Here you can read our insider guide for best eating out & dining opportunities in Costa Blanca, including best restaurants, outdoor cafes, gastronomy and cuisine. The gastronomy of the Costa Blanca is very fantastic and worth a taste from traditional to nouvelle or avant-garde cuisine as Alicante is undoubtedly the best area of Spain to eat.
Holidaymakers may find the wide range of great restaurants, bars and gastrobars on the Costa Blanca where you may find excellent quality and diversity of the raw materials available both from the sea and vegetable gardens are typically Mediterranean.
Gastronomy & Popular Dishes
Costa Blanca, located in the province of Alicante, is famous for its delicious Mediterranean cuisine. The region is blessed with fertile land and a rich sea, which are used to produce some of the most exquisite dishes in the country. From traditional rice dishes to fresh seafood, the cuisine in Costa Blanca is a must-try for food lovers.
One of the most popular dishes in the region is Paella, a rice dish cooked with saffron, vegetables, and meat or seafood. It’s a staple dish in Valencia, but it’s also widely enjoyed in Costa Blanca. Other rice dishes include Arroz a Banda, Arroz Negro, and Fideuà, which is a noodle-based dish similar to Paella.
Seafood is abundant in Costa Blanca, and it’s used in a variety of dishes. Some popular seafood dishes include Caldereta de Langosta (lobster stew), Gallo Pedro (John Dory fish), and Pulpo a la Gallega (Galician-style octopus). The region is also known for its salted fish dishes, such as mojama (dried tuna) and hueva (dried mullet roe).
Aside from seafood and rice dishes, Costa Blanca is also famous for its cold soups, such as Gazpacho and Salmorejo. These refreshing dishes are perfect for the hot summer months.
For dessert, one must try Turrón, a traditional nougat made from almonds and honey. It’s a popular Christmas treat in Spain, but it can be found year-round in Costa Blanca.
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In addition to traditional cuisine, there are also many fusion and international restaurants in Costa Blanca, catering to all tastes and preferences.
Alicante Wines
Alicante is known for its excellent wines. The city has a long history of winemaking dating back to the Roman era, and today produces a variety of high-quality wines.
The most famous wine produced in the region is the red wine known as Fondillón, which is made from the Monastrell grape. This wine has been made in the region since the 16th century and is known for its dark color, rich flavor, and high alcohol content. It is considered to be one of the best sweet wines in Spain and is often served as a dessert wine.
In addition to Fondillón, Alicante produces a variety of other wines including white wines made from the Macabeo and Moscatel grapes, as well as rosé wines made from Monastrell and Garnacha grapes. The region is also known for its fortified wines such as Moscatel and Mistela.
Rice
Rice is without a doubt one of the most famous and important dishes in the gastronomy of Costa Blanca. There are over 300 recorded different recipes that you can make using rice in Costa Blanca. In the seaside towns, rice dishes are prepared with fish and seafood. Further inland rice is made with meat, pulses and vegetables.
Seafood
Costa Blanca is known for its fresh and delicious seafood. With a coastline stretching over 200 kilometers, there are numerous fishing villages and ports where you can find some of the best seafood in Spain. Some of the popular seafood dishes in the region include:
- Paella: This rice-based dish is a Spanish classic and is often made with seafood. In Costa Blanca, you can find paella made with fresh shrimp, squid, and mussels.
- Arroz a banda: Another rice dish that is popular in the region, arroz a banda is made with fish stock and served with fresh seafood on top.
- Fideuà: This is a type of paella made with thin noodles instead of rice. It is often made with seafood and is a popular dish in coastal towns like Denia.
- Caldero: This is a hearty fish stew that originated in the city of Cartagena. It is made with fish, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, and paprika.
In addition to these dishes, there are also plenty of seafood restaurants in Costa Blanca where you can enjoy fresh fish, grilled octopus, squid ink rice, and more.
If you’re looking for the best seafood in the region, be sure to visit the fishing villages of Denia, Calpe, and Altea. These towns have a long history of fishing and seafood trade and offer some of the freshest seafood you can find in the region.
Dessert
As for sweet and dessert; the Costa Blanca is also famous for its internationally renowned Alicante and Jijona types of nougat. Villajoyosa is famous for its chocolate industry. The town of Jijona is the birthplace of nougat. The Nougat Museum in Jijona and the Chocolate Museum in Villajoyosa is worth a visit.
Hand made ice cream is also popular in the towns of Ibi and Jijona.
Others
There are also many places to visit in Costa Blanca related to gastronomy that include companies, museums, wineries, oil mills and more…
There is a wide range of gastronomic meetings and events taking place in many different locations in Costa Blanca including contests and gastronomic weeks devoted to rice, seafood, stews, and tapas. There are also exhibitions, tastings and food and craft markets.
The “GastroAlicante” that takes place at the IFA exhibition centre in February is one of the most important gastronomy events in Costa Blanca. together with the “Winecanting Summer Festival” that takes place in the Archaeological Museum of Alicante (MARQ) in June.
Michelin Stars Restaurants
There are seven restaurants in Alicante province that have earned nine Michelin stars. The Chef Quique Dacosta has three stars for his restaurant in Denia.
The restaurants that has one Michelin star include; Kiko Moya’s L’Escaleta, Susi Diaz’s La Finca, María José San Román’s Monastrell, Sole, Pepa and Tona’s Casa Pepa, Alberto Ferruz’s Bon Amb and Alfonso Egea’s Casa de Alfonso.
