Thanks Holmes!!!

Finally made it to La Palmera restaurant! Members might remember its on the road out of Benidorm, past Benidorm Palace and Camping El Raco, next to Camping Benidorm.

It did not disappoint. Service and food were both excellent. The food is very Spanish, the menus are only in Spanish and the staff speak only a little English so you might need to know your way around a few culinery terms.
We were a party of four and for starters ordered a platter of smoked and salted fish, a bit of a gamble, the signature salad Ensalada Nadal, Sepia and chiporones. Each starter arrived separately to be shared and when the first arrived, the fish platter, we knew we were in for a great evening. The presentation was terrific and the food matched it. The salad was a meal in itself topped with a chunk of Bonito, the fresh Sepia was feast of colour and taste sitting on a sea of salsa verde and the chiporones were fresh not the usual frozen variety.

Main course we had paella for three and goat cutlets for one. The restaurant obviously specialises in rice dishes, paellas and fidueas with a large part of the menu being taken up with them, around 15 variations. We nearly opted for the monk fish and clam paella but played safe with the paella mixta. It was superb, freshly made for us, so if you are not having starters there would probably be a wait. Sure the monk fish paella would have been as good as the clams and large pieces of monk fish in our mixta were delicious.

Everything was presented in an imaginative way, I guess a bit in the style of Gordon Ramsey but the food was pure Spanish and the portions were big. We couldnt finish our paella but were glad we had tried the very different starters.

We did make a bit of room for dessert which was a selection of four very different cakes and ice creams, all outstanding and simply yummy.

The wine list was good with wines ranging from 10 to around 35 euros.

At the end of the meal the waiter deposted 3 bottles of dessert wine/liquers on the table for us to enjoy. There was an excellent Moscatel, a home made lemoncello and the herb liquer, whose name escapes me, which is supposed to help your digestion. We tried them all several times, delicious. A gift of a signature bottle of pot pourri was given to the two ladies, a nice touch.

For serious meat eaters the menu is a bit restricted with only the goat cutlets, and two cuts of steak when we were there. There are also about six fish dishes on offer in addition to the paellas.

Price? Srtarters were about 5 to 10 eoros, rice dishes 10 to 15 and meats and fish 12 to 15 euros.

Service was friendly, attentive , never pushy. Although we were the last in, as usual! and it was late, there was no hurry to get us to leave. The restaurant is a 3 euro taxi ride from the rank at the Rincon end of the Mediterraneo ( 5 euros coming back, I suppose because he had to come up for us)

hi tried paneils last week in the old town ,what a excellent meal ,6 people 3 course meal plus drinks 100 euros,highly recomended,3 course meal is 12 euros each ,give it a try ,thanks kev

An excellent meal is guaranteed at Al Gusto in Denia. Heavily patronised by the Spanish workers at lunch times as it is close to the main area with banks, offices and shops. However, evenings are busy too, so it is worth ringing to book first.

Well you've most certainly convinced me to try La Palmera Wynn, a good Paella is always a treat and this definately sounds the place to have one. I usually prefer to eat fish or seafood in Spain, and the starters you had sound delicious, my tummy's rumbling at the moment. Do you have any idea when they take their hols Wynn, it will be end of Jan when we are there so am hoping they will be open! Thanks for your reccomendation too Laurie do you have the restaurants adddress or phone number. I've never been to Denia yet but have wanted to go for a while so will give it a try at some stage next year!.

Tried your recommendation of Aitona in the Old town Taggy. It was excellent. Loved the whole atmosphere of the place, what a terrific room. All the food was so good but the star dish was the monk fish marinara. Simply superb. The sauce itself was a meal. The big chunks of toasted bread with alioli and tomato were a great start as well while we studed the menu. The other main courses we had were the milk fed lamb, a whole leg each, and sole with almonds. Wonderful service too. Not a vaste wine list but good stuff on it. The wine expert in our group thought the wine list was better than La Palmera.

What we also liked about this place was that as well as people like ouselves out for the full eating experience, there were also people popping in after late night shopping for something simpler such as a platter of fried fish and a jug of beer. It was a real bustling place, without being too noisy. People were still coming in as we left at 11.30 p.m.

Thanks for recommending it Taggy, how many times have we walked past this restaurant without really seeing it! Thought La Palmera was our favourite this week, now we cant decide!

On a lighter note;



Robby

Nice one Robby....I think weve all bumped into someone like him on our travels! - Taggy.

Not sure when La Palmera is closed for holidays Taggy but I would ring before setting off.
Telephone is 96 585 32 82.
We have noticed they are closed some evenings but always seem to be open during the day. Sunday lunchtime is very busy.

Dont know how you are going to fit all this into your next stay!

Thanks Wynn!...Yeah I've got so many places that i want to try now that it will probably take a couple of visits to fit them all in because in Jan only going for 4 nights...anyway its always good to have something to look forward to and will make planning the next trip so much more enjoyable. All the very best for the New Year Wynn I'm off out for a tiny slurp in about 20mins, thanks for all your help and comments, and look forward to hearing from you many times in 2006! Take Care. - Paul.

Thanks for the good wishes Taggy. Hope the New Year is good to you too.

Called in at La Cervacceria on the beachfront near to the Oldtown on our latest visit. I'd never really fancied it before, it seemed a bit too modern looking for me, however it was full of Spanish families having Lunch (Sunday), once we got inside and we had quite a pleasant Tapas meal consisting of Chiperones, Gambas Al Ajillo, Mejillones en Vinagareta & Patatas Bravas we enjoyed it very much. They do quite a good variety of Hot and Cold Tapas served all day, as well as an A la Carte menu too. We also called in at La Cava De La Aragonessa for Tapas and had Pulpitoes con Padron, Boquerones En Vinagre, Mejillones and Tortilla Espanol. It was typically buzzing with life, and most enjoyable. The menu for the downstairs restaurant looked very good too here, and am hoping to give that a try in the not too distant future.

We went to try La Palmera for ourselves this visit....well actually we went to try El Nino but it was closed that evening (Saturday) and i think its more popular for lunch usually, but with La Palmera being literally next door we gave this a try.

It was really very good actually too, we were there early 8pm because we had other people to meet later, and we were the only people there, but it did fill up before we left. We we brought some chopped tomatoes, bread and Olives, then some cheese with peppers and kiwi fruit before we ordered. We had Huge grilled prawns in onion and garlic, and even Hugher Cigalas (think mini Lobster)! to start with. Then we had a fish and seafood paella which was really delicious and filled us up so much we could'nt manage deserts...damn!!! We had a nice white wine with the meal for 14 euros...not a great wine list but adequate. A couple of coffees and some complimentary liquors to finish a rather nice meal. But i must try El Nino next time.

We were also hoping to try the new...ish restaurant at The Belroy Hotel whilst there, its called The Katoria...we had actually booked but had to cancel because E'vonne was'nt too good that night. This looks really nice it is very trendy and minimalistic, with very fashionable interior, furnishings and staff. The condiments on the tables were in little test tubes!!! The menu was mainly spanish with a modern twist, and I would like to hear if anyone has tried it yet. We will next time!!

We also wanted to try the Tapeo Del Mondo which was reccomended in the "mirror" article Sanji posted but it was our last afternoon (Sunday) and it was closed when we got there, so again will try this in the future...did look quite a nice menu though with a few different Tapas to experiment with!.

Best Regards - Taggy

We gave El Meson Segoviana on Avda Del Dr Orts Llorca, a try this time. A very nice cosy little place with check tablecloths. Its a small intimate place with friendly owners, (The owner even made a passing hobo a sandwich whilst we were there) and had a cross section of diners both tourists and locals. We had a tabla of 5 cheeses, and a tabla of 2pate's to start and both followed by having the Cordero al Horno (Oven baked lamb) which was superb, and just melted in the mouth. We drank a bottle of Protos from Ribiera del duero with this and it made for an excellent meal. we were too full after the lamb to consider postres, but finished off with coffees and complimentary liquers. The couple on the next table had a lovely looking paella, and also a grilled Seafood Platter including Lobster, which looked delicious, which i've made a note to try in the future. All in all a very nice experience at a decent price, and we will certainly visit again.

Best Regards - Taggy

The couple on the next table had a lovely looking paella, and also a grilled Seafood Platter including Lobster, which looked delicious,

Nosey.

Sounds like as usual, you enjoyed the culinary delights of Beni not to mention the hospitality of The Ritch Bitch. Fancing having a place saved in the "Muppet Box", very apt.

Seriously Taggy, I'm glad that you enjoyed your break, you deserve it, shame about Evonne not been so well.

Some good descriptive reports, Thank You, I will have to try some of your recommendations sometime. I think that I'll have to diet for a while first though.

Sue

Sue

Thanks Sue..yeah I must admit I am a nosey Sod, I always look to see what others are having, and ask them if i'm not sure what it is!!! Forgot to mention, we also went to Hof Van Holland again as well, and both E'vonne and myself enjoyed it...and she's a picky eater...I had a steak again, so I will have to try something different next time!

Best Regards - Taggy