Choice
Show only
Entry to the one-and-a-half-hour show. Places are limited, no table is guaranteed, and some guests watch from the bar.
Best for Short evenings and lighter budgets
About the tablao
A family tablao by the Mediterranean
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On the sea side of town
El Toro y La Luna stands on Plaça del Mestre Ripoll, beside Avenida Blasco Ibáñez and near El Cabanyal. Valencia's tourist board files the address under the sea districts, and Wikipedia describes El Cabanyal as part of the city's sea village, very close to La Malvarrosa, the main beach. Look at the map before you book: this is a different part of Valencia from the old centre.
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First, or oldest, in its own words
The show is billed as coming from the first tablao to open in Valencia, and the venue's own site prefers oldest, open since 1977. Both claims belong to the house. Wikipedia only says that tablao venues developed across Spain during the 1960s. What the venue's history page does document is a family troupe: it names Pepe Esteve and Maribel Arrué as the founders and says their children perform with them.
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Two ways to take a seat
One ticket page offers a show-only entry and a show with dinner. They suit different evenings, and the show-only places are limited, with no table guaranteed. The comparison below spells out what each option gives you before you pick a night.
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Flamenco away from its heartland
UNESCO places the home of flamenco in Andalusia, with Murcia and Extremadura among its other roots, and added the art to its heritage list in 2010. A tablao on the Valencian coast is therefore an Andalusian tradition on another shore, kept going here by one family troupe and its friends.
The night in three parts
From the table to the stage
The ticket page shows start times per date; the evening has three simple stages.
- First
Sit down, with or without dinner
Dinner guests eat first and the show follows; the venue's schedule is built that way. Show-only guests arrive for the performance, and the venue says those places are limited, with no table guaranteed. The start time for your option is printed on your confirmation.
- Then
Seven artists, one stage
The venue lists two guitarists, dancers and singers among its seven house artists and says the stage sits a few steps from the tables. The show lasts an hour and a half. A different group of house artists and friends takes the stage each night, so no two evenings share a line-up.
- Last
A turn on the boards
The venue's own site says that at the end guests can go up on stage and dance with the artists. Joining in is a choice, and watching from your seat is perfectly normal.
Tune your ear
Six sounds to listen for
Flamenco weaves voice, guitar, dance and clapping around a palo, the traditional form that gives each piece its rhythm and mood. These six are easy to pick out, even on a first night.
- Cante
The voice
In UNESCO's account the voice is an art of its own: men and women singing, ideally seated, without a chorus behind them. Follow that single line as the guitar and the dancer move around it.
- Toque
The guitar
Wikipedia says a flamenco guitar is built lighter than a classical one, for a brighter and more percussive tone, and often carries a plate that protects the wood from the player's finger taps. UNESCO adds that the guitar long ago outgrew a purely supporting role.
- Baile
The dance
UNESCO sums up baile as passion and courtship in movement, ranging from sadness to joy, with technique that changes from one dancer to the next. Watch the footwork against the guitar, and the arms against the singer.
- Palmas
The clapping
Among flamenco's instruments UNESCO counts castanets, clapping and stamping, and the venue names palmas as part of its show. Wikipedia calls the clapping the basis for improvisation in this music.
- Bulerías
The fast finale
Wikipedia calls the bulería a quick rhythm in a twelve-beat cycle, a common way to close a flamenco gathering and the form that gives players the most room to improvise. The venue's site sets its joyful pace against the deepest palos.
- Lighter forms
Tangos, rumbas, sevillanas
Valencia's tourist board lists zambras, tangos, rumbas and sevillanas among the show's contents. Wikipedia calls the rumba a flamenco palo shaped by Cuban music, and sevillanas a folk dance of Seville that visitors often mistake for flamenco.
The artists decide the programme and vary it nightly, so take this as ear training rather than a setlist.
Show only or dinner
Show only, or show with dinner
Choice
Show with dinner
A meal at a table before the show, with the show included. The venue's site lists a drink with its dinner menu.
Best for A full evening in one place
Either option. The same seven-artist house show, Wednesday to Sunday, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
What each ticket gives you
What each ticket gives you
Six things to know before you choose a night.
- The show
- A flamenco show of an hour and a half by seven artists, Wednesday to Sunday. Both options include it.
- Show only
- Entry to the performance. The venue says show-only places are limited and no table is guaranteed, and that guests may watch from the bar as space allows. Guests describe bar-stool seating with a limited view.
- With dinner
- The dinner option adds a meal served before the show, at a table. The venue's site lists one drink per person with its dinner menu and offers vegetarian, vegan and children's menus when you say so at booking.
- Drinks and extras
- Anything your option does not include is bought at the venue. Check the option's description on the booking calendar before you pay.
- Languages
- Hosts work in English, French, Italian and Spanish, and the venue's own site is offered in German as well.
- Access and children
- The venue says the room and its toilets are accessible and asks wheelchair users and families with a pushchair to tell the restaurant beforehand. Children are welcome, and a children's menu exists.
Photo notes
The sea side of Valencia, and flamenco on other stages
Photographs of the Cabanyal and the beaches near the tablao, plus flamenco performers photographed on other stages; none shows this venue.
Reserve a place for the evening
The show at El Toro y La Luna
One ticket page covers both ways to go: show only, or show with dinner. Choose the option once you pick a date.
Flamenco at El Toro y La Luna, show only or with dinner
A show of one and a half hours by seven artists, Wednesday to Sunday, with a dinner option added on the same ticket page.
More evenings out in Valencia
Planning notes for your night
Plan the evening
- 1
Where it is
Plaça del Mestre Ripoll 13, 46022 Valencia, beside Avenida Blasco Ibáñez and near El Cabanyal. Where you meet varies by option, and your confirmation names the place.
- 2
Getting there
Valencia's tourist board lists metro and bus connections for the address, and the venue's own site links a map. Plan the route in your map app for the evening you choose.
- 3
Which night
The show runs Wednesday to Sunday. The booking calendar lists a start time and open options for each date.
- 4
How long
The show lasts an hour and a half. With dinner the evening is longer, and the calendar gives a range of one to three hours across the options.
- 5
Seats
Show-only places are limited and no table is guaranteed. If a seat at a table matters to you, the dinner option is the one that gives you one.
- 6
Booking terms
You can cancel free of charge until the day before, and pay after reserving. Hosts work in English, French, Italian and Spanish.
More about the tablao
Six guides to the tablao and its music
- Choosing your ticket
Toro y La Luna tickets
Toro y La Luna tickets in Valencia: show only or with dinner, what each includes, how the seating works and which one suits your evening. Read this guide in full → - Where it is, timing, seats and access
Getting to Toro y La Luna
How to reach El Toro y La Luna on Valencia's sea side, which night to pick, how the evening runs, and what to know about seats, children and access. Read this guide in full → - The story as the venue tells it
The family behind the tablao
The family's own account of El Toro y La Luna: a village guitarist, a Côte d'Azur club, a return to Valencia and a tablao it calls the oldest in the city. Read this guide in full → - The music
Flamenco palos to listen for
What a palo is, and how to tell bulerías, tangos, rumbas and sevillanas apart when you hear them at a Valencia tablao show, without needing any Spanish. Read this guide in full → - The sounds of a tablao
Guitar, palmas and cajón
The instruments and sounds behind a tablao show: the flamenco guitar, hand-clapping, the dancer's boards and the cajón that arrived from Peru. Read this guide in full → - Around the tablao
The Cabanyal and the beach
What surrounds El Toro y La Luna: the Cabanyal's old fishing streets, its tiled houses and the Malvarrosa and Las Arenas beaches on Valencia's sea side. Read this guide in full →
FAQ
Asked before booking, answered here
How long is the flamenco show?
An hour and a half. The start time is listed per date on the booking calendar, and dinner guests eat before the show begins.
Which nights does it run?
Wednesday to Sunday. The venue is closed on Monday and Tuesday.
Is dinner included?
Only if you pick the dinner option. The show-only ticket covers entry to the performance and no meal.
Can I get a table with a show-only ticket?
Not as a promise. The venue says show-only places are limited with no table guaranteed, and some guests watch from the bar.
Where is El Toro y La Luna?
At Plaça del Mestre Ripoll 13, beside Avenida Blasco Ibáñez and near El Cabanyal, on the sea side of the city rather than in the old centre.
Is it suitable for children?
The venue says children are welcome and there is a children's menu. Tell the restaurant in advance if you bring a pushchair.
Can I dance with the artists?
The venue's own site says guests can go up on stage and dance with the artists at the end. It is optional.
Is it really Valencia's first tablao?
The show is billed as coming from the first tablao to open in the city, and the venue's own site says oldest, since 1977. Both are the venue's claims.
Live flamenco in Valencia five nights a week, with or without dinner.
Book flamenco at El Toro y La Luna ↗Your own currency is applied at checkout, after you pick a night and an option.