The 21 best restaurants in the Costa Blanca
Food fans on this well-fed coastline should start at Dénia, named by Unesco as a Creative City of Gastronomy for championing indigenous ingredients. The port city serves up gambas rojas (deep-water prawns with the sweetest meat) and seafood paella to well-dressed diners. From here, travel south to find hippy chiringuitos and laid-back bistros in hilltop pueblos. Arrive hungry: the Costa Blanca is awash with world-famous seafood and brilliant restaurants.
All our recommendations below have been hand selected and tested by our resident destination expert to help you discover the best restaurants in the Costa Blanca. Find out more below or for more inspiration, see our guides to the best bars and nightlife, beaches and things to do.
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Best all-rounders
El Baret de Miquel
Miquel Ruiz closed his Michelin-starred restaurant to open something more down-to-earth. He dreamt up this taberna, furnished with homely, mismatched furniture and retro soda siphons. Food is a homage to the local area, with patatas a lo pobre (thinly sliced potatoes) and figatells (Valencian meatballs) served in surprising ways, like figatell maki rolls. It's affordable, too – all part of Ruiz's mission to make good food accessible. Ironically, it's now so popular it's almost impossible to get a table.
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The Guardian
8 hours ago
- The Guardian
What to drink with seafood? Albariño is its natural companion
It's World Albariño Day today – 1 August. I've got a soft spot for arbitrary wine holidays, so I'm marking the occasion by using it as an excuse to spend the weekend guzzling one of my favourite white wines. I've given you notice (sort of), so off you go to your nearest independent or supermarket to pick up something racy and saline. The Guardian's journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. It used to be thought that the albariño grape was brought to Spain by the French monks of Cluny, but that has since been disproved, with no parentage between albariño and burgundian varieties. Rather, the grape is now believed to be an ancient variety that's native to the Iberian coast, with a naturally thick skin providing resistance to the diseases a humid climate can give rise to (alvarinho is the grape's name in northern Portugal, where it's essential in the production of easy-to-love vinho verde). The wines it produces are direct and acidic, with an unmistakable mineral salinity. It's often unoaked, but some producers are having fun by experimenting with barrel-ageing their albariños to give them extra weight and depth. Such wines are often drunk a little later, but most albariño is designed to be drunk within a couple of years of its release. But why August for World Albariño Day? Why not deepest, darkest winter or the yawning, stretching spring? My guess is that it's because the stuff goes down like a homesick mole and works with pretty much anything you'd want to eat when it's hot and sticky outside. Which makes sense when you think of Galician cooking, or indeed other coastal regions that grow albariño, where the cuisine is defined by seafood. What grows together goes together, and all that. A friend of a friend in Galicia says albariño has aguja, unlike most other Spanish wines. The word translates as 'needle', and relates to the verve of top, high-acid albariño, whose unique electricity is best paired with very simple seafood, preferably cooked in salt water, as they do in Galicia. 'It's my go-to picnic wine,' says Jeff Koren, director of wine at The Chancery Rosewood in Mayfair, who loves albariño so much that he once worked a vintage at the vaunted Bodegas Albamar. 'I want to drink it with crudites, Greek salad, prosciutto or jamón with melon, while I'd pair the cool, textured, barrel-aged stuff with anything I'm eating in the summer heat.' The grape's harmonious relationship with coastal regions has brought it to various corners of the world where the vineyards benefit from cooling maritime climates. Areas of New Zealand, California and South America are all producing their own interpretations of this wine, so there are plenty of options for your albariño day celebrations. Apologies for the rather late notice, it will almost definitely happen again. M&S Albariño Uruguay £10 Ocado, 12%. Defined by the Uruguayan coast, this saline wine shows ripe peach and nectarine. Adega de Moncao Trajarinho Vinho Verde £11.95 Jeroboams, 12%. A classically styled vinho verde made from alvarinho and trajadura. Anna's Way Nelson Albariño £11.95 The Wine Society, 14%. From New Zealand, this is all orchard fruit and lively citrus. Bodegas Albamar Albariño £28 Mother Superior, 12%. Made with natural yeasts, this is a great introduction to this experimental producer.
The Sun
9 hours ago
- The Sun
Our dream cruise was like being on a floating WETHERSPOONS with drunk passengers throwing up & kids left coated in soot
A FAMILY have slammed their nightmare £8,000 cruise after drunk passengers turned the ship into a floating Wetherspoons. Iain and Sally Wright, from Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, said the dream holiday turned into chaos after the ship's funnels left their two young kids covered in "black soot". 5 5 5 The couple boarded the MSC Cruises Virtuosa with their two children and mother-in-law on July 12 for a two-week trip across Spain. They thought the ship - hailed as "family-friendly" - would be perfect for their 11-year-old son Jack and eight-year-old daughter Molly. But shortly after boarding, Iain, 41, claims the drunkenness of passengers was "insane". Iain said: "But the level of drunkenness was insane. It was worse than a Wetherspoons. It would take you half an hour to get a drink. It was just horrendous. "It felt like an 18-30s club at times. If you were by the pool, you'd just hear constant swearing and people getting louder through the day. "We just thought 'what have we spent our money on?' It became like Fawlty Towers." On one occasion, Iain says a drunk guest threw up next to the family's table while they were playing Scrabble. After complaining to MSC staff, he said it took an hour for them to mop up the "smelly" mess. Things took a turn for the worse when kids Jack and Molly went on the top deck to see if the water slides were open. They returned "covered in black soot" that had spouted from the ship's funnels, Iain said. Royal Caribbean cruise passengers left 'vomiting' as mystery illness hits vessel & over 140 people are ill on board The furious dad said: "Jack's skin was covered in black stuff, Molly's swimming costume was stained all over her and it was on her arms. "We went down to guest services and told them our kids have been covered in the black soot from the engine I think and she said 'yeah that happens sometimes when we pull away from a port'. "She said we can make a claim about the damaged costume. "While we were there, there were other people complaining to say they'd been covered in the black soot too." 5 Iain went on to explain that Molly started itching and broke out in hives two days later. A doctor told them that she had suffered an allergic reaction from the fumes. The little girl was given hydrocortisone cream to treat the itching. Iain said: "We get accidents happen but customer services just didn't care. They acted like we were the problem for wasting their time. Their only intention was to disprove your complaint." Iain claims the family were even offered a £9 ticket for a premium show on-board the cruise after raising their complaints. The family said they spent the rest of the trip inside their cabin due to the "awful" atmosphere on board the ship. MSC Cruises said they "regretted" that the family's experience did not meet expectations, adding that they would be reaching out to ensure their "concerns are properly reviewed and addressed". 5
Daily Mail
10 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Drunk passenger threw up next to us while we were playing scrabble on 'Wetherspoons on Sea' Med cruise from hell: Brit family describe hiding in their cabin as louts ruined £8,000 voyage
A British family were forced to take refuge in their cabin after their £8,000 'family-friendly' cruise was ruined by drunken louts who turned the ship into ' Wetherspoons on Sea'. Iain and Sally Wright, from Sunderland, stumped up thousands for the voyage which 'looked great for kids' and embarked on a two-week trip across Spain on the MSC Cruises Virtuosa on July 12 alongside their two children, Jack, 11, Molly, 8, and their mother-in-law. But they endured a holiday from hell after they were surrounded by 'an insane level of drunkeness' from rowdy youths, while Molly suffered an allergic reaction after swimming in a pool covered in black soot. Mr Wright, 41, an author, said they tried to leave the cruise halfway through when in Majorca after they were sheltering in their rooms to avoid the 'horrible' atmosphere of 'constant swearing' and drunkness which was 'worse than a Wetherspoons'. One inebriated guest even threw up next to the family's table while they were playing Scrabble. MSC staff took an hour to clean up the 'smelly mess', Mr Wright claims. The holiday was further ruined after Jack and Molly returned from the pool the following day 'covered in black soot', which left the eight-year-old needing medical treatment after suffering an allergic reaction. The family complained to customer servics about the fumes but were told it 'happens sometimes' by staff. They then spent the remainder of the trip inside their cabin to avoid the 'awful' atmosphere, which resembled an '18 to 30s club'. Mr Wright said: 'We wanted to book this cruise because we thought it was a family ship. We thought it looked great for kids. 'We were really looking forward to it. My mother-in-law loves cruises and she said she might have one more left in her so for her, this was going to be her last cruise. 'But the level of drunkenness was insane. It was worse than a Wetherspoons. It would take you half an hour to get a drink. It was just horrendous. 'It felt like an 18 to 30s club at times. If you were by the pool, you'd just hear constant swearing and people getting louder through the day. 'We just thought "what have we spent our money on?" It became like Fawlty Towers. 'We were playing Scrabble on the main pool deck when a drunk passenger just walks by and vomits on the floor right next to our table. 'It smelled. It was left there for over an hour. They couldn't get a cleaner. And when you think about the bugs that go around on cruises, this is basic hygiene.' The Wrights' misery was compounded when Molly was 'covered' in black soot, believed to be 'raining' from the ship's funnels, which left her 'suffering with itching for 24 hours'. 'We were leaving the port and the kids went up to the top deck to see if the water slides were open,' Mr Wright said. 'While they were on that deck, it just rained down black stuff all over them. They came down to tell us and Jack's skin was covered in black stuff, Molly's swimming costume was stained all over her and it was on her arms. 'We went down to guest services and told them our kids have been covered in the black soot from the engine I think and she said "yeah that happens sometimes when we pull away from a port". 'She said we can make a claim about the damaged costume. While we were there, there were other people complaining to say they'd been covered in the black soot too. 'Two days later she started itching and broke out in hives so we went to customer services to see the doctor. 'He said it was an allergic reaction to an external substance. They said it was from the fumes because it was in the area where the fumes had touched her skin. 'They gave her hydrocortisone cream. She suffered with itching for 24 hours but it was a result of her being covered in this soot. It's not acceptable. 'We get accidents happen but customer services just didn't care. They acted like we were the problem for wasting their time. Their only intention was to disprove your complaint.' The family were later offered a £9 ticket for a premium show on-board the cruise after raising their complaints. But Mr Wright wants the cruise line to apologise for the 'disappointing' trip. 'We spent most of the holidays just going out to eat and staying in our cabins because the atmosphere was just awful. 'There were no quiet areas. Everywhere was packed. 'We were looking to disembark halfway through the cruise in Majorca. We felt like we were left with no choice. 'There's a level of basic customer service that we didn't get, whether it's a budget cruise or not. 'We wouldn't step foot on one of their cruises ever again. We got back feeling quite disheartened. It was a lot of money. The kids were disappointed. 'We probably had 12 hours of fun on a two-week cruise. We would love a partial refund because that could go towards booking the holiday that we wanted in the first place. 'They should apologise.' A MSC Cruises spokesperson said they 'take all guest feedback seriously and regret that the Wright family's experience did not meet their expectations. 'As we have not received any additional communication from them since then, our Customer Service team will now reach out to the Wright family directly to ensure their concerns are properly reviewed and addressed.'
