La Lluna: Valencia’s First Vegetarian Restaurant

Spanish cuisine has several dishes which are vegetarian, but meat is an important staple in most meals. And I can just imagine the ripples of outrage, when La Lluna first opened their doors in 1980: a 100% vegetarian restaurant serving Valencian and Spanish dishes without any meat. Vegetarian options have become a standard, non-controversial feature of most menus, nowadays, but back in 1980? The concept must have been shocking!

At its core, La Lluna is as traditional a Valencian restaurant as they come, tucked away on a little side street in the historic neighborhood of El Carmen. They offer seating outside in the terrace, but we really enjoy the interior, which features an open kitchen, rustic decoration, and beautiful Valencian tiles. A spot like this is something you sadly find less and less of in the city center, especially at just €9,50 for the lunch menu.

El Carmen often gets knocked for being overly touristy, but this neighborhood is full of surprises. Although popular streets like Calle Cabelleros are packed to the gills with foreigners, there are a lot of little bars and great restaurants to discover if you just step back into the alleyways. La Lluna is one of them, found close by the Mercado Mossén Sorell.

La Lluna offers a set menu, so there’s no need to choose between options. On our most recent trip, we enjoyed the following plates:

• Crema de Calabacín (Zucchini Cream Soup)
• Paella de Verduras (Vegetable Paella)
• Pastel de Espinacas (Spinache Quiche)
• Tarta de Chocolate (Chocolate Cake)

When we arrived, there was only one other couple eating, which meant service was going to be pretty fast. And that’s especially true when you’re ordering the set menu. Within minutes of taking our seats, we got a bread basket and were served our first plate: the crema de calabacín – a super rich and creamy zucchini soup.

While waiting for our second round, we took time to look around and admire the quaint beauty of the restaurant. We were were seated next to the open kitchen on the lower floor, surrounded by beautiful tiling. But we didn’t have too much time to gawk, because here was our Paella de Verduras already being served; a vegetable based paella with cauliflower and wild rice, a nice touch and quite different from the texture of traditional paellas.

Having devoured the paella in no time flat, we we happy a third dish was still on its way: a homemade Pastel de Espinacas, or spinach quiche. Because you have to pay separately for drinks and coffee, La Lluna’s offer isn’t technically a complete menú del día (by our definition, anyway), but at this incredible price, which also included chocolate cake, it’s hard to complain.

Congratulations to 45 years of operation! As long as La Lluna keeps serving up a healthy, delicious lunch bargain like this, we’re sure there are many more years ahead.

From our Menú del Día Blog.

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