Most of the Spanish restaurants we list in China are in Shanghai. Of the 50 Chinese listings in our directory, 33 are in Shanghai, and we covered them in our Shanghai guide. This guide is about the other 17, which are spread across ten cities from Beijing to Xiamen. Everything below comes from each restaurant's own record. Where a record is thin, we say so rather than fill the gap.
Beijing: five listings, mostly around Sanlitun
Beijing has the largest cluster outside Shanghai. Carmen is on Sanlitun North Bar Street. Its record says it continues the legacy of Carmen TapasBar, one of the first RFS-certified restaurants in China, which closed during the pandemic. The new Carmen keeps the same setup, including a stage, and the same food and wine menus. The record singles out platters of cured meats and cheeses from different Spanish regions, plus paellas and other rice dishes, and credits chef Carlos with keeping the essence of Spain in Beijing. It is the only listing in this guide with opening hours in our records: noon to midnight Sunday to Thursday, and noon to 1:00 on Friday and Saturday.
Bocata, also on Sanlitun Road, is run by partners who previously managed Carmen. It has two menus: an informal bocata menu and a Carmen menu with more traditional dishes. Its record mentions pinchos, paellas, homemade blood sausage and ham croquettes, and says all its wines are Spanish.
Y Spanish Table is on the fourth floor of Block N2 in Sanlitun Taikoo Li North. Its record describes cooking focused on Catalan flavours, with an emphasis on ingredients over presentation. Further out, Bellota is at Pinnacle Plaza in Shunyi District. Most of its team previously worked at Niajo, and the kitchen is led by Cheng Xiao Jie. The record lists gazpacho, paella, callos and garlic shrimp. The fifth Beijing listing, Iberico by TRB, is on Laiguangying East Road in Chaoyang; its record has no description yet. For a two-day route through these, see our Beijing Spanish weekend.
Chengdu and Guangzhou: hotel dining and Tianhe
Chengdu has two. Gran Via Spanish Restaurant is inside the Gran Meliá hotel on Jincheng Avenue. The name comes from the Madrid street, and the record lists a Spanish chef, seafood paella, cured Iberian ham and tapas. Fields Concord, in Chengdu Taikoo Li, takes a more modern line. Its record pairs paella and Basque cheesecake with newer dishes such as tuna tartare with watermelon gazpacho and torrija with hazelnut cream and rum ice cream.
Both Guangzhou listings are in Tianhe District. Mezomd is at The Canton Place in Zhujiang New Town; its record names paella, gazpacho, croquetas and gambas al ajillo. La Oliva is on Huajiu Road; its record has an address and nothing else, so treat it as unverified until you have checked it yourself. Our Chengdu and Guangzhou city pages list both.
Shenzhen, Nanjing and Hangzhou
Shenzhen has two listings. Tapas 77 is the Spanish dining room at the Mandarin Oriental in Futian, according to its record. Brownstone Tapas & Lounge at The Mixc Shenzhen Bay in Nanshan belongs to the Brownstone group, which started in Shanghai in 2010. The group also has listings at Zifeng Plaza in Nanjing and The Mixc in Hangzhou. We profiled the group in our Brownstone spotlight.
Xiamen, Xi'an, Wenzhou and Taizhou
The single-listing cities have some of the more detailed records. In Xiamen, ¡Ay Manuela! on Guanren Road in Siming District calls itself a small, cosy restaurant. Its record lists tortilla española, croquettes, gambas al ajillo, huevos rotos con chorizo, arroz negro made with squid ink, and fideuà.
In Xi'an, DÚO Spanish Authentic Cuisine is at the Gran Meliá in Qujiang, Yanta District. Its record describes it as the first and only Spanish-themed restaurant in the city, with Spanish chefs and sommeliers. That is the restaurant's own claim; we list no other Spanish restaurant in Xi'an.
Mr. Pepe Spanish Restaurant is in Lucheng District, Wenzhou. Its owner, Wangzhu Zekang, moved to Spain in 1989 and worked in a kitchen in Córdoba, according to the record, and lived in Europe for 31 years before returning to open a restaurant in central Wenzhou.
In Taizhou, Jiangsu Province, CASA opened in 2024 in Gaogang District. Its record says restaurant investor Sofia Ji invited chef Alex Molina, whom it describes as Michelin-starred, to her home city to open it. The name is Spanish for home, and the record describes a relaxed, sharing-style restaurant.
Before you go
- Hours: only Carmen lists them in our records. Message or call the others first, especially hotel restaurants, which can close for private events.
- Thin records: La Oliva, Iberico by TRB and Tapas 77 have little or no description, so we have not described their food.
- Browse by city on our China page, which links to each city listing.
