Benidorm is hosting the sixth annual "Tapas and Pinchos" competition – which starts on Saturday June 4 and lasts until Sunday June 12. It is part of the hugely successful Gastronomy Calendar, which aims to highlight and promote the standard and quality of cuisine on offer here in Benidorm.
In total 28 establishments are taking part, many of which are located down Calle Santo Domingo – better known as Tapas Alley, in the Old Town. Each of the participating restaurants will have a "Concurso Tapas y Pinchos" poster in its window.
The idea is for people to sample a vast range of traditional, as well as innovative Spanish tapas. The price per portion is only 2 euros whichever establishment you go into, which has remained the same price since the competition started.There are 28 for you to try and savor and I think that you'll need the entire week to get through them all!
This year the competition is slightly different for which participants get the chance to win one of two fabulous prizes – a meal for two at any one of the participating restaurants or one night for two people to the Bodega Valdelana and a tour and tasting session of the wines that they produce.
In order to enter you need to visit and sample a minimum of eight of the 28 – get your form stamped, enclose the receipts from each and write the number of the restaurant which produced your favourite.
Tapas Alley really is a must if you come to Benidorm. It is a great introduction to Spanish food and you can pick and choose what you want to try. The descriptions - with ingredients are normally written in both Spanish and English and you can try as many or as few as you like.
There is always a great atmosphere there and although open for lunch the best time to go is at night, when its full and bustling. The noise level - remember the Spaniards are not quiet gets very loud and everyone sits outside on tables and chairs... although there is a little dispute with neighbours over this at the moment, with them complaining that they obstruct too much of the pavement!
