ALICANTE - ALCOY - VENTA SANT JORDI

VENTA SANT JORDI

After an amazing bike ride in and around the mountains near Alcoy, Howard Goldsmith of Alicante Sunshine Villas ends with a revisit for Sunday lunch at Venta Sant Jordi, 4 km short of Alcoy.

Venta Sant Jordi (St George) is a favourite of ours, which we haven't been to for quite a while, so we were very much looking forward to Sunday and were not disappointed.

The location is stunning, and for motorbike lovers, it is on a wide corner where you can watch the bikers take the corner with their bodies almost touching the road. In summer you will often see many photographers there.

It is in the middle of the National Park Font Roja and there are numerous walks you can take to walk off the calories after your meal. Sant Jordi is a Hotel and Restaurant and during the week serves a €12 menu del dia and is often packed.

The restaurant has a very traditional Spanish feel and lots of stone and there is a huge terrace at the rear for when the weather is warmer.

At the weekend there are two menus, one at €19, and one at €29, we have tried both and have always preferred the cheaper of the two which is, we believe, exceptional value.

There are four starters served on the menu,

Pan con tomate with alioli, and Russian salad.

Patatas bravas, which are not too spicy and beautifully crisp.

The star dish is strips of marinaded solomillo.

For the mains, two ordered more solomillo and we also had bacalao (cod) cooked in a cream sauce.

My winter favourite, Gazpacho Manchego, which is not to be confused with the Andalusian cold soup.

This is a traditional, local, hearty rabbit or lamb stew on the base of a special bread that cooks a little like small sheets of pasta.

There is a desert platter of four different types,

and all were delicious.

After the meal, we moved to the terrace and found a table with some sunshine, and talked for an hour or so before asking for the bill which came to just 104€ for the four of us. Once again it needs to be said that none of us drank alcohol so be prepared to add to that if you enjoy a bottle of wine or two.

Please go and enjoy as the service is excellent always and we are always warmly welcomed. As much of the food as possible is locally sourced and the waiters are knowledgeable. English is spoken.

A previous visit from December 2020

Venta Sant Jordi Alcoy

Yesterday, Ben (my son) and I went out on the motorbikes. Having only ever ridden motorbikes for the last few years and starting with a 50cc scooter, I now have a Suzuki GSR 600 and Ben has a quite stunning Triumph Speed Triple. Don't worry if you are not into bikes as this is more about experiences and food than bikes. Both bikes are fast and by fast I breathtaking mean f**king quick, 0-60 without the need to change gear more or less.

I like pootling along and taking in the scenery whilst Ben loves pushing the bike and getting close to the road when cornering, which is what his bike is built for and he rides well and not stupidly. Motorbiking with my son is something I could not have imagined in a million years but Spain changes you and the roads and scenery here are magnificent. Some of the scenery we saw yesterday was breathtaking as we climbed to 720m above sea level and up to 1025m near Alcoy.

A big part of the ride is the camaraderie with other bikers and food. Yesterday we ended up at Venta Sant Jordi 3km outside of Alcoy which had a better class of restaurant than we would normally choose.

There were two Menu Del Dia (Finde - weekend Menus) one at €17.50 and the other at €29.99. We chose the cheaper one as the only difference we saw was rib-eye and we prefer solomillo.

A selection of starters included embutido (smoked ham) and cabra de queso (strong goats cheese),

along with croquetas of bacalao (cod) and jamón y queso (ham and cheese).

and an ensalada Rusa (Russian salad) con pan casero caliente (with hot homemade bread).

We chose the solomillo for the main course, which was cooked to perfection and tasted buttery with a hint of herbs, it was delicious.

Sadly, I didn't get a photo of the desserts before demolishing them, or, so I thought, but Ben had taken a picture. A very creamy cheesecake and a homemade coffee flan,

We had stunning food, served in a lovely restaurant with great service. I would imagine a similar meal in London would be £100 for two and you wouldn't be disappointed.

Update:- We went back exactly one week later with three friends and the food was as good if not a touch better. We were warmly welcomed and clearly remembered from the previous week. The kitchen has a smoker, a man in the corner with a packet of Gitanes, and also, smokes its own salmon which is a specialty dish that we are going to order one day in advance of our next meal.

The Chuleton at €40 per kilo is sensational.