We spent a few days in Alicante City in October. Arriving late on Saturday night, we checked into our hotel and then headed to  GASTROBAR DISTRIKT 41 Michelin Plate IIO Calle de Navas, 41, 03001 Alacant, Alicante +34 965 181 426 www.distrikt41.es This is an extraordinarily buzzy and busy bar/restaurant with modern décor and a great ambi e nce. It is run by two chefs originally from the Netherlands. They have a contemporary à la carte menu with a few Central European influen

MANERO ALICANTE - MANERO MOLLÁ On our few-day trip to Alicante, we ate on a Monday evening at Bar Manero Alicante—Manero Mollá —which was quite busy for a Monday. This is an elegant and lively tapa bar in the middle of town, not just in style but also in food quality. The deli counter has carefully prepped plates of food above the beautiful mosaic floor. The tapas menu sticks to the standards but is thriving with every one of them. After sitting down, we had an appetiser.

TITAS GASTROBAR This is the second restaurant our friend Howard Goldsmith, who lives in the area, took us to. It was a completely different experience from the first one, which was very traditional, but both were very good in their own way. Titas gastrobar is in the old historic centre of Villena and serves tasty, well-presented food, whether you are vegan, vegetarian or carnivorous. There’s a real buzz about the place, with many locals sharing tapas at the bar. This gastrob

NOU MANOLÍN    Michelin Plate IIO This well-known spot in Alicante’s city centre has two distinct areas. Upstairs is a chic destination restaurant serving consistently excellent, creative seafood dishes. Downstairs, you will find a casual, come-as-you-are type of bar. We r ecommend sitting at the bustling bar counter on the first floor. (It is wise to turn up when they open the doors in the evening. We started with good ostras (oysters), then buñuelos de bacalao (deep-frie

BODEGUITA 1999 This was our second visit to this restaurant, just off the seafront in Alicante City. They specialise in anchovies and different cuts of steak. Chuletón, entrecot, solomillo, and many more, so make your choice. Antxoas del Cantabrico (anchovies from Cantabria). Txuleton en la mesa with fries and piquillo peppers. Pimientos del piquillo confitados. Txuleton a la plancha on the second visit. With a tremendous fresh salad. Also available are staples like Croquetas

CONDUMÍO GASTROBARr We went to Villena, a town in inland Alicante, to a restaurant we had not been to before, with our friend Howard Goldsmith of Alicante Sunshine Villas. When you arrive at Condumio Gastrobar in Villena, you will find it hidden at the side of an industrial estate. You can quickly drive past and around it several times. Do not, under any circumstances, miss out on this excellent restaurant. It is aesthetically beautiful and comfortable, with a chef from La

VENTA SANT JORDI After a fantastic bike ride in and around the mountains near Alcoy , Howard Goldsmith of Alicante Sunshine Villas ends with a revisit for Sunday l unch at Venta Sant Jordi, 4 km short of Alcoy. Venta Sant Jordi (St George) is our favourite; we haven’t been there for a while. So, we looked forward to Sunday and were not disappointed. The location is stunning. For motorbike lovers, it is on a wide corner, where you can watch the bikers take the corner with th

RESTAURANTE CHÉ RAGAZZI - GASTRO FUSIÓN ITALIANO ARGENTINO Review by our friend Howard Goldsmith of Alicante Sunshine Villas We have been a little spoiled this weekend. On Friday, we went to Elda to try a relatively new restaurant that we had heard good things about. I’m not sure we were convinced about the Italian/Argentinian fusion idea before we arrived, but we were believers afterwards. There are three Menu options: Italian, Argentinian, and mixed. I think they are priced

ASADOR IZASKUN We had driven past the sign for Asador Izaskun, looming above the trees on the motorway the day before, and I told friends in the car it looked like a nice restaurant. Without realising it, this was our third and final restaurant visit on our short trip to Sax in Alicante to visit our friend Howard Goldsmith. We arrived at a restaurant set in beautiful surroundings with manicured gardens. We were taken to a large dining room with extensive window views of the g

RESTAURANTE LA TORRETA MAY BE CLOSED IN 2025 We visited this traditional roadside restaurant in the Sax / Elda area of Alicante on the recommendation of our friend, Howard Goldsmith, who has lived there for 12 years. It is run by two very friendly sisters who were our hosts for the day. There is a large indoor seating room and a shaded outdoor terrace area for when the weather is good, which seems to be almost always. On this occasion, we ate inside as the weather was a bi