By now you must be thinking is there nowhere that is bad to eat around here - well, I wont be reviewing MacDonalds or Burger King but generally, taking into account what you pay, I haven't really had a bad experience so far. It must always be measured against what you pay - clearly I expect more for a 60€ dinner than I do for a menu del dia at 8,50€! I was not impressed at all with La Visteta in Barx but will be going there for a meal again sometime in the next month and will update the review I have already done.
You will have gathered that most of these reviews are about lunch - there are two reasons for this - I love to lunch, although I like dinner, I love to lunch - and also the value tends to be better, no matter which country. When in the UK, my partner and I ate in some of the best restaurants in London and elsewhere - but normally at lunchtime, when a cheaper menu will be available, and of course Spain takes that to a whole new level!!
In Gandia, we have also eaten at La Vila, Puturru de Foie, Alameda and Casa Sanchis. No bad reviews but it is my intention to eat in each of these again and do a proper review.
La Vila, we have eaten in twice - once a la carte in the evening and once their Menu Piceata in the evening, good value at 14€ per head, including a drink and coffee. The Menu Picaeta has 5 tapas and your choice of a tostada - like an open hot toasted sandwich, with a variety of toppings. This is a menu favoured by groups. My memory of the a la carte, nearly a year ago now, is that it was very good.
Puturru de Foie, I love. Two reasons, it has a garden which is an oasis away from busy Paseo Germanies which is where it is situated and the menu, eaten in the garden on sunny days, is great value at 10€, including dessert, coffee and a drink. A nice of glass of wine in a decent glass, and it feels like a luxurious occasion. There are more expensive lunch menus and the portions are more 'nouvelle Spain' than a bar menu del dia, but its tasty food, not mean portions and a great experience.
We stop by Alameda quite a lot on a Saturday lunchtime, where they will serve a tapa with your drink - we have never had the same one twice. We came here for New Year, as the town's celebrations are based at the Plaza del Prado, which is where Alameda is situated. The New Year Menu, which included - 5 courses, your New Year Party bag, wine and (for us anyway as it was one per table) a bottle of cava at midnight. The food was good, the atmosphere festive and then you go out and listen to the live music in the square.
Casa Sanchis is a tapas bar, mainly. The menu is in Valenciana, but if you cant make it out, the bar staff can tell you in Spanish. They have many of their tapas on the bar and last time I was there, we tried some very different tapas like blood and onions (which we have had before in the area) and a seaweedy thing with tiny, tiny prawns - I don't love the blood and onions - very strong and rich - and the prawn thing was very salty but good. Fortunately they also do a lot of very good, more recognizable tapas, so don't let those two dishes put you off.
I will do a brief review of Restarante Riff in Valencia shortly and then I hope to return to 'live' reviews.
