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TRAVELLER
73
PEÑALVA ON
RESTAURANTS
◆
El Racó del Pla (
42 Calle
Doctor Nieto; tel: +34 965
219373, racodelpla.com
) “The
chef, José Gómez, is a man
who loves to cook.”
◆
La Ereta (
Parque de la Ereta;
tel: +34 965 143250, laereta.es
)
“If I have a friend coming from
outside Alicante, I’ll always take
them here, because the views
and the food are fantastic.”
◆
La Sirena (
14 Avenida de
Madrid, Petrer; tel: +34 965
3717 18, lasirena.net
) “Owners
Mari Carmen and her sister
Lola put so much love into
everything they do.”
◆
El Xato, Nurcia (
3 Avenida
Església, La Nucia: tel: +34
965 870931
) “A family-run
restaurant serving traditional
dishes. The chef, Cristina, has
an incredible touch.”
◆
El Portal (
2 Calle Bilbao;
tel: +34 965 143269,
elportaltaberna.com
)
“The location and the décor is
beautiful, with the wall covered
in flowers.”
ALICANTE
THE CHEF
GEMA PEÑALVA
Before opening her own restaurant this spring, Gema
Peñalva worked as head chef at the highly exclusive
five-star hotel Villa Venecia in Benidorm. Already a rising
star, she was voted one of the best young chefs in Spain in a
2011 competition.
A few years ago, youmight have expected her first
name-above-the-door venture to be a white-tablecloth
exercise in high cuisine. We’ve got the economic downturn
to thank then, for the atmosphere of the wonderful RestoBar
Gema Peñalva (
9CalleCanalejas; tel: +34 965 143736)
. It’s a
comfortably relaxed, tapas-bar take on culinary excellence
and it has already proved a big hit in the city.
“We understand that, at themoment, people are being
more careful with their money,” Peñalva says, “so we’ve tried
to create somewhere with the quality and service of a nice
restaurant, but with tapas portions.”
One secret of her delicious dishes is to start with the
highest quality, local produce and fresh ingredients,
particularly amazing prawns, squid and other seafood.
As a true Alicantina, Peñalva knows that the best place
to get them is the city’s famousMercado Central. “I send
mymother and she always comes back with the best
ingredients you can find,” says Peñalva, revealing yet
another secret of her success.
Left,
Gema Peñalva;
below,
El Portal