A CENTENARY HOUSE ON MALVARROSA BEACH
A hundred years of paella,over an orange-wood fire.
Since 1922, four generations of the same family. Orange-wood fire, fish-market produce, and the Mediterranean as a backdrop.
DISTINCTIONS
MICHELIN Guide · 2023
Repsol Guide · 2026
Tourism Quality Commitment · 2026
“Mediterranean culture cannot be understood away from the sea, or away from a shared table.”
THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HOUSE
If a paella is shared around that table — always in the middle, always with a wooden spoon — you are witnessing one of the ceremonies that most unites and defines us. At Casa Carmela we have been making that liturgy possible for more than a century: wood fire plays the essential role, and tradition, quality and the closeness of the produce do the rest.
SINCE 1922
Four generations, one fire.
- ·1922
- ·1930s
- ·1970s
- ·TODAY
1922
The beach shack.
Every summer morning José Belenguer crossed the orchards of Vera to open a beach shack serving the bathers of Valencia. He named it after his wife: Carmen. That is how Casa Carmela began.
1930s
The writer next door.
Meals and lodgers arrived. Vicente Blasco Ibáñez spent his summers in the villa next door and was a customer of the house; Manuel Vicent would later portray this corner of the beach in «Tranvía a la Malvarrosa».
1970s
The wood-fired paella pits.
The third generation renovated the house, built the wood-fired paella pits, and focused the menu on rice: one paella per table, a very thin layer of rice, socarrat done to the point. The walls were dressed in Manises ceramics.
Today
The fourth generation.
In charge since 2011, the fourth generation keeps the ritual: around 25 wood-fired paellas per service, more than 150 diners, a team of over 30 — and the same orange-wood fire as always.
THE MENU — CURRENT PRICES
Twenty rices. One single fire.
Menu of May 2026. Price per portion; rices are served for the whole table, minimum two people.
Wood-fired rices
- 25,00 €Arroz negro — monkfish and baby squid
- 28,00 €Arroz de marisco — prawn, langoustine, scampi and monkfish
- 25,00 €Arroz del «senyoret» — monkfish and peeled prawn
- 28,00 €Fideuà tradicional — whole prawn, langoustine and scampi
- 25,00 €Fideuà fina y pelada — monkfish and peeled prawn tails
- 25,00 €Fideuà negra fina — monkfish and baby squid
- 33,00 €Arroz de corvina y gamba — meagre and prawn
- 35,00 €Arroz de rojos con rape — red prawns and monkfish
- 45,00 €Arroz de bogavante azul del Mediterráneo
- 47,00 €Arroz de langosta de playa
- 25,00 €Paella valenciana — chicken, rabbit, duck, ferradura, garrofó and snailsPRE-ORDER — 24 H
- 20,00 €Arroz de verduras de temporadaPRE-ORDER — 24 H
Soupy rices
- 26,00 €Caldoso de marisco — langoustine, prawn, scampi and monkfish
- 47,00 €Caldoso de langosta de playa
- 21,00 €Meloso de pulpo — octopus, prawns, pumpkin and tender garlic
- 20,00 €Pato y foie, seasonal mushrooms, ferradura and artichoke
Starters
- 15,00 €Ensalada valenciana
- 18,00 €Esgarrat — pepper with dried cod and mojama
- 16,80 €Rosa de Altea tomato with bonito ventresca
- 20,00 €Moluscada Casa Carmela — octopus, razor clams, mussel, roe and prawn
- 16,00 €Steamed Valencian clòtxina
- 18,00 €Cured-fish selection (2 pax)
From the sea
- 25,00 €Rock octopus with potato parmentier
- 20,00 €Beach squid a la romana
- 24,00 €Wild sea bass
- 24,00 €Monkfish nougat
TASTING MENU
The tasting menu — 58 €
Natural oyster, marinated Santa Pola shrimp, Casa Carmela shellfish plate, dentex with prawn sofrito, grilled baby squid; Valencian paella (pre-order) or seafood paella; strawberry with ice cream or burnt-bread torrija with horchata ice cream. Served for the whole table, bread included, VAT included.
Full wine, cocktail and dessert lists available in the house. Gluten-free bread available.
THE BAR — THE LATEST REFURBISHMENT
Tradition, tapa-sized.
Fine tinned fish, hand-cut cured fish, oysters — Galician, Guillardeau and Valencian Perles —, Santa Pola shrimp and the daily beach-fish fry. Same house, no table booking needed.
SOURCE: GASTRORANKING · JULY 2026
ROOMS, PRIVATE ROOMS AND TERRACE
A room for every table.
Dining rooms with Manises ceramics, private rooms for family or business lunches, and the terrace open to the beach air.
THE FAMILY GROWS
If you can’t find a table, the family has a second house by the sea: La Colonia de Carmela.
Book a table.
- Lunch service: Monday to Saturday, 1:00–4:00 pm. Closed on Sundays.
- Minimum spend: 50 € per person.
- Valencian paella and vegetable paella: pre-order only, 24 hours ahead.
- Groups larger than 10: reservas@casa-carmela.com.
- Beachwear is not permitted.
ON MALVARROSA BEACH
Casa Carmela
Carrer d'Isabel de Villena, 155 · 46011 València
Monday to Saturday, 1:00–4:00 pm · Closed Sunday