Where to Eat in Costa Blanca

Traditional Spanish kitchens — from Castilian roasts to Valencian classics.

Small plates, big flavours and old-town crawls.

Fresh-off-the-boat fish, prawns and shellfish.

Authentic Valencian paella, arroz a banda and fideuà.

Olive oil, vegetables, fish and sunshine on a plate.

Tasting menus, sommelier wine pairings and special-occasion rooms.

Guide-listed kitchens across the Costa Blanca.

Daybeds, sunset DJs and Mediterranean menus by the sea.

Eggs, açaí bowls and long lazy mornings.

Specialty coffee, artisan bread and pastries.

Alicante DO, natural wines and bodega-style pours.

Skyline tables with sea or old-town views.

Kids menus, play areas and welcoming staff.

Candlelit terraces and quiet corners for two.

Plant-based kitchens across the coast.

Coeliac-friendly menus and dedicated kitchens.

Stamppot, bitterballen and a taste of home.

Mussels, frites and Belgian beers.

Sunday roasts, real ale and live sport.

Wood-fired pizza, fresh pasta and Italian wine.

Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese and pan-Asian kitchens.

Tandoori, curries and South Indian thalis.

Tacos, mezcal and Mexico City classics.

Three-Michelin-star tasting-menu kitchen from chef Quique Dacosta — one of Spain's most celebrated restaurants, with a long-running menu rooted in the Marina Alta landscape.

A tiny, no-menu kitchen from former Quique Dacosta head chef Miquel Ruiz — booked weeks ahead for its market-driven Valencian cooking.

Modern grill-and-rice house on the port with a rooftop terrace — best known for charcoal-grilled Red Prawn of Dénia and seasonal rices.

Loreto-street favourite serving polished Valencian cooking, market fish and rice on a leafy patio.

Two-Michelin-star country house from chef Alberto Ferruz, blending Marina Alta produce with technical, salt-driven cooking.

Beach-front bistro at L'Arenal from chef Borja Susilla — short market menu and a constant rotation of fish, vegetables and fire-cooking.

Long-standing Arenal arrocería with sea-view terrace — wood-fire rices and the local Suquet de peix.

One-Michelin-star tasting menu from Calpe-born chef Rafa Soler, anchored in the daily catch of the local lonja.

One-Michelin-star kitchen inside The Cookbook Hotel — chef José Manuel Miguel's Mediterranean–French tasting menu.

Modern bistro on Plaza Mayor with a short, daily-changing menu of Mediterranean small plates.

Cliff-top fine-dining icon overlooking Cap Blanc — French-Mediterranean cooking, polished service and one of the coast's best wine cellars.

Centre-of-Moraira terrace restaurant — Mediterranean kitchen with a strong sushi/ceviche side and long cocktail list.

Inland Marina Alta institution since 1978 — Valencian rices, game and seasonal vegetables in a wood-beamed dining room.

Romantic candle-lit dining room in Altea's old town — French-Mediterranean cooking inside a former 18th-century school.

Old-town terrace with views over Altea's blue-domed church — short menu of Mediterranean classics done well.

Sea-front terrace with arroz negro, fresh fish and unobstructed Bay of Altea views.

One-Michelin-star restaurant from chef María José San Román — Alicante rices, olive oil and Monastrell wine at the heart of the menu.

Legendary Alicante barra — one of Spain's great tapas counters — plus a formal upstairs dining room for rices and grilled fish.

Sister to Nou Manolín — a famed tapas barra and dining room serving Alicantino classics and seasonal rice.

Late-night gastrobar with a 400-strong wine list, oyster bar, raw counter and cocktails — Alicante's most cosmopolitan room.

Old-town tapas reference — pristine shellfish, daily-changing market plates and a deep Alicante DO wine list.

Stand-up cult tapas bar with elbow-to-elbow crowds and a famous montadito de solomillo — the only menu is what comes out of the kitchen.

Playa de San Juan classic since 1960 — rice paellas, fideuà and seafood on a long covered terrace one block from the beach.

Basque kitchen on the Campello seafront since 1979 — pintxos, bacalao and txuletón steaks.

One-Michelin-star seafood specialist from the García family — pristine fish, shellfish and rice from the Campello fleet.

Family-run port-side arrocería — Villajoyosa's go-to for arroz a banda cooked to order and grilled local fish.

Benidorm old-town tapas reference — a long counter of cold and hot pinchos and a deep cellar of Spanish wine.

Benidorm institution since 1972 — old-school dining room serving daily-catch fish, rices and Mediterranean classics.

Sea-front beach club at the foot of the Serra Gelada — daybeds, sushi-and-rice menu and sunset DJs.

Long-running wood-fired pizzeria on Albir's main pedestrian street — proper Neapolitan dough and fresh pasta.

Lighthouse-front terrace on Torrevieja's promenade — caldero, fresh fish and arroces with a sea view.

Port-town reference for caldero, arroces and salazones — fish straight from Santa Pola's working lonja.

Modern marina restaurant overlooking the fishing fleet — grilled fish, oysters and arroz a banda.

Pine-fringed beach chiringuito on Guardamar's protected dunes — daytime rices, evening cocktails and bare feet in the sand.

Long-running family restaurant near La Zenia — Spanish standards, weekday menú del día and weekend paella for the resort crowd.

Feet-in-the-sand chiringuito at the southernmost beach of the Costa Blanca — fried fish, sardines and chilled vermut.

One-Michelin-star country-house restaurant from chef Susi Díaz — Mediterranean tasting menus rooted in the Camp d'Elx.

Tile-clad Elche institution since 1964 — a tapas barra, dining room and one of Alicante province's deepest wine cellars.

Modernist dining room in Alcoy's centre — chef Lolo Manyà's seasonal menu built on inland produce and Alicante DO wines.

Mountain restaurant on the Guadalest road — traditional Valencian stews, paella over wood fire and reservoir views.

Pego village kitchen specialising in Marina Alta rices and slow-cooked stews from the Pego-Oliva marshlands.

Wood-oven specialist in Oliva's old town — roast lamb, grilled meats and Valencian rice.

The original — rabbit, chicken, garrofó beans and bomba rice cooked over orange-wood fire.

Fishermen's rice, cooked in seafood stock and served with allioli.

Squid-ink black rice with cuttlefish and prawns.

Like paella, but with toasted short noodles in place of rice.

Rice cooked in a rich stock of rockfish and dried red peppers.

World-famous deep-water red prawns auctioned daily at Dénia's fish market.

Local-catch fish dishes from Calpe's fishing fleet.

Flatbread filled with tuna, peppers and pine nuts.

Almond nougat from Jijona and Alicante — a Christmas essential.

Sweet dates harvested from Europe's largest palm grove.

PDO Mollar pomegranate, prized for its sweetness.

Mojama (cured tuna) and bacalao — staples of the Mediterranean larder.

Cold-pressed Arbequina and Picual from the Vinalopó and Marina Alta.

DO Alicante — Monastrell reds, Moscatel sweet wines and crisp whites.