ALICANTE CITY - A FEW DAYS AROUND THE CITY

We spent a few days in Alicante City in October.

Arriving late on the Saturday night, we checked into our hotel and then headed to,

Gastrobar Distrikt41 Michelin Plate IIO

Calle de Navas, 41, 03001 Alacant, Alicante

+34 965 181 426

www.distrikt41.es

This is an extraordinarily buzzy and busy bar/restaurant with modern décor and a great ambience. It is run by two chefs originally from the Netherlands.

They have a contemporary à la carte menu with a few Central European influences or a tasting menu. Many of the dishes are given a finishing touch on the grill. You can also sit at the bar to eat, which we did, as we could not get a table. We had,

Banderilla gilda (salty, green, and a little spicy). It was one of the best I have tasted.

Atún rojo con crema fría de pistachos.

Bluefin tuna with a cold pistachio cream.

Solomillo de ternera con salsa de setas y foie.

Beef sirloin, wild mushroom sauce, and foie gras.

Cheese tasting (6 slices).

The place was packed to the rafters this Saturday evening in a convivial atmosphere.

On Sunday evening, we headed to,

Nou Manolín Michelin Plate IIO

Calle de Villegas, 3, 03001 Alicante

+34 965 616 425

www.grupogastronou.com/en/nou-manolin

This well-known spot has two separate areas.

Upstairs is a chic, destination restaurant that does creative seafood dishes that are consistently excellent. Downstairs is a casual, come-as-you-are bar known for its no-fuss tapas, friendly staff, and bottles of local wine from around €15.

We picked a spot at the bar again and started with some very good ostras (oysters), and then,

Lubina.