After a day exploring the Alhambra–the world’s most stunning example of Islamic medieval art and architecture–you’ll want to escape the hot Andalusian sun and recharge with good food and drink. The question is: Where? Find refuge in one of the best restaurants near the Alhambra in Granada!
Pro Tip: Planning where to eat near the Alhambra in Granada? Bookmark this post in your browser so you can easily find it when you’re hungry. Check out the top foods to try in Granada, our best Alhambra tours for a memorable trip, and what to see at the Alhambra.
Top Places To Eat Near the Alhambra
A complex of palaces and gardens from different periods of history dating as far back as 1238, the Alhambra is a must on any visit to Granada. After a day of exploring, you’ll need a spot to recharge and enjoy local flavors. Here are the best restaurants near the Alhambra for just that.
Parador de Granada
€€ | Formal Restaurant and Informal Garden Café | Within the Alhambra Complex
The Parador is an oasis at the heart of the Alhambra where guests can either eat in the restaurant of the former Nasrid palace turned four-star hotel or head to the garden café for relaxed drinks, tapas, and a variety of dishes to share in the vine-shaded gardens.
At the café, quench your thirst with a clara con limón (beer and lemon soda) or a tinto de verano (red wine and lemon soda). Enjoy the free tapas before ordering—the menu has some of the same dishes as the formal restaurant.
Try the local specialty Remojón Granadino, a refreshing salad with tender salt-cod flakes, diced orange, boiled eggs, and pitted olives. My personal favorite is the Breua de Pollo (or Pastela de Pollo), a crisp pastry parcel with pulled chicken infused with saffron and cinnamon, sweet raisins, and dusted with icing sugar.
Save room for one of their delicious desserts or chill out with some Arabic biscuits and green mint tea. Before you leave, explore the garden overlooking the ramparts of the Alhambra where the Parador gets herbs for their own dishes.
Address: Calle Real de la Alhambra
Not ready to book a tour? Check out how to visit the Alhambra.
La Mimbre
€ | Family Run Restaurant | Shaded Terrace | Local Dishes
As you queue to enter the Alhambra, you’ll see what seems like a simple kiosk between the high walls and the Alhambra Forest. Don’t be fooled—its tree-shaded terrace and elegant air-conditioned rooms will be a godsend when you need respite from the heat.
La Mimbre is a traditional, family-run restaurant with over a hundred years of history, dozens of local dishes on the menu, and a well-stocked wine cellar.
Enjoy a hearty fry-up of fresh, locally-caught fish drizzled in lemon juice with blistered green peppers. Or, opt for the kid goat in garlic sauce, tender stewed oxtail, or codfish baked on top of red pepper.
The jars of cold sangria are excellent and can be quite dangerous for the thirsty! You can also opt for an Alhambra Sin, the alcohol-free version of the local beer. You wouldn’t notice if someone swapped it out for your usual alcoholic brew!
Don’t fancy sitting down for a meal? Grab a seat on one of the high stools along the path leading up to the Alhambra. Have a glass or two, enjoy the complimentary tapas, and watch the world go by.
Address: Paseo de la Generalife
Alhambra Palace
€€€ | Luxury | Panoramic Views
On the far side of the Alhambra, you’ll find the opulent Arabic-style Alhambra Palace Hotel. Set on the side of the hill, its restaurant and terrace have stunning views. You’ll see the Sierra Nevada mountains, the city and plains to the south of Granada, and, best of all, the setting sun.
The hotel was built over 100 years ago and was Spain’s first five-star hotel. The exterior and interior design wouldn’t look out of place in Damascus, Amman, or Dubai.
In fact, the Alhambra Palace Hotel gives you a clearer idea of how the walls would have been decorated in the Alhambra monument. Its brightly colored geometric forms and oriental rugs will soon have you dreaming of the Arabian Nights.
While the restaurant serves mainly northern Mediterranean cuisine, you’ll find some Andalusian specialties. Try the acorn-fed Bellota quality cured ham and the refreshing Gazpacho Andaluz or cold tomato soup.
For a more relaxed vibe, take a seat on the terrace and order a selection of Iberian cheeses and hams or try an assortment of tapas to share. You’ll get tapas with Iberian pork, marinated sardines, herring roe, duck, and the famous cured ham. It’s a magical dining experience.
Address: Plaza Arquitecto García de Paredes, 1
Carmen San Miguel
€€ | New Andalusian Cuisine | Panoramic Views
The Alhambra and Granada city are where cultures, traditions, and religions meet. On the hilltop of the fortress complex, overlooking the Jewish quarter, the Carmen San Miguel occupies the sweet spot between old and “New Andalusian Cuisine”.
This means locally-sourced fresh ingredients and traditional family recipes as well as reinterpreted dishes presented with innovative flair by a team of young, aspiring chefs.
You’ve probably already had gazpacho, but have you tried strawberry gazpacho with a side of low-temperature cooked monkfish peppered with paprika? How about stuffed rabbit with pickled shrimp and mussel and pineapple ice? I didn’t think so!
Whatever you end up ordering, know it’s been prepared with proud passion and playful inventiveness. You’ll enjoy the finest quality ingredients from Granada and the surrounding area at very affordable prices. Let’s not forget the beautiful setting with spectacular views of the city!
Address: Plaza Torrres Bermejas, 3
Alarique
€€ | Attention to Detail | Rooftop Terrace
Head down into town through the lush Alhambra Forest, and out through the magnificent Gate of the Pomegranates. On your left, you’ll see a restaurant where the food is just as clean and colorful as its decor.
I’d recommend taking the lift up to the rooftop terrace. There, you can admire the Alhambra’s watchtower rising above the green forest and the old terracotta-tiled roofs.
The menu may only have a few dishes, but all come beautifully presented. Matching the chef’s care for the finer details is the fact that there always seems to be a trained sommelier on hand. So, you won’t need to worry about the right wine pairing.
The restaurant has all the promise of a rising star. Just sit back and enjoy the ambiance and the company of whoever you’re with.
Address: Cuesta de Gomérez, 14
Planning a trip to Granada in Spain? Check out where to stay, the top things to do in Granada, and how to visit the Alhambra.
La Trastienda
€€ | Almost Secret Bar | Cold Cuts and Cheeses
Until the end of the Spanish dictatorship in 1974, many cultural activities were completely suppressed or heavily censored. That’s why the Spanish equivalent of Prohibition-era speakeasies sprung up in towns across Spain. These trastiendas, literally meaning “behind the shop”, were rooms concealed behind a serving counter.
You would have entered the shop, pretending you were going to buy a few slices of ham and some cheese. You’d then wink at the server and utter a passphrase to be ushered behind a curtain for a poetry reading, political debate, or sing-song.
The Trastienda in Plaza de Cuchilleros is an original trastienda. Now, there are a few tables out front in the little square to give it away. But, if you poke your head inside, you’d be forgiven for thinking the shop ends at the counter and the “curtain” of hung whole hams.
Be brave and smile at the staff as you duck around the counter and find a seat at one of the tables. Order a selection of some of the finest hams, cold cuts, and cheeses. Don’t forget to ask them for a good wine pairing.
Or, opt for some cocktails and invoke the liberal spirit of Granada’s most famous poet and playwright Federico García Lorca. Then count your blessings for the freedom you have today, to live exactly how you want, without hiding from anybody.
Address: Plaza de Cuchilleros, 11
Hotel America
€ | Lunch Only | Intimate Ambiance
In the Alhambra complex, right next to the 14th-century Nasrid Palaces and the Renaissance Palace of Charles V, is a quintessential boutique hotel—from well before the term “boutique” become trendy.
It has an old-world vibe, with just 17 rooms arranged around a typically Andalusian central patio. Here, you can enjoy a bit of peace and quiet in the shade of vines, listening only to the bubbling of the various fountains and the murmur of hushed conversations at other tables.
Sit on a wicker chair and admire the brightly colored tables made from glazed ceramic tiles, or azulejos, bearing colorful geometric patterns taken from the Alhambra itself. Then, order a few drinks, snacks, or dishes with authentic local flavors and all the taste of homemade fare.
It’s an intimate setting, surprisingly so, given that the hotel is along the main thoroughfare between the main highlights of the Alhambra and the Generalife summer palace and gardens. So, please, don’t tell everyone. Let’s keep it a secret.
Address: Calle Real de la Alhambra, 53
La Cueva de 1900
€€ | Cold Cuts and More | Excellent Location
La Cueva de 1900 is a chain of bars and restaurants that made its name in Granada for its quality selection of cured hams and cold cuts. There are now successful branches across Andalusia. They’ve just opened a new flagship restaurant and terrace in Granada’s Plaza Nueva, right at the base of the Alhambra.
Beyond an unrivaled selection of cold cuts, La Cueva has an extremely varied menu. There’s something for everyone, making it the perfect place to enjoy authentic Andalusian cuisine for all tastes—little ones included.
They’ll go mad for the croquettes and burgers, as much as the jamón serrano ham. You’ll enjoy local dishes like Migas al Estilo Granadino—fried breadcrumbs with bacon, chorizo, green pepper, and melon.
Best of all, the restaurant is well located. It’s on the corner of the elegant square of Plaza de Santa Ana, in front of the imposing 16th-century Andalusian High Court of Justice.
Under the shade of the trees there, you’ll see street performers dance, sing, strum, beat, and clap the authentic sounds of flamenco. On the restaurant’s terrace, you’ll have front-row seats to the show. Nothing could be more Granaino, ¡Olé!
Address: Plaza de Santa Ana, 1
Los Diamantes
€ | Fried Fish | Locals Hangout
On your way back into town from a visit to the Alhambra, stop by this bar. They serve ice-cold beer in frozen glasses and delicious battered fried fish. It’s extremely popular with the locals, and you may have to queue up on the street or stand at a table—but it’s well worth it.
Under the bright LEDs of “The Diamonds”, elbow your way through to an empty table on the far side and order a few beers to get the tapas coming. Then, work your way through the menu like there’s no tomorrow.
Try the fried anchovies, fried squid, fried dogfish, and fried beef brains. Yes, you read that right! Pretty much everything is deep-fat fried. Order the excellent razor clams, saffron rice, and juicy lamp chops. Be sure to get half-rations each time, so you can try it all!
Eat and drink as the locals do and soak up all the ambiance of this vibrant city and its social scene. Then, head out and enjoy the night.
Address: Plaza Nueva, 13
Not ready to book a tour? Check out how to visit the Alhambra.
Ruta del Azafarán
€€ | North African Influenced Dishes | Great Reputation
With the Alhambra towering above to one side, the Moorish quarter up the hill to the other, the uneven cobblestones, high-arched bridges, and the Darro River below, this street has often been described as the world’s most beautiful.
The restaurant’s name translates as “The Saffron Road”, denoting its southern Mediterranean and North African influences. So, here, along with some local and national dishes, you’ll find Harira soup and lamb, chicken, and vegetarian couscous.
There are other vegetarian options too, which you can’t take for granted in Spain in general and Granada in particular. There’s also a good selection on the wine list.
Granada was the very last Islamic State in Western Europe, and it’s great that this restaurant has chosen to pay particular homage to the Arabic influences that can be found everywhere here—as much in its cuisine as its culture.
It’s a popular restaurant, so booking in advance is recommended. Ask for the tables near the window with the wonderful view of the Alhambra, or on the terrace where you may end up being serenaded by a passing flamenco guitarist.
Address: Paseo del Padre Manjón, 1
Where To Stay in Granada
Granada, Spain, is worth visiting to see the massive Alhambra. Find out where our local experts recommend staying in this ancient city. You’ll find great hotel deals that will make your stay memorable.
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