If you are looking for somewhere to eat a proper rice dish in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, this is the page you need. At Casa Varela 1986 rice is not just another item on the menu: it is the section people order most, the one we argue about most in the kitchen and the reason so many tables come back. Here we tell you which rice dishes we serve, what they cost and how to order them so they come out the way they should.
Seven rice dishes, one rule: the fish market
Our rice dishes are made with seasonal produce from the fish market, one by one and to order. That is why they are served for a minimum of two people, and why, if you are in a hurry, we will tell you honestly as you sit down: a good rice takes its time. These are the seven on the menu, priced per person with VAT included:
My friend Jordi's paella (€28.50): with langoustines and prawns. Our seafood paella of old, named after the man who taught us how to make it.
Squid rice (€28.50): with pot-cooked butifarra sausage and allioli. Catalan surf and turf, no frills.
Black rice (€29): with scallops. Squid ink, fish stock and the socarrat you go hunting for with your spoon.
Smoked eel rice (€29.50): with morels. The most personal dish in the house: smoke, forest and a hint of sweetness that surprises anyone trying it for the first time.
Turbot rice (€39.85): with Galician clams. A white-fish rice, elegant and clean.
Black Angus low-loin rice (€42): with shiitake, mirin and sake. Our meat rice, with a nod to Japanese cooking.
Scarlet shrimp rice (€44): soupy or dry, as you prefer. The rice for celebrations.
And outside this section there are two more worth a mention: the mountain rice with vegetables (€30) and the seasonal wild mushroom risotto (€32), both vegetarian, plus the double XL langoustine rice with chanterelles, rosemary and pancetta (€45), which appears in the "Daily specials" section whenever the fish market allows.
Soupy, creamy or dry?
The scarlet shrimp rice we make soupy or dry, whichever you tell us. The rest come out dry, with loose grains and the stock concentrated at the bottom of the pan. If you like socarrat, ask for it: the kitchen will push it a minute longer. If you prefer your rice creamier, tell your waiter when you order and we will adjust it as far as the dish allows.
What to drink with rice
The seafood rices and the black rice go well with the fresh whites in our cellar: a Verdejo from Rueda, an Albariño from Rías Baixas or the white Garnatxa from Terra Alta. With the smoked eel rice and the black Angus rice we suggest Mediterranean-style reds. The full wine list is published with prices; in the dining room we will help you choose without your having to be an expert.
Where we are and how to book
Casa Varela is at Carrer de Blas Fernández Lirola 82, in the Santa Eulàlia district of L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, a few minutes' walk from the Gran Via 2 shopping centre and the Fira de Barcelona Gran Via exhibition grounds. We serve lunch every day from 13:00 to 16:00 and dinner every evening. At weekends the rice dishes sell out early: we recommend booking a table in advance or calling (+34) 934 31 92 05 from 12:30.
For groups of eight or more we offer set menus that include a dry langoustine and prawn rice to share. It is the simplest way to build a business lunch or a family celebration around a good paella.
