Jose was methodically opening bottle of bottle of wine. ‘I’m just getting prepared,’ he explained to us, ‘A couple of hours from now, it’ll be absolutely frantic in here and we need to save every second.’
I arrived in Valencia from Madrid this morning, on the high-speed train. A fabulous paella at La Rua was the obvious way to kick off the visit while those of us who had got there first waited for the others in our group of travel writers and bloggers to arrive.
After lunch, I was mooching around the city with Rich Whitaker, the guy behind Brilliant Trips. He has also set up a site to make it easy to follow what we’re all doing on the blog trip. Check it out here
We popped into the Bar Pilar, also known as La Pilareta, for a beer. It was around 6 pm and Valencia was sweltering. I love this bar, which has been going for around a century and is a real landmark in the city. The big speciality is mussels, but they also do wonderful, huge, butter beans, slow-cooked in a herby stock. ‘It’s all about the stock here, for the beans and the mussels’ said Jose, continuing to line up his bottles. ‘The ladies who cook here have used the same recipe for decades.’
This is about the only time of day when the bar is quiet. It’s usually jammed all along the counter, with every one of the low, hexagonal tables occupied over and over again, both at lunchtime and in the evening. I remember when people used to throw their mussel shells onto the floor, so that you crunched them underfoot as you elbowed your way through the crowd, hoping to find a space somewhere, but health and safety regulations mean that there are plastic troughs on the floor these days to catch the falling detritus.
Patatas bravas, squid, ensaladilla… there are no fancy gourmet tapas here, and La Pilareta has no aspirations to revamp itself as a gastrobar, thank goodness.
Mooching around Spain 
I have never enjoyed eating mussels as much as in Bar Pilar. Not been there for about 8 years but driving down from Barcelona for the weekend and Bar Pillar and a paella are the 2 essentials…maybe La Ruia..is it good for the classic Valenciana?
You’ll see a lot of changes in Valencia in eight years! Indeed, Bar Pilar is just one of those great places and the mussels are fantastic. Paella valenciana at La Rua was excellent, and also really enjoyed a seafood one at http://www.casaripoll.com on the beach. Also had a great fideua at Mercat Bar, one of Quique Dacosta’s two new gastrobars. But my favourite place in Casa Montana – details here if you’re interested http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destination/spain/34915/Valencia-restaurants.html
Love La Pilareta and enjoyed seeing the smiling face who we see (and hear) often calling out orders to the kitchen. I love having this place a couple blocks from my home away from home in Valencia. Lots of fun places to enjoy in Barrio Carmen!
Thanks for the smiles and great blog! Loved your Madrid food post too-was definitely taught a way too limited vocabulary for meals in school Spanish. Have enjoyed learning Almuerzo is not really lunch in the way I was taught and the addition of the merienda, a new fave tradition. Love that the Madrilineos even manage to squeeze a few more oportinities into the day (no wonder Spaniards get so little sleep–gotta fit in all that eating, socializing and enjoying:-).
Hi Sam!
Thanks! Lucky you living there. I’d forgotten all about that pre-lunch almuerzo tradition in Valencia – haven’t come across that anywhere else.