1941 — 2026
Eighty-five years facing the Peñón
Baydal is the oldest restaurant on Calpe harbour. This is the short version of a family story: three generations feeding people beside the fish market.
- 1941
A shack on the rock
In July 1941, with the fishing port newly built, Salvador and María Baydal open a small bar on a rock that rose from the sea — 'la roqueta' — with three thousand pesetas and a permit. Forty square metres facing the docks.
- 1957
Demolition and a new house
The original hut is demolished and the family builds the bar-restaurant on its present site, at the water's edge.
- 1962
The definitive concession
The definitive administrative concession finally arrives — 'our great worry', as Jaime Baydal used to recall.
- 1970s–80s
Senyoret rice is born
At the stoves of the second generation, a Valencian customer nicknamed 'el senyoret' asks for his rice with the seafood peeled. The whim becomes a dish; the dish makes history.
- 1990s
Calpe's signature dish
Calpe Town Hall declares arròs del senyoret the town's typical dish. Baydal's rice now belongs to everyone.
- 2016
A postmark of our own
The Spanish postal service dedicates a commemorative postmark to the house's 75th anniversary during Exficalp.
- 2021
80th anniversary
Eighty years after the roqueta, the local press celebrates with us: 'hospitality runs in our blood'.
- Today
Third generation
José Baydal heads the third generation. In 2025 we said goodbye to Jaime Baydal Crespo (1935–2025), soul of the second. The dining room still smells, as the press wrote, 'of senyoret rice, salt and memory'.
As told by
«José Baydal és la tercera generació de cuiners i al seu restaurant es va fer el primer arròs del senyoret.»À Punt (TV pública valenciana)
«El local sigue oliendo a arroz del senyoret, a sal, a memoria.»La Marina · elDiario.es
«Im Restaurant Baydal in Calpe wurde das berühmte Reis-Gericht Arroz del Senyoret erfunden.»Costa Nachrichten
«El restaurante, conocido por su Arròs del Senyoret, es un ejemplo de tradición y renovación.»Calp Digital
