Where to eat paella in Alicante

In Alicante rice is not a tourist dish: it is the weekend meal. The local base is not the meat-based Valencian paella but rock-fish stock with ñora pepper and sofrito, cooked in a wide pan and served dry, with loose grains in a thin layer.

From that base come the two rices that define the city: arroz a banda, inherited from the fishermen's quarters, and arroz del senyoret, the peeled version. Around them live the Valencian paella, seafood paella, black rice, Sunday baked rice and the inland rices with rabbit and snails.

Almost all of them are cooked to order, need thirty to forty-five minutes, are served only at lunchtime and require a minimum of two people. Prices are quoted per person.

We reviewed recent menus from the restaurants and arrocerías of Alicante listed on VamosAlicante: 47 rice dishes across 10 houses, with reference prices between 12,00 € and 36,00 € per person.

These are reference prices taken from recent menus, not official rates. They can change without notice: confirm when you book.

Rock-fish stock, tomato and ñora sofrito, and shellfish in plain view: prawn, langoustine, mussel, cuttlefish or squid depending on the day's catch. Ask whether the seafood is fresh or frozen before you sit down.

Where to eat it

Restaurant	Ref. price
Restaurante Casa Domingo	17,00 €
LLa Dársena	32,00 € – 36,00 €

Artichoke, beans, cauliflower, pepper and garrofón over vegetable stock. In Alicante it is often served with pork loin, so check the stock if you need it meat-free.

Where to eat it

Restaurant	Ref. price
Restaurante Casa Domingo	15,00 € – 16,00 €
Restaurante Piripi	20,00 € – 24,00 €
LLa Dársena	23,00 € – 25,00 €
Nou Manolín	24,00 €

Alicante's own rice, born in the fishermen's quarters: the fish was boiled first and the rice cooked in that stock, served apart — a banda. It arrives dry and golden with nothing on top and is eaten with alioli.

Where to eat it

Restaurant	Ref. price
Terre	14,50 €
Restaurante Casa Domingo	15,00 €
Arrocería Casa Pepe	16,40 €
El Caldero	16,50 €
GGovana Alicante	18,90 €
LLa Dársena	26,00 €
Restaurante Piripi	27,50 € – 28,50 €
Nou Manolín	28,50 €

The same base as a banda but with everything peeled: prawn, cuttlefish and squid without shells or heads, so you never dirty your hands. The most ordered rice downtown and on Playa de San Juan.

Where to eat it

Restaurant	Ref. price
El Caldero	19,00 €
GGovana Alicante	19,90 €
Arrocería Casa Pepe	20,35 €
Restaurante Maestral	25,00 €
LLa Dársena	30,00 €

Cuttlefish or squid ink over fish stock: intense, slightly sweet and with an iodine finish, almost always served with alioli. It is usually dry; ask if you prefer it creamy.

Where to eat it

Restaurant	Ref. price
Restaurante Casa Domingo	15,00 €
GGovana Alicante	18,90 €
Restaurante Piripi	24,00 €
LLa Dársena	28,00 €

A Bajo Vinalopó dish, very typical of Elche: rice with sausage and meat finished in the oven under beaten egg that sets into a golden crust. In Alicante city it appears on fixed weekdays as a set-menu dish.

Where to eat it

Restaurant	Ref. price
CERVECERÍA PORTABELLA RESTAURANTE	12,00 €

Stew rice with chickpeas, blood sausage, pork belly and potato, cooked in a clay dish and finished in the oven. A Sunday and winter rice, often served only one day a week.

Where to eat it

Restaurant	Ref. price
Restaurante Piripi	20,00 € – 23,00 €
Nou Manolín	23,00 €
LLa Dársena	27,00 €

The inland rice of the province: rabbit, mountain snails, rosemary and sometimes chicken stock. Dry and earthy, far from the harbour rices, and mostly found in country eateries.

Where to eat it

Restaurant	Ref. price
Arrocería Casa Pepe	19,70 €
Restaurante Piripi	23,00 € – 27,00 €
Nou Manolín	27,00 €

An old-school Alicante offal rice, gelatinous and filling, kept alive by only a few houses. When it appears it is usually to order or on a seasonal menu.

Where to eat it

Usually served soupy or creamy with the lobster split over the rice. It is the most expensive rice on almost any menu: ask whether the price is per person and whether the lobster is included or weighed separately.

Where to eat it

Restaurant	Ref. price
Restaurante Casa Domingo	22,00 €
Arrocería Casa Pepe	29,15 €
GGovana Alicante	30,50 €
El Caldero	33,00 €

Complete list of paellas and rice dishes with a reference price found in the menus we reviewed, from cheapest to most expensive.

Reference prices per person based on recent menus.

• If you want the classic paella: paella valenciana, with chicken, rabbit, beans and garrofón.
• If you prefer seafood: seafood paella to see it in the pan, or arroz del senyoret to eat it peeled.
• If you want the local rice: arroz a banda, the city's reference dish.
• If you want intense flavour: black rice with alioli.
• If you come in winter or on a Sunday: baked rice or arroz con costra.