Valencia's dedicated flamenco tablao since 1998, a room of about ten tables in El Carmen where roughly 15 euros buys the show and your first drink.
Anabel Vazquez opened Cafe del Duende in 1998 and has run it always and exclusively for flamenco, as Valencia Life tells the story. That focus shows: a small bar, around ten tables, a stage, and musicians sitting side by side the way the form intends.
This is the room Fodor's points to for flamenco in Valencia, and the Tripadvisor consensus calls it the best venue for it in the city. For roughly 15 euros with a drink included, nothing else here comes close on value.
The room holds its ten or so tables close to the stage, so every seat sits near enough to read the singer's face. The performers, usually four or so musicians and dancers, work a meter away from the front row.
There is no dinner service and no ticket presale, which keeps the night simple: queue, pay at the door, take your drink, sit down.
You will sit among locals who treat the place as theirs and travelers who did their homework, a mix the review sites note approvingly. The room goes quiet when the singing starts and loud between numbers.
Arrive 30 to 45 minutes before the show if you want a table; latecomers stand. Sundays run early evening, which suits a night that ends at a reasonable hour, per Valencia Life's show schedule.
What to order
- 01
The drink included with entry
- 02
A second round between sets
- 03
Keep it simple