Restaurants

Restaurants in Cartagena offer fantastic Mediterranean cuisine as well as a varied selection of international fare. Most of the city's hotels have their own restaurants and usually do a great breakfast buffet. However, for snacks, lunch or dinner most visitors like to eat out. When exploring the city's shopping district and old quarter, you're never far from a cafe, tapas bar or restaurant. Cartagena's port and marinas are lovely for an evening stroll where you will find a further choice of restaurants. Then you have the establishments in the surrounding resort areas.

Restaurants
Source: Flickr / Catherine Sumner

Port Restaurants

Located within Cartagena's Yacht Port is Mare Nostrum. It's a handy place to enjoy a meal when visiting the nearby National Museum of Underwater Archaeology. With picturesque views over the marina and yachts, it's a great place to relax with a cold drink and maybe a dish of local seafood. On that note, for some of the best fish and seafood tapas in the city, head to Club Nautico Santa Lucia. This is located in Pesquero Port and features a whopping 50 tapa dishes. Not far from here is Marisqueria Freiduría La Marina located on Calle Santiago. This is the place to go if you like seafood and have a large appetite as they feature an ‘all you can eat' buffet for 20€.

City Centre Restaurants

Just up from the port area on Calle Cañon is Restaurante La Tagliatella. This is handy when visiting the Roman Theatre Museum. A wonderful range of pasta dishes, tasty pizza and good vegetarian options satisfy the appetite. Further into the city centre and surrounded by no less than 7 museums is Bodega La Fuente. Traditional Spanish fare and tasty tapas are the order of the day here. The fresh anchovies are pure salty joy and prices very reasonable. Featured in the Michelin Guide and boasting rave reviews, Restaurant Magogo offers exquisite fine dining and an extensive wine list. It's location is in the Plaza Doctor Vicente García Marcos near the old wall.

British visitors can enjoy their favourite cuisine at Omkara. Yes you guessed it, Omkara is one of the city's Indian restaurants located on Calle Carlos III. All your popular spicy and not so spicy dishes and side dishes are featured on the menu, including some excellent vegetarian dishes. Next door to this you can indulge in the freshest tasty treats at Kasumi Sushi Buffet. A favourite with children, Chinese restaurants and ‘all you can eat' buffets are well represented in the city. For a fantastic selection of tapas and pinchos, 100 Montaditos is located on Calle Carmen. Head to Cotton Grill on Calle Puertas de Murcia to satisfy your hunger for large potions of grilled meat.

Surrounding Restaurants

A day out from Cartagena would not be complete without a visit to the famous La Manga Strip. This narrow sleeve (manga) of land is about 30 minutes drive from Cartagena and separates the Mediterranean sea from the Mar Menor lagoon. Along its entire length are countless hotels, holiday apartments and entertainment venues. Spread throughout these are many restaurants, some boasting wonderful sea views. At the beginning of the strip is Cape Palos Lighthouse and a small marina surrounded by popular restaurants and quaint little beach bars (chiringuitos).

Forming a huge sweeping bay opposite the strip is the Mar Menor lagoon. Its shores are home to several towns, villages and tourist resorts. Each of these offer a further choice of restaurants and excellent water sports and attractions. One of the most famous areas a bit inland is the La Manga Club. This has been recognised as the largest sports and leisure resort in Europe. Testament to its vast size are no less than 4 golf courses, a huge tennis academy and facilities for many other popular sports. Within the resort are a whopping 15 bars and restaurants. The most picturesque of these is La Cala Restaurant. This sits on a large rocky outcrop with beautiful views out to sea.

Markets

Markets in Cartagena have been around for centuries and have come a long way since trading was done with beads and trinkets.