A few great places to eat in Alicante 2023

Nowadays, I seem to have a few simple criteria for deciding where to go abroad on summer holiday:

1. There needs to be regular flights from Bristol airport.

2. It needs to be in Spain.

3. And Owen from Bar 44 needs to have said there’s tasty scran to eat there.

These are the reasons why this year we found ourselves in Alicante on the Costa Blanca.

With its buzzing city centre beach, Playa del Postiguet, that’s overlooked by the imposing hilltop fortress of Castell de la Santa Barbara, and the wave-like mosaic of the Explanada de España seafront walkway, Alicante is a charming destination.

It also happens to bill itself as the City of Rice (Ciudad del Arroz), with rice dishes forming the basis of much of the city’s cuisine. It was great fun guzzling our way through a handful of the city’s over 300 different rice specialities, from arroz seco (dry rice) to arroz meloso (creamy rice) and the coveted crunch of the soccarat (a caramelised layer of rice at the bottom of the pan).

Here's a few of the places we enjoyed during our trip to Alicante. I’ve ordered them roughly according to how essential I think a visit should be.

Nou Manolin

Ferran Adria and Juan Mari Arzak are supposedly fans of Nou Manolin, so that’s good enough for me. We got the last seats at the counter at this superb tapas bar and there was a constant queue of people waiting for a spot.

Excellent "Swarowski" crystal breads were topped with ensalada and whopping anchovies; jamon with runny-yolked quail eggs; and cured salmon with spicy guacamole.

There was also battered bacalao with lime mayonnaise and the richest of cannelloni, one of their changing daily specials.

La Taverna del Racó del Pla

We struck gold with our first meal of the trip at La Taverna del Racó del Pla as we had excellent tapas and rice at this traditional wood-panelled tavern.

Tapas were all great, including filo pastry sacks filled with a rich ham flecked bechamel and drenched in a fruity oxtail sauce; dates wrapped in crisp bacon; and fried fresh cheese with salty anchovies.

Arroz a banda, one of the most famous rice dishes in the city, saw a thin layer of rice with a good bite cooked in a rich fish stock and topped with plump sweet prawns and tender squid.

Cesar Anca Restaurante

We had some of the most creative and delicious tapas of our trip at Cesar Anca, a modern tapas bar and restaurant which is situated just off the Explanada de España.

Uber decadent oxtail cannelloni, with a crispy jamon crumb, was right up my street; I'm glad we got one each.

A millefeuille of crisp caramelised apple, sour raw apple, foie gras, goats cheese, and smoke cod sounded like it could have been a bit much but it somehow balanced really well.

A sweet tomato stuffed with a smooth and rich tuna mousse was served with a vibrant gazpacho.

For dessert, an absolute corker of a millefeuille was filled with turron custard. It was majorly reminiscent of a Paris-Brest due to the nuttiness of the custard.

L'arruzz

Probably my favourite rice dish of the whole holiday was from L’arruzz, a restaurant which unsurprisingly specialises in arroz.

Made with salt cod, sweet spring onions, caramelised cauliflower and rice with a lovely fish stock intensity and texture, it was a killer flavour combination. A dollop of potent aioli and a squeeze of lemon completed the stonking dish.

To start, were two ice cream scoops of very good ensalada (hook that stuff up to my veins) and disappointingly greasy and leaden tortilla de camarones.

Restaurante Govana

This multi-award-winning family restaurant is a temple of rice. With its chintzy table-settings, dark wood furniture and marble floors, it’s got buckets of charm.

Leg of veal rice (arroz pata de ternera) was a seriously meaty affair with a golden caramelised top. Melted bits of morcilla and chorizo and chickpeas were all bang on, but I wasn't fully sold on the numerous wobbly bits of soft connective tissue (Mrs G was), which I guess must have been the leg of veal.

As well as the arroz, we had excellent wines by the glass, toast with aioli and tomato concasse, textbook jamon croquetas and tuna belly and tomato salad.

For dessert, there was crème caramel-esque tocino de cielo (heaven’s bacon). Even better was the super custardy and cinnamon spiced French toast, which was like a lux bread and butter pudding.

Livanti Gelato Di Sicilia

During the evening there’s whopping queues for this gelato parlour. But if you visit during the daytime then chances are you’ll get straight in.

Pistachio which tastes of pistachio, rich dark chocolate and rum and raisin-esque Malaga were all super smooth and creamy.

Pipirrana Vermut

If you’re looking for a good selection of vermouth by the glass then Pipirrana Vermut has good vibes and is good value.

But, the main reason we visited was to try their rather bonkers sounding inverted soccarat of oxtail rice. It was as fun as it looks with a lush bronzed crisp exterior filled with meaty rice flecked with yielding pieces of oxtail.

A slice of deep-fried pork belly with mega crisp crackling was also ideal booze snacking.

La Taberna del Gourmet

One of the more chi-chi destinations we visited, we only popped into La Taberna del Gourmet for a drink and a couple of snacks. However, there’s clearly a focus on first rate produce at this modern tapas bar.

A good riff on a gilda was made with a marinated artichoke alongside its usual components whilst an excellent ensalada with tuna, potatoes, egg, green beans and carrot was adorned with flaky biscuit sails.

Cerveceria El Canto

There was a bit of a queue to get into the old skool Cerveceria El Canto but when we finally sat down, we enjoyed some excellent value tapas.

A delicious plate of glistening jamon iberico was the only plate of the stuff we ate all holiday. I need to re-evaluate my life choices.

Griddled queso fresco with sweet tomato jam and a montadito filled with marinated pork loin and brie were the other highlights.

Bar Guillermo

A traditional tapas bar, which is located just north of the central market, Bar Guillermo was almost empty when we visited around 10pm. I’m not sure why as we enjoyed tasty plates of delicately battered calamari and salt cod loaded croquetas.

Cervecerías Sento

There are a few branches of Cervecerías Sento dotted around Alicante. We visited Sento Barrio and it had big dive bar energy with its compact and cheek by jowl bar area.

Over 30 different montaditos are on offer as well as their signature lollipops - rather filthy yet delicious whorls of pork, ham and bechamel, and tomato jam as well as slightly dry pork meatballs with a compelling satay-like almond butter.

Oh, and take note, it’s cash only. 

El Llagosti

With a name like El Llagosti it makes sense that everyone visits this tapas bar to try their king prawns. The generous plate of sweet and tender baked prawns was nicely seasoned with a little bit of peppery spice. But it did put me off a little to see that the digestive tracts weren't removed.

In fact, I think I preferred their excellent thick slices of smoked salmon dressed with sweet and spicy Alicante pesto.