Cheesecake or, as it is known in Spanish, tarta de queso, is a classic dessert that we can find in traditional and modern restaurants alike. Fancy going on a route to sample tarta de queso in different parts of Spain?

If you're still undecided about where to go this summer, we're about to make it easy for you. We have prepared a few ideas, both popular and less well known, that will get people talking this year.

Alicante is a synonym for Mediterranean cuisine and is not in vain that one of the best chefs worldwide, Ferran Adrià, said Alicante is, without question, the Spanish province where you eat better.

We love Mediterranean cuisine and this is why we want to offer a selection of 5 products that you have to try in Alicante, and we also advice you where to try them. Some of the products and restaurants might be missing, but take this approach to the gastronomy from Alicante as a starter. In this situation, a local would tell you: “anem a fer una picaeta” (a tradition from the little town of Alcoi, based in a round of tapas, toasts and little sandwiches).

Rice: The rice grows in Valencia and cooks in Alicante, or so it goes in a popular saying. If we want to fully discover the cuisine from Alicante, we must try paella at Restaurante Casa Riquelme. In paellas you can find all kind of ingredients, from fish and seafood to fresh products grown in the fields of the country, accompanied by chicken, rabbit or even snails. Eating at Casa Riquelme (Vázquez de Mella, 17), any midday from Wednesday to Sunday, is a synonym for fine dining. Find more information in this link

Wines: With its own protected designation of origin since mid-20th century. In Alicante you can taste a wine that mixes two kind of grapes, original from the region: monastrell and moscatel. The mistelle wine is original from this land. At Bodega de Meyos (Avenida Condomina, 40) in Alicante we can taste wine by the glass and accompany it with good food, all for a very fair price. We can also buy wine bottles; in fact this was originally a wine shop. 

Horchata: In hot weather, is common to see locals tasting a horchata in any terrace. This precious beverage made of tigernuts (chufas) is one of the most exported products. Don’t forget to go to Horchatería Azul (Calderón de la Barca, 36) to drink this refreshment and accompany it of fartons or the delicious almond pastry (coca de almendras). It’s closed on winter, but is considered for many people the best horchatería in Alicante, a traditional place.

Nougats: Another product Alicante is well known for. This is one of the main products to eat on Christmas, in Spain, and is always in the dinning table with the own local varieties: Jijona nougat and Alicante nougat. If you are in Alicante, try them at Espí (Avenida Alfonso X el Sabio, 4) and, if you want to make a very good impression, buy some as a gift for the upcoming Christmas time.

Pastry: cocas de tonyina (a fine pie stuffed with tuna) are very typical food for the Hogueras de San Juan, on the summer solstice. We can eat them at La Ibense (Calle de Portugal, 38), not only on summer. In this place you can also try delicious pizza portions or the traditional pastry (coca de mollita) with chocolate.

We could continue with other typical products of the region, like the worldwide known stuffed olives from Alcoi o the chocolate Valor, but we can keep that for upcoming gastronomic visits.

For now, as locals in Alicante say: “que aprofite”!!!!

Image from Les Haines

Why not take a trip to Alicante? Have a look at our flights here!

Bar Calders

At Bar Calders, first opened in mid-March 2011 and located on the corner of Calle Parlament and Passatge de Pere Calders, their goal has been to pay tribute to this great writer in their own special way.

Enjoying their gin & tonics on the peaceful Andalusian-style terrace is an absolute joy. The owners, Ramón Lamarca and his son Marc, pour them with great care, adding a few juniper berries and never without a cheery smile.

Bar Calders
25 Carrer Parlament, 08015 Barcelona
933299349
Opening times: 08:30 to 02:00-03:00

Úbeda Gin&Tapas

Úbeda has become one of the fashionable places to have a drink in Barcelona, especially now that the gin & tonic has moved away from only being a favourite among the older population and has now been embraced by young people too. Úbeda has received much recognition for its cocktails.
Javier Úbeda is the founder and also responsible for the décor, in which his artistic side comes across strongly through the numerous paintings, works of art and small details that make this place so welcoming.
The menu includes a wide range of gins, all of which are served with Fever-Tree tonic: Citadelle Gin Reserve 2008, Blackwood, Bulldog, Hendrick’s, Plymouth and Seagram’s, among many others.

Úbeda
202 Valencia | 133 Josep Tarradellas | 339 Córcega

Pesca Salada

Pesca Salada still conserves the old sign bearing the name of this local shop and the old fridges that now hide the toilets. Apart from that, the place has been renovated to look like a huge tin of sardines: an original ceiling of gold and silver scales; a mosaic floor designed to look like waves; the painted vinyls; a fish tank with hanging fish; and a beach with cocktail umbrellas. All of this fits into a small bar with wooden tables and chairs in the very heart of Raval.

They prepare all kinds of cocktails with a particular focus on the gin & tonic. Iván explains that they have more than 24 different types of gin for preparing gin & tonics with great care for a price of between € 6 and € 9, all of which can be mixed with Brand Tonic, Fever Tree or Fentimans, to mention just three.

Pesca Salada
32 Calle de la Cera, 08001 Barcelona

Cassette Bar

The nostalgic look of the 80’s returns to the Raval district of Barcelona at Bar Cassette.
The interior décor is based on lamps made from cassette tapes. The entrance window is decorated with old cassette decks, music posters and other vintage items. Although the place is small, there is an even more intimate area resembling your own living room complete with the settee, lamp and typical picture on the wall.
The two owners of Bar Cassette, Laura and Fabio, both from La Rioja, prepare numerous cocktails (particularly gin & tonics) with great care and include a free tapa until 22:30.

Cassette Bar
11 Calle del Este, 08001 Barcelona
933 028 509

Tirsa Cocktail Bar

Tirsa is a family business that has gradually become increasingly specialised. It is now one of the best cocktail bars in the city. The experienced barman, Manel Tirvió will advise you on the gin & tonic that best suits your tastes as they do not have a fixed menu.
It used to be a grocery store but the business was adapted in line with the great passion the owner had for the world of cocktails.
They serve gin & tonics in a tall glass with only two ice cubes so the drink never gets watered down and maintains the original flavours from the first sip until the last.

174 Calle de Rafael Campalans, 08903 L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona
93 431 23 02

Bar Elephanta

Bar Elephanta offers gins from all over the world, different tonics and various options to add a twist so that everyone can find the combination of flavours they like the most.

Here’s how it works: first you have to pick the gin you like the most from the list of 36 different varieties at prices that range from € 6 to € 11; then pick a twist from a list that includes lime, lemon, grapefruit or mandarin, such classics as the juniper berry or lime, flower-fruits such as natural rose petals or fruits of the forest, herbs such as fresh rosemary, mint and arbequino olives or spices such as black pepper, coffee, liquorice, cardamom and lemon or nutmeg; finally, you pick a tonic. A Schweppes is included in the price of the gin but if you want a special mixer, choose the catalane tonic, Boylan or 6 O’clock for an extra euro.

If you think all those choices might be too complicated, you can pick straight from a list of house suggestions that includes a Blackwood with meta strawberry, a twist of lime and Boylan tonic for € 10.

Elephanta Bar
37 Carrer del Torrent de Vidalet, 08012 Barcelona
Tel.: 932 376 906
Open every day. Monday to Saturday from 18:00. Sundays from 17:00.

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