Tarragona eats well — better, on the whole, than Barcelona for the price. The Costa Daurada produces some of the best fish and shellfish in Spain, and the city's restaurants take advantage: the daily auction at the port supplies the better kitchens before the market opens. The local speciality is calçots, sweet long Catalan spring onions grilled over fire and dipped in romesco sauce — a 19th-century Tarragona invention. The season runs January to April.
The old town has the highest concentration of restaurants; the El Serrallo fishing quarter on the harbour is the place for the freshest fish.