Where to eat in Alicante — the best local restaurants and tables worth booking, filtered by cuisine and picked for tourists, expats and families.
Alicante is a serious food city, and its obsession is rice. This is the home of arroz a banda, arroz negro and dozens of arroces, cooked best at the seaside arrocerías of Playa de San Juan (Casa Julio) and at the city's institutions — Nou Manolín, going since 1979, and its sister Piripi, both famous for a downstairs tapas bar and an upstairs dining room of celebrated rices.
The old town and the centre are where you graze: tiny Cervecería Sento for creative montaditos, La Taberna del Gourmet for gastro-tapas and seafood, and El Portal for oysters, cocktails and a late, buzzy crowd. It's genuinely good value next to the resort towns — and booking is worth it for the big names, especially at weekends.
A long-loved seaside arrocería for proper Alicante rice — arroz a banda, arroz negro and seafood paella cooked the traditional way.
Calle Teniente Coronel Chapulí, Alicante
A tiny, always-packed old-town tapas bar famous for its creative montaditos — squeeze in at the bar for a couple of the legendary 'Ivan' toasts and a cold beer.
A buzzy, stylish gastrobar off Plaza Portal de Elche — oysters, gourmet tapas, cocktails and a big wine and gin list, open late. The see-and-be-seen spot in the centre.
Calle San Fernando 10, Alicante
A renowned gastro-taberna in the old town — top-quality seafood, tapas and rices with a vast wine cellar, long a Michelin-recommended Alicante favourite.
An Alicante institution since 1979 — a famed ground-floor tapas bar with an open kitchen, and an elegant dining room above for its celebrated arroces (the lobster paella is the signature).
Avenida Óscar Esplá 30, Alicante
Nou Manolín's sister restaurant — market seafood, rices and fish done to the same high standard, with a serious wine list and a lively tapas bar.
The Gastronou group's relaxed bistró in a villa with a big garden terrace — market produce and Josper-grilled meats and fish, tartares and ceviches. Great for a long lunch.
A four-decade neighbourhood favourite near the bullring where many locals swear the best paella in the city is cooked — unfussy, generous and authentic.
Alicante is rice country. For arroz a banda and arroz negro, the seaside arrocerías of Playa de San Juan (like Casa Julio) are the classic choice; Nou Manolín and Piripi are the celebrated names for arroces in the centre, and Valencia Once near the bullring is the local's value pick.
The old town. Cervecería Sento is the tiny, always-packed favourite for creative montaditos; La Taberna del Gourmet does top-quality gastro-tapas and seafood; and El Portal is the stylish, late-opening gastrobar for oysters and cocktails.
Rice above all — arroz a banda, arroz negro and many other arroces — plus Mediterranean seafood and fish. The province is one of Spain's great rice regions, and San Juan's arrocerías are famous for it.
For the big names — Nou Manolín, Piripi, La Taberna del Gourmet, El Portal — yes, especially at weekends. The old-town tapas bars are more walk-in, though the best fill up in the evening.