The Costa Dorada is a region famous for its long golden beaches, turquoise blue waters and peaceful historic towns – but the rich soil and warm climate also produces many of Spain's finest vineyards, olive growths and gastronomy. Good food and wine is central to the Costa Dorada's culture, with many local dishes, restaurants, wine tours and food festivals delighting visitors throughout the year.

Costa Dorada received 3,100,000 visitors between June and September 2015, 11% of which were from the UK and Ireland

Local Specialities

The cuisine is shaped by traditional Mediterranean aromas and developed from the clear coastal waters which provide a source of high quality seafood. The El Serrallo neighbourhood of Tarragona and the fishing port and agricultural town of Cambrils, known as the gastronomic capital of the Costa Dorada with two Michelin star restaurants - Can Bosch and Rincón de Diego are some of the best places to sample the region's gastronomy. Other interesting options are the restaurant La Morera and El Castillo de Javier, both located in Salou.

Local specialities include romesco sauce, xató salads, calçots onions, fish and seafood with rice and noodles, paellas and many steamed or grilled shellfish and molluscs. 

Inland from the coast are different kinds of typical Catalan dishes spread throughout the region's towns, such as olla barrejada – a meat and vegetable stew, pig's trotters with snails, rabbit with rice, wild boar and onion stew, partridge casserole and truitia amb suc – omelettes with gravy. A number of exports such as hazelnuts, bluefish, Prades potatoes and Siurana olive oil are produced in the region using traditional methods and exported around the world, marked with a Protected Destination of Origin (PDO) label to certify quality.

Festivals & Events

In celebration of the unique cuisine found in the Costa Dorada, many towns host annual gastronomic festivals to showcase their speciality dishes.

Running from 20 May to 5 June, Gastrotour Salou is a celebration of the local food scene in Salou. Local restaurants, bars and bakeries offer special tasting menus and samples of their products for just €2.50 providing a tapas walking route from the town centre to the coast. A similar event, La Mar de Tapes is also held in Cambrils from 10 - 19 June, and in Vila-Seca-La Pineda, from 27 May - 12 June.

In early October, Cambrils hosts the Wine and Gastronomy Show with local restaurants pairing dishes to chosen wines from the region. November will see the 37th edition of the Festival of the Squid held in Salou, combining a fishing competition with tasting sessions. In early spring, Salou also hosts Sabor Salou, a gastronomic fair that gathers local products and producers

A full list of gastronomy events can be found here.

Wine

The Costa Dorada has a long tradition of winemaking, with many vineyards, cooperatives and wineries forming its landscape. Red wines, white wines, rosés, cavas and dessert wines are produced within the territory's five winemaking regions and marked with their distinct PDO labels. Wine tourism is a strong attraction in the Costa Dorada, with many organised wine routes, tours of vineyards, tasting courses, wine-pairings, concerts, festivals and walking, bike and horseback excursions available throughout the year. In light of this, the Catalan Tourist Board has declared 2016 'Year of Gastronomy and Wine Tourism'.

Accommodation

The Costa Dorada is also known for its outstanding campsites, eight of which were honoured with the 'Best Campsites in Europe' award by the Association of Campsites in 2016. Gastronomy is an important part of life on the campsite - the Playa Montroig Camping Resort offers meat and fish dishes in its Restaurant Grill and traditional Mediterranean cuisine in the La Terrassa restaurant. The Tamarit Park Resort has a number of food options including its La Brisa beachside restaurant and La Carpa tapas restaurant.

The Costa Dorada also offers various hotels and apartments to receive visitors from all parts of Spain and Europe.

Contact

For more information or further enquiries, please contact tim@wearelotus.co.uk or rebecca@wearelotus.co.uk / 0207 953 7470.

About The Federation of Hostelry and Tourism in Tarragona (FEHT)

The FEHT is a federation that represents the whole tourism sector in the province of Tarragona, the main tourist destination being Salou. It is the umbrella organisation for: the Association of Campsites in Costa Dorada and Terres de l'Ebre, the Association of Tourist Apartments in Costa Dorada, the Hotel Business Association of Tarragona, the Association of Hotels in Tarragona, the Association of Hotels in Salou, Cambrils, La Pineda, the Association of Incoming Agencies of Costa Dorada, and PortAventura. Together these represent all the accommodation in an area covering Salou, Cambrils and Vilaseca-La Pineda. The federation represents the interests of each of the member establishments as well as the municipalities in which they are located.