats come into their own at this family-owned business in the city center. Top of the specialty list are piononos (sponge bites filled with caramel and custard) and pastela (Moroccan chicken pie). Eat in with a drink at the bar or in the small cafeteria space, or take out to feast on in one of the nearby squares.

This bar and restaurant, just off Plaza Nueva, is in a 17th-century palace with a stunning patio (complete with original marble columns) and peaceful garden. The menu emphasizes meat dishes such as chuletas de cordero (lamb chops) and the house specialty, braised rabo de toro and giant croquettes known as croquetón. Eat in the lovely downstairs patio or in the elegant restaurant upstairs.

Run by Basque chef Álvaro Arriaga, this restaurant sits on the top floor of the Museo de la Memoria de Andalucía just outside the city (it's well worth the taxi drive) and has panoramic views of Granada with the Sierra Nevada behind. Choose from two tasting menus (€80 for six dishes and €100 for nine dishes), both with one surprise after another and available with Andalusian wine pairing. Expect innovative desserts—you'll choose one first since the menu starts with them.

A charming surprise nestled at the foot of the Albayzín by the Darro, this sleek contemporary space in the shadow of the Alhambra offers a selection of specialties. The diverse menu includes tuna tataki (a method of pounding fish in Japanese cuisine) with apple chutney and several different couscous dishes. There are also three tasting menus (from €30). Steel furniture and a black-and-red color scheme contribute to the air of sophistication. The kitchen is open from 1 to 11 pm, or until midnight during the summer.

Underneath the arches just off Puerta Real, this modern bar and restaurant has a reputation for being one of Granada's most chic venues. It's known for fresh seafood, including oysters and red shrimp, though generous portions of chargrilled steaks, steak tartare, and fresh foie gras are a hit with carnivores. The cocktail list is extensive, and G&T lovers delight in the choice of 33 gins.