It’s hard to pick a favourite thing about a holiday in Spain, but for me it has to be the food – whether it’s sizzling gambas at a tiny tapas bar, an enormous pan of paella to share or an indulgent torrija.
On our recent Jet2 Alicante holiday, we tried so many typical Spanish dishes (particularly from the Valencia region) and reignited our passion for croquetas, somehow ordering them at almost every place we visited!
This vibrant city on the beautiful Costa Blanca is a real foodie destination, where you can immerse yourself in Spain’s gastronomic culture and enjoy the time-honoured tradition of leisurely evening drinks and tapas.
Here are some top places to eat out when visiting Alicante…
La Taberna del Gourmet
La Taberna del Gourmet, a contemporary gastrobar and delicatessen just behind the promenade, boasts a Michelin Plate, awarded for excellent food at a reasonable price.
It’s a more casual offering from María José San Román (the chef-owner of one Michelin-starred restaurant Monastrell) and her daughter Geni Perramón where you can find all of the classics with a bit of flair.
For lunch, we enjoyed the most delicious Cod fritters, Jamon croquetas, Fried cheese with tomato jam, Artichoke heart with romesco sauce, San Fernando fried eggs with potatoes and Iberian ham and the biggest plate of Padron peppers.
It’s also worth saving room for the most heavenly traditional Torrija with mantecado ice cream, served quite amusingly in a big ceramic dairy cow!
Alma de Barra
Alma de Barra is a stylish, modern restaurant in a good spot in the city centre to enjoy traditional Spanish dishes with a contemporary twist. We sat outside and grazed on some hot, molten Jamon croquetas and fresh Queen scallops in their shells with garlic, parsley and olive oil.
We also took the opportunity to try a typical Valencian fideuà – a close cousin of paella made with short pasta noodles instead of rice. It was hearty and moreish with caramelised foie fillets and chunks of calamari and the boletus gave it a rich, earthy flavour.
Jimmy Churri
Jimmy Churri is a popular take-out shop on Calle San Francisco, dedicated to authentic Argentinian empanadas. Flavours range from classic spicy beef, chorizo and cheese to Roquefort, Carbonara and Nutella and you can order just one or go for a pack of 3 or 6 with a choice of salsa.
The empanadas were light, crispy and generously filled – we loved the hot and spicy chicken, slow-cooked beef and pork cheek and bechamel.
Da Ciro Pizzeria
If you’re in the mood for a speedy yet memorable pizza, grab a table at the lively Da Ciro Pizzeria on Calle San Francisco. It’s a little corner of southern Italy in Alicante offering authentic Neapolitan pizza, calzone and antipasti.
The pizza is excellent with a chewy, slightly charred dough and high quality toppings – I recommend keeping it simple to let the ingredients shine through, as is done in Naples.
Bar Manero
If you’re looking for a high-end tapas bar with lots of charm for a special meal out, book a table at Bar Manero. Just a few doors down from its glitzy sister restaurant El Portal, Manero has a bit of a Wes Anderson vibe and feels like stepping into a different era.
We enjoyed a feast of epicurian delights including a decadent Lobster and king crab roll, Truffled Spanish tortilla, Oxtail croquetas, Meatballs and Patatas Bravas with spicy tomato sauce and aioli.
As a luxury delicatessen, Manero also produces it own provisions, so you can pick up a bottle of olive oil, beautifully-packaged turron or champagne to take home.
Enso Sushi
Enso Sushi, an upscale Japanese restaurant on Plaza Gabriel Miró, is one of the most highly rated in Alicante and we were fortunate to score a walk-in table for lunch when we had a sushi craving and wanted to break the croqueta cycle. We were welcomed with a Sake Sour aperitif and a mushroom and tobiko amuse-bouche and our dishes arrived one by one with ceremony.
We grazed on flavourful Gyoza, Fried prawn, salmon and avocado uramaki, Soft shell crab futomaki and Prawn hosomaki. Everything was so fresh and tasty with harmonious flavours – just what we wanted for a light lunch.
Enso can easily become pricey, especially if you’re really hungry, but the quality of the ingredients and the service are exceptional.
Fondillón
One of our most relaxed, enjoyable dinners in Alicante was at Fondillón, the restaurant and bar at the five star Hospes Amerigo. We dined in the Pasaje de Amérigo courtyard over 10 years ago when it used to be Monastrell restaurant, so it was lovely to return and sit at the same table.
The menu offers lots of options, as you can choose dishes from the fine dining restaurant as well as the tapas bar. We started with some fantastic little bites – Carrot and date croquetas, Crispy prawn with sweet chilli sauce and Crispy chicken with sesame and a moreish curry sauce.
For our main courses, we had a sumptuous, sizzling hot Paella with Iberian pork and vegetables and a rich, tender Lacquered lamb timbale with shallot confit and celeriac. Both dishes were exceptionally good and very generously sized – so much that we almost couldn’t find room for dessert.
Of course, it would have been a shame to miss out on a delicate Millefeuille with almond nougat and the most delicious Rum savarin with macadamia nut ice cream.
Heladería Borgonesse
Many of our nights in Alicante ended with picking up an ice cream at Heladeria Borgonesse for a stroll on the promenade and it’s now become one of my favourite ice cream shops ever.
The artisanal ice cream is velvety smooth and made with top quality ingredients and the variety of flavours makes it hard to choose. I recommend going for traditional dessert flavours like the heavenly flan with caramel, panettone, turrón or a luscious mango sorbet.
This stylish cafe overlooking the leafy Plaza Portal de Elche is part of a well-known Spanish coffee chain, established in 1963, and is a popular spot for breakfast on the terrace.
We ordered some cakes for a little afternoon tea on our balcony and they were just exquisite and so decadent.
Salt in Cake
Salt in Cake, a petite bakery on Calle San Francisco, is said to make the best cookies in Alicante and I definitely wouldn’t argue with that!
The iced cinnamon buns in the window will tempt you in – and they are absolutely delicious – but the star of the show was the dark chocolate and sea salt cookie with a molten centre. I really wish we’d brought a whole box home for later.
Have you visited Alicante on holiday? Where are your favourite places to eat?
Chérie City was a guest of Jet2holidays, however all thoughts and opinions are my own.
All photos by Chérie City
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