Alicante Restaurants and Dining

(Alicante, Costa Blanca, Spain)

Alicante is becoming an increasingly popular tourist destination and during recent years Alicante's selection of restaurants and dining venues has become noticeably more cosmopolitan.

However, there are still plenty of authentic Spanish restaurants and Tapas bars in Alicante, serving authentic cuisine suitable for all palates.

Where to Eat in Alicante

- Alicante, Costa Blanca, Spain
Tapas bars and restaurants in Alicante are amongst the best in the whole of Spain and provide an insight into the area's approach to life.

Designed to be the perfect lunchtime snack, accompanying locally produced Spanish wine, Tapas bars in Alicante often serve local cheeses, stuffed olives, grilled prawns and a variety of seafood nibbles.


Some of the best restaurants in Alicante offer impressive views of the port and sandy stretches of beach, with a large part of the menus being devoted to seafood. Fish dishes at Alicante's restaurants vary from simple fried sardines to more substantial fish stews, known locally as 'sancocho'.

Other popular dishes in Alicante restaurants include fried squid, lobsters, grilled prawns, cold meats and salads, hot soups (sopas) and tasty tortillas (omelettes). Restaurants in Alicante come alive at night and although many dining venues cater for tourists and open at around 18:00, dinner really starts from 20:00 to 21:00 and is a leisurely affair, not to be rushed.

Many restaurants in Alicante are concentrated in the town centre, with dozens being nearby the ayuntamiento (town hall), particularly along the Calle Miquel Saler. Around Alicante's Old Quarter area (El Barrio / Barrio Santa Cruz), close to the cathedral and Plaza del Carmen, a number of restaurants offer fine dining with bags of character. Bars in this area of Alicante often remain open until at late at 04:00 in the morning.

Calle Carmen is a popular nightspot, together with Calle San Ferndando, both of which offer a good selection of restaurants, dining venues, bars and clubs. A more sophisticated class of restaurant can be found in Alicante's El Puerto area, where bars play salsa and Latin music, remaining open until the early hours of the morning.