Golondrinas de Alicante.

The fusion of local Alicante and Italian cuisine on offer in this attractive and intimate eatery in a residential district comes as a pleasant surprise, and is explained by the culinary experiences of chef Alba Esteve during her stints working in several prestigious restaurants in Italy. Choose between the à la carte (interesting off-menu options such as fresh fish of the day are also available) and an enticing tasting menu. We loved the delicious and refreshing lemon and yuzu tartlet dessert with yuzu and a lime and celery sorbet.

Standing along one of the city’s main avenues, Piripi is one of the best-known tapas venues in Alicante, featuring a busy tapas bar on the ground floor (you can also eat at the bar counter) and a meticulous dining room upstairs. The extensive à la carte showcases its signature dishes, superb rice options, and an array of daily specials (fish and seafood are sourced daily direct from the fish auctions in Dénia and Santa Pola).

A restaurant with a modern decor and gastro-bar ambience run by two chefs originally from the Netherlands, Danny van Vliet and Joris Bruurs. Here, the contemporary à la carte and menu options (daily and seasonal) change every two months. Their cuisine, with specials such as the delicious Stroopwafel (a reinterpretation of a Dutch dessert), combines Central European, French and Spanish influences. Sauces are a prominent presence, while many dishes are given a finishing touch on the grill.

In the heart of Alicante, a short hop from the lively Central Market, there is a place with a great deal of character and personality. They themselves say that they are ‘an intimate restaurant, where cooking is done calmly and time is savoured’.Behind the name Plëgat, a small tribute to the now defunct business in the nearby town of San Juan where the chef Nanín Pérez felt the unbreakable bond with the world of gastronomy, you will find an elongated establishment with few tables (just 5 and a reserved area), with the kitchen half-open so we can watch him work. Here you can order á la carte or

Koiné’s name refers to a variant of the Greek language once used in Ancient Greece. Here, the cuisine has returned to the origins and roots of Mediterranean cooking, working in tandem with the culinary traditions of Andalucia and with a style that has adapted to contemporary tastes. Chef Juanlu Parra has previously worked in the R&D department of the Dani García Group – a detail that is obvious on the menu. If you’re looking for a standout dish, try their award-winning aged picaña steak tartare, with creamy smoked eel on marrow and warm croissant.

Open boasts an eclectic look in keeping with its name. This similar liberal philosophy is also evident in its open-view kitchen and on the à la carte, with the option of creating your own half portion-style menu. The chefs here explain and serve their own contemporary dishes centred around market-fresh ingredients. One speciality that is definitely worth ordering is the Gilda Open, their interesting red tuna ‘catalana’ or the cuttlefish, guanciale and burrata gnocchi.

This bright, stone-walled restaurant in the heart of Alacant is the dream come true of chef Javier Beltri, who named the restaurant after his father (Victor Beltri, known to his family as Vituco). After training at Le Cordon Bleu, the Basque Culinary Center and various prestigious restaurants, here he seeks to offer us an itinerant proposal that flutters between the Mediterranean and Peru (especially surprising in the rice dishes, seasoned with products from this South American country). Interesting dishes? The Ensaladilla with soy mayonnaise and aji amarillo, the Anticucho a la brasa, the Arr