Domino

Ray, you know from your own experiences that it isnt just the outer packaging, label or price that makes a restaurant good. you also know that the only place to eat ethnic meals is in the home country, otherwise you get what they think you want not what they actually do. (5years in Far East eating experience)

If inland try Chanquete in Granada (they are also in Salobrena & Ogijares but never been there). Fish food to die for, you have to queue to get to the bar where they serve tapas, not cheap but the Spaniards queue up to get a table if there are any not already booked.
Eating al fresco at the rear of the Via Colon restaurant under the back wall of Granada Cathedral is also a real experience and most people go back for a second visit even when only on holiday,

I don't have any cards on me but more than happy to tell you of other places for an excellent meal when back in country. Some places you would probably shudder at from the outside - until you taste the food.

Ray51

Yes , I think I do ( know ) that I did never quite get it in Spain ( the sense of it all and any value for money , in recent years - maybe : thanks to the Euro-folly ? ) , especially on Costa del Sol ; although I did not mind the Costa Brava as much ( ( ah , but the missus wouldn't...) after so many expensive tries , flights , drives , hotels , hassle and the lot ! maybe I was just too unlucky when I tried , or just could not comprehend the culture , even after so many efforts ?
What I do know for sure : in the lowest of the lowest establishments in France , La Cafe de la Gare ( the railway cafe ) you can bet anyday on excellent steak and frites and salad , or a pot of mussels in celery soup , or some duck , complete with whatever the Chef it decides it comes with , on the day or some other well-cooked Plat du Jour ; delicious , they have not failed me once . Cheapo , too !
And Belgium comes close : a 3 course lunch today at quite a nice , polite and civilised and quiet place in a good area of the Capital city cost me all of 9 Eurobuxx , for a rich vegetable soup , a plate of tasty undercooked steak with some salads and frites , a glass of wine included and a choice of a coffee or a simple sweet .
If ever you'd like to visit up here , it's called La Bascule , Chausee de Waterloo ( 1050 Bruxelles ) , I recommend it and can give you directions ; and there are another half a dozen like that , within 100-200-300 meters of ( very safe ) walk .
And then we can talk about nothern-southern divide , as in EUrozone...

jackytoo

Do you know what the spanish say....eat seafood on the coast, meat and game inland.

Ray51

Let them say such stuff , no extra charge for listening ;
I think the world has moved forward somewhat and my mates love a raw tuna-steak at the Japanese or spiced tiger-prawns at the Thai ; who cares if we are inland , 100-odd miles from the North Sea ?
And I also much like my lamb chops ( pink ) in Languedoc-Roussilon ( France ) , even though I sit by the sea , why should that matter ?
I think that this brings us to the point , why I have problems with Spain ; but , to be fair , it is not just Spain per se ; most southern ( "peripheral" ) countries nurse some ideas "from the ark" , I' ve experienced many silly ( food and other ) prejudices in Greece , Croatia and elsewhere .
So then , for my money , why put up with nonsense , I ( and many others ) just don't go there anymore .
In any case , a few more affluent and more solvent countries have big campaigns , about holidaying locally and not getting carcinoma and frustrations somewhere far away and strange .

steviedeluxe

Would make sense. Except that the best place to eat seafood in Spain is in Madrid - as far from the coast as you can get!

Dick Dasterdly

Of course there's no nonsense comes out of Brussels and Stevie gets his seafood fresh of the boat in Madrid harbour.

Jur

Domino

That seems to be the problem - the North South Divide would appear to be at 44degs 50secs North
perhaps going a long way south to Cape Town, a lovely city with many many problems but also marvellous food. Or Singapore, Bangkok, Manila, Hong Kong, for food wok stir fried in front of you. Even Tokyo, going out for a meal on the Ginza. All are below the 44.50 line
What have you got above the 44.50 line - a load of ersatz Far Eastern restaurants in the north european model decorated in the style of a country but still providing the stylised european seating, plates and even european beer. In places like Oslo, a very stiff and formalised place, Amsterdam totally the opposite.

But then perhaps staying above the 44.50 line means not being far away from one's comfort zone where life isn't so "strange".
Is that why the Eu and euro problems are all with countries that are below the 44.50 line ?

megmet

Spot on!
It's been that way for a long time, mainly because much of the Costa del Crime set bought villas there before the extradition treaty came into operation!

louispoppy

Sorry to butt in but all this talk about where to get the best food isn't helping me to look where the best place to live in Spain!! Any other suggestions would be very welcome.

Domino

sorry we forgot you - that was rude of us

I am sure you can see the answer to the question actually doesn't exist.
This is a bit like watching A Place in the Sun - Home or Away when the punters have a desire to retire to Spain but have never been there.

I am sure you have a couple of places in mind based on other information.
have you considered coming down the coast road and driving until you find somewhere you like ??
My preference is inland, which is why I have settled on the Granada area. Rocky, mountainous, 80km from the coast (via motorway), nearest airport is Malaga as Ryanair will not go back to Granada International. Good schools, renowned University with International connections. Good bars and restaurants, great bus service inside the city zone but not so good further out so car could be important. Shops getting better, new C&A and Ikea due next year, loads of small supermarkets + Al Campo and Carrefour
Big drawback is very Spanish, especially language with very little English.
History and architecture is stupendous, the Alhambra alone brings in over 2million visitors each year - if you go allow all day, it isn't a quick whisk round.
An overnight in good hotel from €45 per room with €8 per head for breakfast, but you could go upmarket to €110/night almost next door.

Internet can be good inside the city but drops off quite quickly further out, but that can also happen in most other countries. (see other threads on this forum for that)

Remember that Spain didn't join the real world until after Franco died in 1975. Many people will tell you that Spain is 20-30 years behind the UK and they can be right, but within the limitations of the current money problems they are doing what they can to catch up, but obviously the money magnets such as Marbella and Malaga are at the forefront of that.

lunch "del dia" can be in the €7-9, with a canna + tapas for for €1.80
or dine out in the evening for €10-15/head

unless you have a cunning plan i.e. moving a successful business south remember that Andalucia has 40% unemployment in the 20-40 age group. Probably worse than that for expats who can't\wont speak Spanish. The locals will never contemplate employing someone not Spanish without good reason.

OK, hope you find this posting of some use and again apologies for ignoring you. just wait and see how many will disagree with me on the foregoing because remember that Spain is almost the size of France and probably more varied.

rgds

Ray51

Never mind the food ;
I think that some valid and pertinent opinions have been offered , in good faith , by people who either live in Spain , or have been around there a bit ;
( generally speaking , most places anywhere could be both : fantastic or terrible , much to do with one's expectations , standards , attitudes , requirements etc ) ; it would be good to get there and investigate personally , although in big country like that , it might take some time and effort and money ;
depending on one's particular preferences , priorities , circumstances and the rest of important considerations , one can then vote with their head , or heart , or budget , or any combination of the said 3 or more .

steviedeluxe

It can be hard to get a grip on a new city if you're a visitor. Sometimes if you live there you don't find the good places to go, as you stick to expat bars and restaurants, or the guide book "recommendations". For years (I'm talking about going back to the 80s) I've read a similar statement about Madrid in the English press - "the habit of a free tapa with your drink is dying out". Yet during that time scale a lot of places have improved their offering, it's generally only the places that get the guiris that seem to cease bothering (no doubt because a veggie spurns a tapa of jamon or chorizo).

Ray51

If you stay 3-4 weeks at one time in one ( not too big ) area , not being on the beaches all days but doing all the possible rounds - and it helps if you maybe know a few people about - as I have done , then I think you can learn quite few things , get some advice ( right or wrong ) and suss a few things of interest out for yourself ; and if you liked it , then you can re-visit again and check on your facts and earlier impressions , before any drastic moves ;
which is why I posted my own experiences on Costa del Sol and Costa Brava ;
probably not enough time for a major capital city like Madrid as it would not be for other major capitals , like Paris , London etc , unless you stay longer and do multiple visits ;
but I don't think this thread was going there ?

louispoppy

I think that's what we will do Ray perhaps stay in one area for a while. I think my problem of finding the right area to live in is that I have watched too many of the "homes from hell" programmes where a lot have been in Spain!
I suppose what I'm also after is reassurance that the homes in that programme is very much in a minority.
Reading what many on here have replied to my posting is that Spain is a very nice place to live.