Racó de l'Abat

Restaurant offers authentic, traditional regional food. There is no menu as Julio's wife cooks different dishes each day depending on what ingredients are available. He talks you through the menu. On the day we were there for lunch, I had cod served as a carpaccio with salad and it was delicious. My friends had macaroni and cheese, and pan fried tuna steaks and sardines which they enjoyed.

Family run restaurant while the wife is the chef and her husband serves the food and explains to us what they offer. Everything is just so good and feels like home. First time I am in love with the pasta paella. And the salad. And everything. We had a menu for 22 euro per person with starter, main dish and sweet. The place looks classical and I just love to eat this mamma- style dishes. My 3 year old even finished the whole menu, so I can tell you that the food is more than amazing. Thank you

Amazing food experience in this small cozy restaurant. The food is all local, very fresh and cooked to perfection, and the service given by the owner and his staff in explaining the menu of the day was phenomenal. The 3 course meal was excellent value and included 3 starter dishes to share for the table, and absolutely everything tasted incredible. Best make reservation as there's limited tables.

We had a fantastic meal at Racó de l’Abat. There’s no menu here — instead, the husband of the couple who run the restaurant comes to your table and talks you through the day’s options, all cooked to perfection by his wife in the kitchen. It’s a lovely personal touch that makes the whole experience feel warm and welcoming. For €40, you can enjoy a starter, main, and dessert, but we opted to try several smaller dishes as a kind of tasting menu — and every single one was excellent. The food was beautifully prepared and full of flavor, with standout dishes including the octopus, lamb, and pork. The service was friendly and attentive without ever feeling rushed, and the atmosphere is relaxed, intimate, and full of charm. A real gem in the heart of Tarragona — we’d come back in a heartbeat.

If you’re looking for an authentic Spanish restaurant with home cooked tasty food, then this place is for you. We’ve been on the road in France and Spain for a month now and we’ve had a lot of very average food. This restaurant was a fabulous experience for us. Great service, beautiful wines and tasty food. Menu changes every day. We had a delicious pasta seafood starter, a delicious chicken broth starter (I didn’t know what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised). One steak and one pork steak for mains. Beautifully cooked. Desserts included €22 pp. fab wine €3 a glass (I think.). Thank you for restoring our faith in Spanish cuisine. Need to phone to book.

We were on honeymoon in Tarragona and decided to visit Racó de l’Abat one night as it was well reviewed, not really knowing what to expect but hoping for a more authentic dining experience than the more generally touristy places. The restaurant appears to only seat about 20-30 people in total so we were incredibly lucky to get a table without booking in advance, by virtue of still being on English eating times and turning up almost bang on 8:30pm when it opened. I must admit we were a bit perturbed at first as the owner’s son greeted us and couldn’t seat us on a table without checking with his dad (the owner), who was outside on the phone at the time, which tables were reserved. We were then seated in an otherwise empty restaurant which felt a bit awkward at first and we actually nearly thought about leaving… But the owner came over and told us how the restaurant works - that they don’t have a menu, and his wife cooks whatever they get in that day with a focus on quality ingredients. In competent English he described the menu in great detail and that they could also offer a 5-course tasting menu if we wanted - which we went for. He was also very complimentary of my attempts at speaking Spanish despite it being over 17 years since I did it at GCSE, which was nice. He then offered us some croquettes to go with the wine we’d chosen, even warning us that it was €15 a bottle (like that was expensive?!), before serving the rest of the food which was all delicious. We had cuttlefish, mussels and razor clams, turbot, cod with Cabrales (Spanish blue cheese - amazing), and lamb (absolutely delicious). The food was all exactly as described, extremely fresh, well cooked and really felt like an authentic Tarragona dining experience - reinforced by the fact the rest of the clientele appeared to be locals and regulars and the owner and his son had to turn away a number of other would-be diners. The whole experience was excellent and we would definitely go back if we return to Tarragona in the future. The owner and his son seemed genuinely grateful that we’d come by and we feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to dine here!

The food changes each day, and there is no set menu, but it makes the whole experience feel so much more authentic and everything is fresh. We recommend making a reservation. If you are vegetarian, they can make dishes for you, but you need to notify them in advance. I am so grateful because my husband didn't tell them in advance, but Julio whipped up a delicious vegetarian meal for me anyway. 100% recommend!

I loved everything about my meal. Naturally the food was excellent in this family run (mom’s the chef!), cooked-with-care restaurant. Dad and son working the “front of the house”. I sat on the terrace, as no surprise it was all booked inside. I leaned heavily on the local fish but there was lots of choice. You can tell a lot about a restaurant when you’re a solo diner. Here the service was friendly, attentive and caring. Thank you.