I used to write regular restaurant reviews for a regional paper and thought that those days were over. Then I visited Restaurante Zinc in Mutxamel and couldn’t resist another review. The building has new Dutch owners and has been given a welcome revival. I knew it as La Venteta about 15 years ago and it was well run by a Belgian man. After he left, standards declined and it was then closed. Now I have high hopes, because the place has an exciting vibrancy, the owners are convivial and the quality of meals served is exceptional. The old building and grounds are full of character and situated on a quiet road between Mutxamel and Tangel. There is a covered terrace with tables overlooking a pleasant garden and this combines to make a perfect rural setting for a restaurateur wanting to build a reputation. Welcome to Marcel, a chef with flair. He ran a successful restaurant in Rotterdam, also called Zinc, with his wife, Linda, and they have now sold up and moved to Spain. They are joined in this venture by Petar and, together, they exude energy, enthusiasm and personality. The menu is small and changed every two weeks. Although they only opened in June, my wife and I have already dined there three times and enjoyed each occasion. With a limited menu, it's necessary to trust the chef and be adventurous. For instance, on my last visit I started with veal tartare, something I haven’t tried before. With the addition of cauliflower florets, pancetta and truffle vinaigrette, the effect was very pleasing. My main course was seared tuna steak, tomato, black olives, almonds and bagna cauda (a garlic and anchovy paste), and dessert was lemon tart with raspberries and artisan lemon ice cream. As we often do, my wife contrasted my choice and ordered marinated salmon, fillet steak with foie and the chef’s interpretation of Eton mess. We like to try each other’s meals and I would have been equally happy with hers. We both feel that the chef knows how to bring the best out of his dishes. He has a distinctive style of cooking, elaborating on natural flavours to provide a meal full of satisfying tastes. The ingredients are of a high standard and the flavours fantastic. The three courses cost 29.50€, without drink, and this represents fair value for the meal and surroundings. The restaurant is open Thursday to Sunday, for lunch and dinner and you can check the current menu and details on their website restaurantezinc.com For those not living locally, you may wish to stay in one of their comfortable, well-furnished bedrooms …….. and then walk downstairs for a lovely meal. Well worth a visit. |
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When someone has the luxury of retirement in Spain, they’re frequently asked 'What do you do all day?' I'll tell you what I did today - I spent time unravelling a flight booking. My wife and I had booked return flights to Venice with Iberia and this entailed a change of plane in Madrid, with just over an hour before the connecting flights took off. We’ll only have hand luggage, so considered this sufficient time to navigate the route through the terminal. The flights were reserved with Iberia, but the first leg to Madrid was with Air Nostrum and then Iberia to Venice, with similar flights on the return. About a month after booking, we had notification that the return flight from Madrid to Alicante had been cancelled and we were rebooked onto a later flight, leaving us with about 5 hours wait at the airport; unfortunate, but we were philosophical and accepted it without a fuss. After all, airports are interesting places and a good location to people-watch. We then received a second email telling us that the flight from Alicante to Madrid had been rescheduled to leave 15 minutes later, giving us only 50 minutes before the next flight. This was a concern as we envisaged the possibility of a late arrival and rush to find the gate for the next flight, but assumed that Iberia knew what they were doing and we accepted it. Then we had a further notification that the flight had been put forward another 10 minutes, giving us only 40 minutes between flights. Surely this was making the transfer time too tight and we were uneasy about the situation. Although I knew that Iberia took responsibility for the timing between connections, I still didn’t want to be stuck in Madrid when we had plans arranged in Venice. I looked up the number for Iberia and phoned them for advice, but was kept on hold for so long that I gave up. The website said that an alternative was to visit their local office and I noted that they had one at the airport, which is a 30 minute drive away. This morning, we drove to the airport and spoke to the Iberia representative who told us that they allocated a minimum of 45 minutes between a connecting flight and, as we had less than that, they would change the flight. Why hadn’t we been told that before? I would have thought the onus is on the airline, not the passenger, to ensure that there is sufficient time to catch a connecting flight. The company would know the layout of an airport better than the passenger. The woman at the counter, efficient though she was, frustratingly told us that she couldn’t change the flight herself as they only dealt with local airport business. We would need to phone Iberia and she gave us another number, which she assured us would be answered and was for 'customer service'. I was doubtful and asked to use her phone, but she said that wasn’t possible. So, we drove home and tried the number, which, surprisingly, was answered straight away. Within minutes, but without an apology, the flight had been changed for an earlier one and, although we now have 4 hours to wait at Madrid airport, I feel more relaxed. What I'm annoyed about is that the airline hadn’t contacted us when they reduced the connection time below their allowance. Surely their computer system should flag up the need to react to any change. Also, when speaking with 'customer service', I would have expected an apology as well as efficiency, but only received the latter. What a shame that the impression I have of Iberia is tarnished before I've even flown with them. I’ll accept that bookings sometimes need to be changed by airline companies, particularly if arranged some months before a flight, but those companies should consider the effects those changes may have on their customers and they should handle the situation with respect. Nonchalantly changing a flight and not considering the customer is one-sided and bad service. To have a department titled 'customer service', yet giving the impression that the customer is unimportant, just adds fuel to the fire. It’ll now take us eight and a half hours to get to our destination and even longer to return, but we’ll see it as part of the holiday and not complain any more. We’re looking forward to our time in Venice and we won’t let the extended time of the journey cast a shadow over the experience of visiting such an exciting city. My wife and I have just enjoyed lunch at a vegan restaurant in Alicante; the food was superb with seasonings, spices and flavours to satisfy the most fastidious diner. The establishment has just reopened after a month of reorganisation and we'd wondered what the changes would be. At first, it just seemed that some of the walls had been painted white, but there was more to come. The owner has taken the opportunity to introduce some environmentally-friendly measures; but has he thought them through and do they improve the diners' experience? A small notice near the entrance explained his mission objective, which includes a no-paper and no-plastic policy, using filtered water and sourcing items made of recycled materials where possible. An amicable waiter greeted us and showed us to a table. Instead of giving us written menus, he read from a tablet. Gone were the mouth-watering explanations in the written form; he read it like a shopping list which failed to conjure up a picture. The waiter explained that we could see the menu from an app on our mobile, but that didn't appeal and he passed us the tablet. The menu was a few brief words on the screen, nothing more. The plates and dishes were now of a recycled material which were lightweight and felt cheap. Ironically, I wondered what had happened to the old dishes; had they been recycled or thrown away? Filtered water was served in a carafe, which was an improvement rather than using plastic bottles and, for the diner, the change to linen napkins instead of paper was also a refinement. However, the disappearance of paper place mats left the laminated tables somewhat bare. The restaurant also does take-away, however, I noticed that these were served in tin-foil containers and placed in plastic bags; something for the owner still to consider. The change in policy made for a lively debate with my wife. She was enthusiastic and said that most young people these days would use their mobile to see the menu, would embrace the changes, and would welcome the conscious steps the owner was taking towards saving our planet. I agreed that avoiding waste is good, but wondered whether the changes had been misjudged and could have been made more customer-friendly. Why not have blackboards to display the menu in a more enticing way? A few explanations posted on the walls could also involve the diner more, as information at the moment is only passed on by the waiter and we had to depend on his explanations. We were only told just before we left that the drinking water in carafes was unlimited. As for the napkins, was the environmental advantage over paper negated by the need to wash every one of them regularly in hot, soapy water? My wife insisted that doing something is better than doing nothing and I had to agree with that. The food in this restaurant is always exceptional and a welcome surprise in a somewhat ordinary setting. The fact that it's vegan is unusual and I'm proof that you don't need to be vegan to enjoy it. I applaud the owner for being environmentally aware and I'll return, but that won't change my scepticism about how we can save the world for a future generation. As so often happens when eating out in Spain, the opportunity to share food is encouraged at Arrels Restaurant in Alcoy. I visited there with a friend who wanted to introduce me to one of his favourite restaurants in his home city and I willingly agreed. Alcoy, about 50 kms from Alicante, is an industrial and university city, but is perhaps now best known for its Moors and Christians Festival held there every April. The city’s patron saint, as in England, is Saint George (San Jorge), who, legend has it, gave the citizens victory over their enemy. Arrels rates no1of 88 on Tripadvisor for moderately-priced restaurants in Alcoy, so already has a good reputation and it's necessary to reserve a table in advance. I was, therefore, surprised that my initial impression was of ample space between the tables, as if the owner wasn't maximising on his popularity. The restaurant is open for lunch every day except Monday and for dinner from Thursday to Saturday. There is a menú del día during the weekday lunchtimes, but as we went on a Saturday, were offered an á la carte or tasting menu. We chose the latter, which is often an opportunity to try unusual dishes. Each course, except the main, was placed in the centre of the table for us to portion and share. We started with moist Spanish ham on a light crispbread and followed that by slices of seared tuna with a seaweed salad. Next was a spring roll of pork and vegetables accompanied by a sweet-spicy sauce. The tastes were exquisite and I was really enjoying the experience. My friend, a wine lover, had ordered a bottle of Las Ocho, a delicious red wine from the Requena region of Valencia and prepared with eight different types of grapes; we slowly savoured the tastes as we ate and drank. Strips of pork belly with crisp crackling was our fourth dish and, as a good contrast, the next plate was thin slices of octopus on a bed of creamed potato blackened with the ink of the octopus. Our main course was creamy rice with cod and small pieces of raw cauliflower and beans, giving texture to the interesting combination. The dessert was, in fact, two dishes to share. One was a chocolate sponge filled with warm, rich chocolate, and the other was Rossegons, a Valencian sweet which I was to discover, is made from eggs, sugar and almonds. What a successful meal that was; certainly satisfying my desire to taste something different. The tasting menu was 21€ per person, excluding drink, and was served by pleasant, attentive staff who were prepared to explain the dishes and give friendly advice. The restaurant advertises itself as offering a fusion of Mediterranean, Spanish and Asian foods and it certainly demonstrated that with our meal. It's definitely a restaurant that I'd recommend and, for the less adventurous, there is always the á la carte. Arrels has a website www.restaurantarrels.com and a Facebook page. It is located at Calle Agres, 6, Alcoy; telephone 965 030 812. My ideal restaurant is one that has superb food, a warm atmosphere and pleasant, efficient staff - all at a sensible price. That perfect combination is rarely found, so having discovered it, I want to spread the good news. In truth, I first went with my wife to L'Atelier Restaurant in Alicante some time ago and have often returned there; each time the experience has been wonderful. It simply is one of the best restaurants that I've been to. Located in a back street behind the cathedral in the old part of Alicante, it's not a place you're likely to stumble across, but enough people have found it to ensure that it’s always busy, so reservations are strongly recommended. The owners are a husband and wife team, with the wife efficiently running the front of house while her husband is quietly creating in the kitchen. Although there are special menus available, most people choose the daily menu which changes each day at lunchtime and weekly for dinner. They offer a Mediterranean menu, although I'd still like to define what that really means. Certainly, the restaurant is only two minutes from the sea, so I won’t dwell on that. The price of the daily menu varies slightly depending on the selection, but is about 17€ to 22€ for four or five courses. As an example, on our last visit, the menu started with an appetiser of marinated olives and then a first course of millefeuille of roasted vegetables with alioli cream. This was followed by delicious creamy rice with cuttlefish and prawns. A small sorbet of red berries was served before the main course; we ordered double-cooked lamb medallion on a bed of diced vegetables, but could have chosen a casserole of sea bass and mussels, or even had it as an extra course before the meat. The dessert was a light chocolate sponge topped with rich chocolate mousse and white chocolate flakes. The chef presents each dish with care and aims to please the eye; he combines the ingredients thoughtfully for taste, and seasons the food perfectly to enhance the flavours. It really is a treat for the senses when you dine at L'Atelier. Warm, homemade, bread rolls are served with the meal; drinks and coffee are extra. The walls are of original, old stone and covered in places by large, original paintings; soft jazz music plays quietly in the background; white linen is used on the tables and for the napkins, and the staff are always pleasant and attentive - all of which creates the desired atmosphere of a welcoming location. Going to a restaurant is never just about the food and the thought of dining at L'Atelier excites me. This place sets a standard that few others attain. The restaurant is open for lunch Monday to Saturday and dinner Thursday to Saturday. Telephone 965 206 287. For more details and reservations online, go to their website, which is in English and Spanish, www.latelieralicante.es |
About me Hi, I'm Robin Hardy. I was born and educated in London and followed a career in hotel and catering management. After taking early retirement, my wife, Beatrix, and I moved to Alicante, Spain. Archives
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