Route 25 is the number most people give for the Albufera, and it never enters El Palmar. On the EMT València timetable valid until late November, every one of its trips stops at the road junction about 3 kilometres north of the village, while route 24 is the bus that runs into El Palmar, ending at the stop on Vicent Baldoví after roughly 44 minutes from Porta de la Mar. El Palmar is a rice-growing hamlet inside the Parc Natural de l’Albufera, about 20 kilometres south of central Valencia, where every rice house worth booking stands within 350 metres of that stop.
Where should you eat paella in El Palmar? Arrocería Mornell and La Llar del Pescador charge 19 euros a portion for paella valenciana and Arrocería Maribel 20, at lunch only and for two portions minimum. Mornell closes on Mondays, La Llar on Tuesdays. EMT route 24 runs from central Valencia in about 44 minutes for €2.00.
Which bus actually goes to El Palmar
Route 24 of EMT València is the only city bus that enters El Palmar. It leaves from Porta de la Mar, a square on the eastern edge of the old town, runs south past El Saler and ends at the El Palmar stop in about 44 minutes. A single ticket costs €2.00.
On weekdays route 24 makes 31 trips each way, roughly every half hour. To be at the table when kitchens open, the 12:15pm and 12:44pm departures from Porta de la Mar reach El Palmar at 1pm and 1:30pm. The ride back takes 47 to 50 minutes and the last daytime bus leaves the village at 11pm, with night buses at 12:44am and, on Friday nights, at 2:30am.
Weekends are the gap. The Ajuntament has kept route 24 at a 30 to 35 minute frequency every day since its June reinforcement, but no stop-by-stop Saturday or Sunday timetable is published, so check the last departure in the EMT app before ordering coffee. For two people the return trip costs 8 euros in single tickets; a subsidised Bonobús, 5.10 euros for ten journeys, brings that to about 2 euros. The wider picture of which route serves which southern beach is in Valencia beaches without a car.
Lunch hours in El Palmar, and why arriving late costs you
Spanish lunch runs later than most visitors expect, and El Palmar compresses it further. Maribel seats tables from 12:45pm to 4:15pm, Arrocería Mornell’s kitchen works from 1pm to 4:30pm, and La Llar del Pescador serves lunch from 1pm to 4pm. None of the three serves dinner on weekdays.
The hidden clock is the rice itself. Both Maribel and La Llar del Pescador print that paella valenciana takes about one hour unless it was ordered in advance; Maribel’s menu adds that a pre-ordered rice goes on the fire when you confirm it at the table and arrives 30 to 40 minutes later. Someone stepping off the 2:09pm bus without having called ahead will not eat before 3:30pm, which in practice means a rushed meal against a closing kitchen.
Which El Palmar restaurant is open on which day
Each house closes on a different day, which makes the weekday you visit the first decision. Arrocería Mornell is shut on Mondays, La Llar del Pescador on Tuesdays from October to May, and Arrocería Maribel’s own site says both that it now opens every day for lunch and that Wednesday is closed except on public holidays.
| Restaurant | Closed | Lunch service | Single portion | Paella valenciana | How to book |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arrocería Maribel | Wednesday except holidays, to be confirmed | 12:45pm to 4:15pm | yes, for solo diners, vegans and shellfish allergies | 20 euros a portion | phone 961 620 060, 10:30am to 6pm, ordering the rice in the same call |
| Arrocería Mornell | Monday | Tuesday to Sunday, kitchen 1pm to 4:30pm | yes, for solo diners only | 19 euros a portion | phone 961 620 336; rice by pre-order only at weekends and on holidays |
| La Llar del Pescador | Tuesday, October to May | 1pm to 4pm, plus dinner Friday and Saturday 8pm to 11pm | two-portion minimum, ask when booking | 19 euros a portion | phone 961 635 372 or the booking page on its website |
| Restaurante El Palmar | open daily | 9am to 11pm | ask when booking | n/a, average spend 30 euros | phone 961 620 162 |
| Bon Aire | ask when booking | ask when booking | ask when booking | ask when booking | phone 961 620 310 |
A Wednesday visit means ringing Maribel first, because its own page gives both answers. On a Monday, Maribel, La Llar del Pescador and Restaurante El Palmar remain. On a Saturday, call Mornell in the morning and order the paella then, since at weekends it only cooks rice that has been ordered.
What a paella lunch for two costs in El Palmar
A paella valenciana for two costs 38 euros at Arrocería Mornell or La Llar del Pescador and 40 euros at Arrocería Maribel, VAT included. All three price rice per portion and cook it for two portions minimum, so the number on the menu is always doubled.
Bread is charged separately: 0.90 euros a head at Maribel and 1.90 euros per diner for Mornell’s bread with tomato and allioli. Add the bus and a couple eating only paella and bread spends about 50 euros door to door, before drinks. The bigger swing is the local eel stew, all i pebre, at 14 euros at La Llar del Pescador, 19 euros at Mornell, which also sells a half portion at 12 euros, and 21 euros at Maribel. Mornell pours a glass of Agua de Valencia, the city’s cava and orange cocktail, at 5 euros.
Boat and paella package, or do it yourself
Visit València sells a combined boat trip and lunch with Restaurante El Palmar for 26 euros per adult and 18 euros per child aged 4 to 12, meeting at Redolins 4 at 12:45pm. The package includes a boat ride of about 45 minutes in a shared albuferenc for up to 30 people, four starters and one rice per table, water, wine or soft drinks, and dessert, over 3 to 4 hours.
The fine print matters for a traveller on a tight schedule. The boatmen do not speak English, tickets are non-refundable and a date change needs 48 hours’ notice by email. Doing it yourself costs about the same for a couple, 50 to 54 euros with paella, bread and a boat at 4 to 6 euros each, and lets you choose the restaurant. Boats leave the Port del Palmar jetty, about 170 metres from the bus stop, without booking until sunset; the four jetties and their certified operators are covered in Albufera boat trips.
A weekday plan that fits all of this together, without the package:
- Ring the restaurant the day before and order the paella with the booking.
- Take route 24 from Porta de la Mar at 12:44pm and step off in El Palmar at 1:30pm.
- Confirm the rice at the table; at Maribel a pre-ordered paella arrives 30 to 40 minutes later.
- Walk the 170 metres to the Port del Palmar jetty for a 40-minute boat at 4 to 6 euros.
- Catch the 5:14pm or 5:44pm bus, back at Porta de la Mar at 6:05pm or 6:33pm.
Where the restaurants are in El Palmar
El Palmar is small enough that the five restaurants sit within a five-minute walk of the route 24 stop. Arrocería Mornell is about 30 metres away at Francisco Monleón 31, Arrocería Maribel about 120 metres away at number 5, and Bon Aire, on Calle Caudete, is the farthest at around 350 metres.
The bus back leaves from a different stop, Albufera - Plaça de la Sequiota, about 80 metres from La Llar del Pescador. Drivers should know that leaving Valencia means crossing the low emission zone, and that Maribel has free parking for 35 to 40 cars across the canal.
What to order in El Palmar besides paella
At Maribel and Mornell paella valenciana means chicken and rabbit, with Mornell adding snails and offering an Albufera version with duck at 20 euros. The dish the village is known for, though, is all i pebre, eel stewed with potato, garlic and paprika, listed at all three rice houses.
For a seafood rice, arroz del senyoret comes with the shellfish already peeled, at 22 euros at Maribel and 18 euros at La Llar del Pescador; arroz negro, coloured with squid ink, costs the same at each. Maribel cooks with J. Sendra rice from the local DOP and holds a Bib Gourmand from the Michelin Guide. The varieties grown in the surrounding paddies are explained in the guide to paella rice, and the restored mill of the Valencia Rice Museum shows what happens to the grain after harvest.
Anyone short of time can find paella in the city instead, sorted by neighbourhood in where to eat in Valencia. The case for the 44-minute ride is the eel stew, the jetty next door and, on the way back, the dunes of El Saler, 18 minutes up the same route.
Frequently asked questions about El Palmar restaurants
Is El Palmar worth it just for paella?
Yes if you can be seated by 2pm. Arrocería Maribel, Arrocería Mornell and La Llar del Pescador charge 19 to 20 euros a portion for paella valenciana and serve it at lunch only, with kitchens closing between 4pm and 4:30pm. A late riser who arrives at 3pm has very little left to choose from.
Which bus goes from Valencia to El Palmar?
EMT route 24, from the Porta de la Mar stop in central Valencia to the El Palmar stop on Vicent Baldoví, in about 44 minutes for €2.00. Route 25 heads on to El Perelló and only stops at the road junction, roughly 3 kilometres from the village.
Can I eat paella for dinner in El Palmar?
Only on a few nights. La Llar del Pescador serves dinner on Fridays and Saturdays from 8pm to 11pm between October and May, and Visit València lists Restaurante El Palmar as open daily until 11pm. Arrocería Maribel and Arrocería Mornell cook at lunchtime only.
Do you need to book a restaurant in El Palmar?
Book and pre-order the rice. Maribel asks for the paella to be ordered with the phone booking, which cuts the wait to 30 to 40 minutes, and Arrocería Mornell only cooks rice to order at weekends and on public holidays. Without notice, paella valenciana takes about an hour.
How much should I budget for lunch in El Palmar?
About 50 euros for two people eating paella valenciana and bread, bus included, at Arrocería Mornell or Arrocería Maribel. Paella costs 19 or 20 euros a portion with a two-portion minimum, bread 0.90 to 1.90 euros a head and the return bus 2.00 euros per person each way. Drinks, starters and dessert are extra.
In El Palmar the last bus waits until 11pm; an unordered paella makes you wait an hour.