Eat Like Ushi

The last dinner of the trip was reserved for what was probably the most prevalent name in all the internet recommendations for Alicante. Considering it was awards the best tapas restaurant in Spain at the 2009 Congress of Lo Mejor de la Gastronomia, it isn't surprising that the place is cosy, busy, loud and serving exceptional food.

It was a fantastic place to bring together all of my favourite seafood items into local Spanish tapas style. Wine glasses and jamon hang from the ceiling and the bartenders mix and serve your desires. There is a combination of traditional and modern tapas.

- Ostra special no.4 Gillardeau (1/2 docena) €12.5 - the oysters are from France but it had been a short while since the last time. They were mild strength;
- Sepionets a la planca €8.5 - delicious tender and juicy little squids making eat chewed morsel a memory;
- Atun crudo con citricos y soja €16.5 - one of the few places I found that served raw fish (the best way to eat it!). The tuna had a nice flavour, soft fresh texture and a hint of citrus soy herbs;
- Arroces negro con sepionets, gambita, alcachofas y pimiento rojo €16.5 - squid ink rice with small squids, prawns, artichokes and red peppers as good as it sounds. I wish I had a larger one;
- Mousse chocolate €5.5.

After this dinner, I ended up there the next late afternoon before the night flight back to London.

- Tartar de salmon con eneldo y sesamo €15 - diced salmon with dill and sesame seeds;
- Pulpo al horno con pure de patata €12 - bakes octopus with potato puree.

Both of these were fine but not as memorable as the previous evening. I suppose that's partially my own fault for experimenting with different things rather than the tried and true, but the menu has so many choices (such as prawns, mussels, clams, fish) and I only barely scratched the seafood surface.

In amongst all the traditional tapas places in Alicante, Monastrell stands out for having a modern approach. It shares a building with the TA #1 hotel Amerigo, which I imagine lends itself to having expensive clientele looking for good food and drink at any time of day or evening. Perhaps it is just the name that makes me envisage American business people or flash tourists.

In any case, the class and refined setting of Monastrell didn't deter me although they were very busy with a lot of romantic couples spilling into the corridors the evening before. It was a very different feel around midday just after opening for the day, where one solitary man was enjoying food and a newspaper.

Green olives and a theatrical sliced-bread-in-a-bag with a pipette extra virgin olive oil were presented. Given the holiday opportunity, there was no better time than to kick things off with a red wine cocktail also.

- Tomates de nuestro huerto con burrata y jugo de albahaca (tomatoes from our garden with "burrata" cheese & basil juice) €11 - excellent tomatoes as a modernised salad;
- Bocadillo de calamares "Monastrell" (signature squid sandwich) €14 - a reimagining of toasted flat bread with squid slivers;
- "Roast pork" de presa Iberico con crema de queso manchego, patatas paja y berros (Iberico roast pork with Manchego cheese cream, potato chips & watercress) €16 - the pork reminded me of the texture of sliced beef fillet and contrasted well the fried chips and creamy cheese.

The food is fantastic and the bar setting very refined. The atmosphere is probably more suited to a late evening romantic drinks, but brunch allows a simpler focus on the food. There are so many other menu items I'd like to try - 65 degree huevo, bocadillo de calamares, and if I could afford them, more simple navajas gallegas or gamba roja de Denia.

Around the corner from the guesthouse is Sento. It's a tiny place with a bar for eating and service and an equal number of people standing outside snacking and drinking. Aside from its convenient location, it was listed as TA #2 (I'm sure the location also helped) but also won awards for their tapas in 2013. On this day it was lucky the place was open for an early lunch, as I wouldn't have otherwise been able to fit in all the places on my list.

- bread crisp topped with a fish salad and anchovy;
- Solomillo Pollo (parmesano y crema Italiana) - grilled chicken with parmesan and smothered in thick Modena balsamic;
- potatoes topped with jamon, fried egg and parmesan;
- montadito with beef slices, greens and sauce.

Although I didn't know it at the time, they have a dish called the Lollipop which supposedly won 2013 award for being the best. I'll have to make a trip to try it next time.

Alicante had never appealed to me as a travel destination. Despite my researching Europe trips and looking at the more obscure Ryanair destinations, I only decided upon it at the end of my European life more so because it was an exit terminal after a visit to Valencia. After researching more and more, I began to get more excited. Valencia had the remarkable Ciudad de las Artes y Ciencias and paella, there was a lunch time stopover in Denia for the arguable world's best restaurant Quique Dacosta (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/quique-dacosta-denia-09-2013), the possibility of trying the most renowned paella at Paco Gandia (didn't make it though), and finally exceptional award winning tapas in Alicante.

Apparently Ferran Adria regards Nou Manolin as having some of the best tapas in Spain, which therefore means the world. San Sebastian was in my mind the best tapas I've had so it was a challenge to see how they compared.

The setting is warm and lovely. Food surrounds you as do friendly locals. A large jamon leg is expertly sliced and some prawns and breads line the benches.

- boquerones en vinagre €5- tangy slivers of anchovies;
- gambas rojas a la plancha €17pp - prawns from Denia (possibly the best type in the world after this experience and Quique Dacosta) grilled and topped with salt and lemon. Exceptionally sweet and delicious;
- Piripao (6 montaditos) €12 - a collection of little sandwiches with meats and vegetables. After it arrived it seemed like a rash decision with too much carbohydrates. They were quite simple and not overly exciting;
- nuestras fideuas con rape y almejas €14 - after the paella in Valencia, fideua was something different. I had it once back in 2009 and didn't quite recall whether I liked it or not. This dish was tasty with clam meat and vegetables and the noodles resembled thin chewy Chinese type. Overall I prefer paella but this wasn't bad;
- Crema quemada con frutas €8.

I'd be very happy to return back here and would select prawns, just one montadito and an arroz dish with any combination of seafood.