Bars and cafes in Javea, Costa Blanca, Spain. A customers view of places to drink and chill out in Jávea.

Bars and cafes in Javea, Costa Blanca, Spain. Customers reviews

Jávea Tbear's Alternative Guide.

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Friday, 09 May , 2008

Javea's Bars and Cafés. Places to get a drink.

There are so many bars in Spain (and Jávea is no exception) it's difficult to know where to start writing this guide list!
I suppose the most logical bars to begin with are those that I know. After many years living in Jávea, I seem to have settled the last 2 or 3 years using a few bars that I feel particularly comfortable in.
I hope that you feel the same should you visit them!

Have you seen the Mouse Rugs yet?

bar table

Generally speaking, bars in Spain are just as much places to meet, as they are places to have a drink.
It's far easier to take a client to a local bar to discuss the finer points of a business meeting over coffee, than to make coffee in the office. The coffee is usually much better too! Perhaps a tapa or two if lunch seems a long way off.

Hints on bars and coffee at the bottom of the page.....

Bars in alphabetical order

Acuarela

Paseo Arenal

Haven't been here in a while, must check it out again.
With 2 wide screen monitors and a comfy atmosphere, this is a good place to see those football matches and Gran Prix races live!
Live music photographs, winter 2001.

Open - from 9.00 am 'til Late...
Specialities: Menu del dia.
Service: Very pleasant multilingual staff.

An Shebeen

Ctra. Cabo la Nao, Arenal (Near petrol station)

The Irish bar in Javea!
Opened in 2003 (I believe), An Shebeen Irish Bar has become popular with many residents and visitors to Javea. Irish ales and spirits, a very good kitchen and a cosy atmosphere, a wide screen T.V. for sporting events in the upper area and cosy niches in the lower area. My favourite from the menu is Irish Stew. Oh, and they serve large portions, so go there hungry!
Beer prices are a little exagerated, I feel. You can get a cheaper beer on the beach front, but not with the atmosphere of An Shebeen! Live music: Lots of live music nights here. Look for the sign outside for information. The Rockets have played here frequently, check out the pics.
A little more about An Shebeen - Irish bar.

Open - Morning 'til Late...
Specialities: Irish beer and Irish whiskey, of course, plus some excellent menu items. The food here is good and not expensive.
Irish Stew, Surf and Turf, Galway Salmon and many more Irish favourites. Service: Bar service and table service is good, there are two bars by the way. The bar can get quite packed on live music nights but the service is still good.

Bar Paco

Old town
Small road opposite exit from Mercadona.
Historiador Palau, 30
Tel: 96 579 4233

Medium sized bar/restaurant. Busy every lunchtime. Paco's wife sorts out the cooking while José, Paco's son in law, runs the bar/restaurant. Excellent service and atmosphere! They say this is the 'original' Jávea tapas bar. A very popular place, so may be best to book.
Service: Good. Friendly atmosphere. Sometimes typically loud, in a nice friendly Spanish way.
Update: I visited recently with friends and was pleased to find that the comments above still very much apply.

Open - 9.00 am - 1.00 am
Specialities: Tapas and more tapas, a good 6 metres of tapas on display. All fresh! Just ask for José's recommendations. And trust him! Excellent midday menu @ around 12 euros with wine, very good value for money!

Caragato

Port. Down towards the fishing area, up the steps by El Clavo.

Very nicely designed spanish night bar. Lots of tosca and plants and a few nice paintings. A patio on crazy paving and grass. Live music occasionally in the summer. Nice!

Open - from late evening, I guess, - 'til late, but late...
Specialities: Just a nice bar with good, current, Spanish music.
Service: Good service by nice staff, Spanish......

Carnaval

Paseo Arenal, in the middle.

Larger music bar/restaurant with terrace on beach. Mexican style food, modern, well run bar. Good modern music, modern clientele. I don't go there much but it is popular.

Open - from 9.00 am 'til Late...
Specialities: Mexican style cooking with good burgers. Menu has explanations, so try something different.
Service: Pleasant multilingual staff. Have been known to dance on the tables!

Champagne

Paseo Arenal, near the middle.

Larger music bar/restaurant with terrace on the beach.
Excellent decor, this bar has, for years, been one of the most popular bars in Javea. Good food, good service and good music. Good choice of breakfasts.
Report sent by Gordon Somerville:
Champagne restaurant on Arenal beach has always been my idea of heaven. They do an excellent tonic breakfast including fresh fruit, freshly squeezed orange juice and wonderful yoghurt as well as the Great British Heart attack stopper, the full breakfast. Fantastic value! Always difficult to get a table mid morning as the revellers make their way to the playa. I recall eating wonderful vegetable paella cooked to perfection washed down with a bottle of cold local wine. Price wise can't be beat.

Open - from 9.00 am 'til Late...
Specialities: Cocktails are a speciality here, with a long list to choose from you can't fail to find one to suit your taste. Good hamburgers too!
Service: Pleasant multilingual staff. Sometimes slow when busy, but always good service.

El Clavo

Port. Down towards the fishing area, up the steps on the left before the tall apartment block.
C/Almirante Basterreche, 15
Tel: 96 579 1014

El Clavo has been part of Javea Port for many years. A tapas bar offering fresh seafood of all kinds, plus the famous 'patatas bravas'. Recently taken over by a friend of mine, Venturo, this is an excellent little corner in the port to sit inside or out.
May be best to book, if you want a table.

Open - Lunchtimes and evenings
Specialities: Lots of fresh tapas.
Service: Good service by young spanish staff, some speak a little english.

La Esquina

Marina Española, in Javea Port.

Larger music bar/restaurant with terrace on the beach.
Excellent decor, this bar has, for years, been one of the most popular bars in Javea Port. Good service and good music.

La Galeria

Paseo Arenal

Medium sized lunch/night time bar. You will find the walls hung with the work of local artists. From photographers to painters to sculptors. You will be surprised by the quality of the artwork displayed! Great toasted bocadillos with wide range of fillings. Jamon, pork, lamb with advocado, bacon, tomato and lots more. Very tasty!

Open - from lunch time 'til Late...
Specialities: Fresh toasted bocadillos and artwork.
Service: Very pleasant spanish staff.

La Llum

Jávea pueblo, off Calle Mayor, down the steps from the church.

A good 'spanish pub' style night bar. An old town house cleverly converted into a multi-area, open plan, bar. Mostly younger crowd 20s and 30s. Rock and the best classic pop music played quite loud. You can also play electronic darts or cards.

Open - from about 6.00 pm 'til 3 or 4 in the morning.
Specialities: Good music and booze, basically.
Service: Good service but totally Spanish.

L'Almadrava

Javea Port,
roughly opposite the tabacco shop, next to the fountain
Pl. Almirante Bastarreche, 2

Well designed bar with a large terrace. I often stop here for a beer in the afternoon.
Excellent decor, tosca tastefully used inside and out.

Open - mornings until late evening
Specialities: Breakfasts, lunches, snacks, cakes and some tapas.
Service: Excellent service, always with a smile. Some english spoken.

New - La Rebotica

Pueblo - Casco Antiguo,
Calle San Bartholomé, 6
Tel: 96 646 1318

Another real tapas bar set in one of the tiny village streets just of the church square.
The tapas are very good and the wine is excellent.
This is a small but very popular bar so be prepared to stand, though there are a few small tables.

Open - mornings until late evening
Specialities: Tapas and wine.
Service: Excellent service, always with a smile. Practice your Spanish.

Mandragora

Paseo Arenal (Parador end)

Small, music bar, with terrace on beach. Orlando, the Chilean owner, loves guitar music, so expect anything from rock, reggae, house, garage, flamenco, african to classic and jazz music when he is around. When I've been in lately younger heavy music has been playing, loud.
Old music posters and pics on the walls.

Open - from about 5.00 pm 'til Late...
Specialities: Infusions (teas), fruit milk shakes Mojito, Pisco sour, fruit based cocktails, milk shakes and juices.
Service: Good, Sometimes takes time to make the fruit drinks. Gets very busy late at night!

Octopus

Paseo Arenal (Parador end)

The rock bar in Javea!
This place does rock. Having been run by Helmut for many years, Octopus is well know by the bikers that live in and come to Javea.
Now with new owners, haven't been in much to see what it is like.
Sunday nights you can see and hear an excellent spanish rock band called Palanco y Cambio.
Photo of Palanco y Cambio Excellent keyboard player!

Open - from about 5.00 pm 'til Late...
Specialities: Those serious little german chupitos (like schnapps) that you forget about having drunk, until later....
Service: Bar service here, relax, they will get to you. Gets very busy late at night!

New - President

Playa del Arenal, near Acuarela.
Tel: 96 646 3020

Good comfortable bar with sea views. Very friendly staff and reasonable prices.
Some food is available.
Haven't been here many times, but was pleasantly surprised when I went to see Colin's band play.

Open - Morning 'til night (I'm guessing until I ask)...
Specialities: Live jazz on wednesday nights with The Colin Frazer Quintet.
Service: Good service all round with multilingual staff.

Temptacions

Old town, opposite the church.

Another bar with excellent decoration. Lots of tosca arches and modern lamps, big too. There are paintings to see here too, but I don't know if they are from local artists. I've only been here a couple of times, I'll have to ask next time, I guess.

Open - Morning 'til night (I'm guessing until I ask)...
Specialities: Don't seem to specialise in anything, except being a good bar of course. The coffee is good, so is the beer. Some tasty looking pastries are available too!
Service: Good, fast with table service.

Varadero

Javea Port.
Tel: 96 579 1683

Excellent bar, offering snacks and drinks inside or on the large terrace outside.
Another well designed bar featuring stainless steel, glass accentuating a beach theme.

Open - morning until late evening
Specialities: Salads, baguettes, hamburgers, breakfasts and fresh sea food.
Service: Good service and good food. Some english spoken.

Bars in Benitachell

Bon Estar

Benitachell Close to the cementario.

One of my favourite places to have a coffee or take advantage of the excellent 'spanish' Menu Del Dia. Very cheap and very friendly. Two sisters from the village have here a nice bright local bar, welcoming all nationalities and all age groups.
Stunning panoramic views of the countryside!

Open - from early 'til about 10.00 pm or so...
Specialities: Tapas, Menu Del Dia and Platos Combinados.
Service: Fast and very friendly. Try the menu del dia.

Legends

was Cafe Royal

Avda. Alicante, Benitachell At the top by the Teulada turn off.

Dave and Jo have renamed Cafe Royal, in Benitachell, and Legends is now fully operational after a major redesign.
The new bar and open plan layout is proving very popular, with comfortable seats and images of legendary personalities everywhere.
The revamped kitchens are soon to be put into action.
Worth keeping an eye on this place!

Open - from lunchtime 'til late weekdays, 12:00 'til evening weekends. Closed on mondays.
Specialities: Dave's curry is a killer (twice).
Quiz night - wednesday - 8:00 start
Service: Fast and friendly. Good place for a short or a long stop.

New - Chic Cafe

Avda. Alicante, Benitachell At the top on the Teulada t-junction.

Another new bar in Benitachell run by Juan Carlos and Miguel Angel.
Modern layout to a large interior with sofas and coffee tables if you tire of the bar seats.
A well thoughtout, good-looking bar that is becoming very popular to all age groups.

Open - from dawn until midnight!
Specialities: A range of toasted bocadillos, pizzas and pastas.
Service: Excellent! The young staff are very friendly and eager to please.

Buda Bar,

La Caseta de la Font

Benitachell opposite Mas y Mas.
96 649 4179
info@lacasetadelafont.com

A night bar with live music most nights, set beneath an exclusive hotel.
Jam sessions every monday, all musicians invited.
A good selection of live music most nights of the week, check out the live music list at their website: www.lacasetadelafont.com
Very nice interior and a large garden to sit under the stars in the summer.

Open - from 9:30 pm 'til late...
Specialities: Just music and drinks.
Service: Multilingual, with good english spoken.

Bars in javea

There are many kinds of bar in Jávea. The 'working man's bar, the 'out shopping' bar, the 'business meeting' bar, the 'boozer's' bar, the 'English' bar, the 'Spanish' bar, the 'German' bar, the 'trendy' bar. The list is endless. And, of course, they all have a cross-over useage. But, above all, there is one over-riding factor. Bars are friendly places. Normally.

1. Just grab a seat, if you want to sit down, and wait to be served.
2. If you are in a hurry then go to the bar to order.
3. You should ask for the bill when you are ready to leave.
4. If the service is reasonable, then a small tip is a good gesture.
5. Often strangers will say hello/goodbye . It takes a while to realise that, no you didn't know the person, they were just being polite! It's an interesting way to make spanish friends.

Styles of coffee:

Café solo - Small, strong, no milk.
Cortado - Small, strong, with milk.
Americano - Normal size, no milk.
Café con leche - Normal size, with milk.
Bombón - Small, strong, with condensed milk
Carajillo - Small, strong, no milk, with a touch of brandy.
_ del Tiempo (or 'natural' in Valencia) - Iced version of any of the above.
Tocado de _ - Any of the above with a touch of_ (Brandy, Whisky, Bailey's, etc.)