Café de les Hores is the most theatrically conceived interior in Valencia — a room assembled from crimson velvet drapes, gilded mirror frames, crystal wall sconces, historical portrait canvases, ornate stucco reliefs of classical figures, and bowls of fresh Valencia oranges arranged on the stone ledge. The sources are deliberately heterogeneous: 19th-century salon, baroque church, cabinet of curiosities, Valencian pantry. The coffee is secondary to the atmosphere, though it is good. The café is in El Carmen, walking distance from the Lonja and the IVAM, and is most quiet in the morning before midday. The menu runs to horchata, orxata de xufla (the local tiger nut milk), and a small selection of cakes. The interior operates as an argument about decoration — that more is a position, not an excess.
El Carmen, Valencia, Spain