Fallas Valencia

Fallas is going full steam ahead and this past weekend brought my first taster this year of the traditional buñuelos and churros with hot chocolate. Buñuelos and chocolate are very typical this time of year in Valencia. There are stands all over town selling freshly made buñuelos and churros which go hand in hand with the celebration so if you come to Valencia you will have to try them. Now I have to admit they are not necessarily the healthiest snack in the world but they are just so incredibly moreish and on a cold afternoon in March they quite simply go down a treat. My favourites are the “pumpkin buñuelos”. Buñuelos are basically sweet doughnuts, which are deep-fried and very crispy on the outside if they are done properly. In Valencia, it is very common to include in the dough mixture pumpkin puree that gives it that special taste.

So if you are coming to Valencia for the first time or you are looking to try this treat for the first time here is my recommendation. I’ve eaten buñuelos and churros all over Valencia for years on end and I always end up going back to the best place in town, which is where we went this weekend.

The family-run “Horchateria El Siglo” is by far one of the most established bars in Valencia, it has been running uninterruptedly since 1836 and offers the best chocolate and buñuelos in Valencia and also some of the finest Horchata available. It is a very traditional Valencian bar, it looks like it hasn’t been done up for fifty years but don’t let that scare you off as you will be in for a surprise.

This is “the” place to enjoy chocolate and buñuelos or churros in Valencia, a reference place for tourists and a place many Valencian families lovingly call their “local” generation after generation. It lies a stone’s throw away from the Cathedral in the centre of town, on Santa Catalina Street, you can’t miss it as you will see the ladies making fresh churros and buñuelos just outside the front door as they and their predecessors have done for well over a century. So one thing is for sure if they haven’t perfected the art after so many years, no one has. It is well worth a visit!