El Pito; Meliana

El Pito is one of these classic Valencian restaurants that existed long before the dinosaurs roamed the Earth.

The name means the whistle, a name which I had believed to refer to its proximity to the underground station of Meliana, which is in fact overground.

However, it turns out to be the nickname given to the family that has run it for many years. In fact, the first time I ate there, they were one of the few places that didn’t accept credit cards, although that has been rectified now.

Full of typical Valencian tiles as its main decoration, the restaurant seems small at first until you discover the various smaller rooms, nooks and even one or two crannies, whatever they are!

There is even a little terrace out the back.

The food two is typical of a restaurant and village situated in the middle of the amazingly fertile Valencian coastal plain, the ‘huerta’ where just about anything grows, and grows fast. The mixed vegetables dish is a good example, with grilled artichokes, peppers and asparagus, as well as mushrooms.

Your meal begins with some toast coated in sweet pepper powder, a change from grated tomato and quite tasty.

It’s very much a place to select from the wide range of tapas, and then finish off with a rice dish if you’re still up to it: the mini squids with spring onions were especially pleasant.

It’s clearly still very much a local eatery, as evidenced by the plethora of elderly people who come to eat or take away, a tendency which started with the pandemic and has continued they told us.

C/ Lledoner, 10