Horchatería de Santa Catalina — Restaurant in Valencia

For my first Horchata and Farton experience in Valencia, I decided on the crowd favourite Orxateria Santa Catalina. My second was Orxateria Daniel, just a street or so away.

Being Southeast Asian, I couldn't help but compared the Horchata to Southeast Asia's Soya Bean Milk. They are similar: Milky but not from animal lactose, with the Horchata made out of the "tiger nut" chufa tubers that tasted much more raw on the palate. Unlike the Soya Bean Milk which is made out of soya beans, the Horchata is overwhelmingly sweet, similar to that of pressed sugar cane juice. If sugar had been added to the Horchata, then it would be unnaturally overwhelmingly sweet, and mega-calorific. Not for diabetics!

The waitress at Orxateria Santa Catalina recommended pairing the Horchata with a Farton, a fluffy doughnut stick which is dipped into the Horchata. Meh... It did nothing for me. 😬

Oddly, even though from different cultures more than 6,000++ miles apart, dipping a Farton into the Horchata is similar to a Southeast Asian dipping a deep-fried dough fritter into the Soya Bean Milk. 😉

Served chilled, the Horchata at Orxateria Santa Catalina was almost pure creamy white in colour, way smoother and clean on the palate, and did not have the chufa tuber residue floating about in the drink, when compared to the Horchata served by Orxateria Daniel. But, both pretty much tasted the same.

However, the Farton at Orxateria Santa Catalina was distinctively lighter and fluffier than Orxateria Daniel's. I preferred the former.

Although not my favourite drink on this planet, I can see why the Horchata is a summer favourite, even though it appears to be sold all year round. 👍👍👍

Churros being dipped into thick chocolate seem to be popular, and there are other pastries and gelato being offered as well.

I love the ambience at this Orxateria, with the decor reminiscent of old Spain. The waitress who assisted me was helpful and courteous, and didn't mess about. 😉

The €5 Horchata and Farton are far more costly than the €1 Soy Bean Milk and Deep-fried Dough Fritter. So, will I go for the Horchata and Farton again when in Spain? No. 😂😂😂 But, a good tourist experience nonetheless which I encourage all to try. We...

I don’t get it why this place have so much good reviews. Let me explain. When I entered to cafeteria nobody said anything. No hi, no show where I can sit, NOTHING. So I just get my table and sit. After few minutes waitress come over. She took order and after few minutes my order was on the table. Reading all those „good” reviews I expected something special, yeah, it was. Chocolate was just ok, rich and creamy. Churros was cold and chewy. Farton was just a bland dough, no taste, no sweetness. Thats a fact. Horchata wasn’t my taste but it’s just my opinion, some people can like it. In the middle of my lunch waitress just brought a check? No questions how good lunch was, how you like that, nothing. Whoooo… Ok, so is this yours customer service? Got it. When I want to make some pics (for review)of food they sell, one of lady shouted on me: NO PHOTOSSS!!! Maybe in response they will explain, why can’t make photos of food? What do you have to hide? It could be a really nice spot for horchata and churros, because inside the cafeteria looks REALLY nice, with THAT mood. I like that. But besides that, nothing is right there. Maybe all those things happened because I’m a tourist and they don’t like tourists. (Spanish people spraying water on tourist in 🇪🇸- you can see that on news) Or maybe they are like they are. I don’t know 🤷 but that was my first and LAST time. Beware of that place, especially if your are TOURIST. NOT...

Amazing churros and hot chocolate. It's all i came here for based on reviews and google searches. It stands up to It's hype. 🙂

The churros comes hot and fresh with 4 pieces on a plate. And the hot chocolate thick and warm enough to dip the churros in a soon as they land on your table.

Servers were great. I mean, minimal interaction needed anyway as i went alone and that's all i ordered. Surprisingly but not an issue at all is thta as soon as they bring your order to the table, they as to pay right away. Again not an issue, just something I've not experienced before.

My one regret! I came from the central market before going here. I had ham sandwich there and sangria. On my way here, i saw a churro shop outside the market and ordered churros as well 😄 (last 2 pics are from there, you'll see the branding on the paper cup). So this is my 2nd order of churro within the hour and i can't finish it coz im full. I only ate 2 pieces. Skip the one at the market if you get tempted. Its also good dont get me wrong, but this is better ambience,...