Whether you're looking for a cosy, casual tapas bar or a complete upscale restaurant experience, these eateries will deliver pure Spanish gastronomy cooked fresh with local ingredients and artisan techniques handed down from generation to generation.

From the money-saving Menú del día, mouthwatering tapas, and sharing platters, to Spanish rice dishes, paellas, and exotic Valencian broths and stews – you'll find it all right here in Orihuela Costa.

Here's our list of all the Spanish restaurants and tapas bars in Orihuela Costa for the summer season, recommended by other members of our community. A world of culinary delights awaits you, and you have to try them all!

Restaurante La Mirada, La Zenia

An unparalleled location with spectacular views across Cala Bosque beach. An extensive selection of authentic tapas and an international menu offering traditional Spanish specialities and international dishes. Open every day.

A large terrace on the beach itself overlooks the Mediterranean Sea. The venue offers an Olympic-size swimming pool, sunbeds for hire, and a beach bar during the summer months. Lift access to all levels for persons with limited mobility.

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Restaurante Rianxeira, Cabo Roig

More than 30 authentic Spanish tapas dishes to sample with Menú del día options and an a la carte menu. Fish, meat, paellas, and pizzas with a dedicated children's menu. Cosy outside terrace and open six days a week for lunch and dinner.

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Restaurante Los Cucalos, Los Dolses

Specialising in authentic Spanish rice dishes, prepared meat, fresh fish and seafood. One of the largest Spanish restaurants in Orihuela Costa with a dedicated playground for children and plentiful parking. An excellent local reputation.

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Restaurante Casa Adolfo, Cabo Roig

One of the most established family-owned Spanish tapas restaurants, located in La Regia since 1967. Authentic tapas with a menu of fresh food that changes daily. Open Monday to Saturday for coffee, breakfast, and lunch from 08:00 until 17:00.

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Delpuerto Chiringuito, Dehesa de Campoamor

A traditional beachfront restaurant with commanding views over Barranco Rubio beach. An excellent selection of mouthwatering Spanish tapas, and Menú del día or a la carte menus with fresh ingredients. Open year-round with seasonal opening hours.

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Restaurante Doña Isabel, San Miguel de Salinas

An unassuming facade hides a Spanish restaurant that punches above its weight. Open for lunch and dinner with Menú del Día and Menú del Noche options available, offering great value. Traditional Spanish dishes are also available a la carte.

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El Pony Restaurante, Campoamor

Often overlooked, this small but upscale restaurant serves the finest Spanish cuisine. Tapas, salads, and Valencian rice dishes, with a fixed price Menú del Día at lunch and a sharing menu for dinner. Check out the menu on their website.

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Restaurante La Bahia, Cabo Roig

A genuinely idyllic location for this authentic tapas bar and restaurant overlooking the magnificent Cala La Caleta beach in Cabo Roig. Often featured in the UK TV show “A Place in The Sun”, the venue's terrace is located immediately at the water's edge.

Visitors can choose from a menu of small tapas (Pinchos) and light bites from the bar, or a full a la carte menu of Spanish rice, meat and fish dishes in the restaurant. Menus are available in English, Spanish, Russian and French.

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Resto Bar Ili's, Los Altos

Super-authentic family restaurant with a spacious outside terrace. Menú del Día and tapas menu options with Spanish seasonal menu choices offered daily. Open 6 days a week (closed Sunday) for breakfast, lunch and dinner sittings. A hidden gem.

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La Cibeles Bar, Punta Prima

Highly recommended by members of the La Zenia community, La Cibeles Bar offers a variety of authentic tapas and main meals. Dining room or terrace for al fresco eating. Open every day from 10:00 for breakfast, lunch, and dinner services.

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Restaurante Los Angeles, Campoamor

A beautiful restaurant with an elevated terrace overlooking the marina and the Mediterranean Sea. The menu is unsurprisingly fish-focused, with an extensive range of seafood, lobster, octopus, and squid – an unparalleled dining experience.

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Mesón Rincón de Paco, San Miguel de Salinas

Often recommended by group members for the finest authentic Spanish tapas. Family-style restaurant with outdoor seating and a menu of traditional fish and meat dishes. Open for lunch and dinner service every day except Monday.

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Restaurante Nautilus, Punta Prima

It's not possible to get a dining experience closer to the sea. A Spanish restaurant built on a rocky outcrop overlooking the sea and the beach in Punta Prima. Formal dining room or wrap-around terrace, both just a few metres from the water's edge.

An extensive menu of authentic delicacies, meats and fish. International options include burgers and pizzas. A fully-stocked bar with an exceptional choice of wines, and a rear terrace overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Open daily, read our review.

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Mesón El Prado, San Miguel de Salinas

A traditional Spanish restaurant tucked away down a side street. Stunning covered terrace area and a large dining room to enjoy the authentic menu of freshly cooked food. Menú del Día and Spanish stews with fish or meat a speciality of the house.

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Cafetería Violetas, Playa Flamenca

A cosy Spanish eatery close to Playa Flamenca beach. Authentic Valencian paella and rice dishes are a speciality. Outside terrace for an al fresco dining experience, open seasonally for Spanish breakfasts, lunch and dinner.

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La Barraca de Campoamor, Dehesa de Campoamor

Established since 1975, this traditional Spanish restaurant enjoys a beautiful location with idyllic Mediterranean Sea views. A la carte menu with meat, fish, and paella. Open daily for lunch and dinner service, closed in the winter.

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Restaurante Casa Manolo, La Zenia

A popular location close to Cala Bosque Beach in La Zenia. Pizzeria, paellas and authentic regional rice dishes, and speciality ice creams. Large outside terrace. Open every day from 08:30 until 23:00 (Tuesday to Sunday during the winter).

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Patio Andaluz, Punta Prima

Established in 1973, this authentic Spanish restaurant offers a traditional Spanish meat-focused menu with fish dishes and Valencian paellas. A seasonal venue with live music daily during the summer, and a spectacular Flamenco show three times a week.

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La Braseria, Dehesa de Campoamor

Located inside the La Fuente commercial centre, La Braseria offers a traditional Spanish menu of Biscayan-style fish and Iberian meats. Large outside terrace and covered terrace. Open seven days a week with dinner service only from 17:00.

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Looking for holiday ideas and travel inspiration? Find out more about our favourite recommended things to do on the Orihuela Costa or join the La Zenia community Facebook group and find out what's going on in the local area.

The creative team took an empty and unloved commercial unit in a prime location just moments away from La Zenia's Cala Bosque beach, and designed a contemporary and welcoming dining space.

An equally fashionable menu soon followed, with a heavy focus on home-cooked healthy food for those with an aversion to alternative processed fast-food choices.

Appreciation of the importance of the occasional devilish sweet treat and an inherent love of baking soon spurned an array of accompanying glamorous desserts: layered cheesecakes, fruity mousses, and cheeky cookies fit for a gastronomic catwalk.

Makai Cafe reopened in February last year after an extensive renovation, with an expanded dining room creating a spacious environment that fuses fresh Mediterranean colours with tasteful decorative touches.

Makai Cafe, contemporary food in beautiful surroundings

An extensive covered terrace outside provides European cafe-style streetside seating comfortably off-road, and the street is relatively quiet with very little passing traffic.

The menu is sharply focused on the requirements of daytime diners, with healthy or hearty breakfast and lunch options – many customisable with additional items to taste and appetite.

Full English breakfasts start from €8.95 with a vegan option available for an additional €0.50. Paninis, crustinis, wraps, omelettes and other staple early bites attract prices starting from €6.95.

But perhaps where Makai Cafe's menu shines most is the inventive use of simple and healthy ingredients to create unique dishes that challenge the accepted concept of breakfast.

Hummus and Feta Crush, and Smashed Avocado on crusty bread sound positively gorgeous, and a range of Mediterranean speciality dishes sit alongside French toast and pancakes, and an intriguing if unconventional Makai Fit Bowl comprised of muesli, Greek yoghurt, fruit, and honey.

Restaurant review, beautiful lunches to whet the appetite

The finely balanced lunch menu starts with crustinis and wraps, offering a delectable selection served with coleslaw, nachos, and a Mexican-inspired sauce, with prices from €7.45.

Looking for a lighter bite mid-afternoon, we chose the Chicken and Avocado Cheese toasted sandwich at a very reasonable €8.95. Gluten-free bread is available as an option.

A selection of wraps is high on the menu, and the Makai Burrito sounds delicious, with chilli con carne, guacamole, sour cream, and spicy jalapeños to keep things enticing.

Or for something completely different, Turkish Eggs offers two poached eggs, olives, and seasoned yoghurt served with a naan bread. Just €8.95.

A special mention should go to the Buddha Bowl at €13.45 – a menu option that diners can create themselves by choosing from an appealing mix of ingredients such as Teriyaki chicken, smoked salmon, Halloumi, avocado, or tofu.

Where can you find the best burger in Orihuela Costa?

Makai Cafe offers five burger options with prices starting at €11.45 for a classic beef burger with cheese, pickle, and a touch of salad.

The Chicken Schnitzel Burger is a noteworthy offering, replete with cheese, spicy mayonnaise, tomato, and fresh salad under the bun.

At €12.45, the towering stack is the most expensive burger, but it should be noted that all burgers are served replete with beautifully cooked chips and a modest salad garnish. Gluten-free buns and a sweet potato upgrade are offered as additional cost options.

A welcome and rarely found addition to the menu is a vegetarian burger option. The quarter-pounder burgers offer a genuine meat-free, low-fat alternative to beef products, and even the most ardent carnivore would be hard-pressed to tell the difference. Priced at €11.45.

An opulent fish finger burger rounds out the burger menu. It costs €11.95 and this fishy favourite arrives topped with French Brie, caramelised onions, tartar sauce, and the essential addition of salad.

La Zenia's Makai Cafe, find it close to the beach

With a sunny, open terrace and an inspirational dining room, Makai Cafe offers a relaxing and informal environment to savour its gastronomic creations.

A focused menu offers plenty of choices, and their interpretation and elevation of staple family favourites fused with quality, innovative, and fresh ingredients, provide a refreshing and pleasantly surprising dining experience.

The venue is active on social media, boasting a strong local and international online following and often utilises its Facebook page to showcase the cafe's stunning food.

With an excellent location en route to La Zenia Beach and prices that offer truly excellent value given the high levels of presentation and table service, Makai Cafe should be on your list of places to eat during your visit. You can find Makai Cafe via this Google Map.

Looking for holiday ideas and travel inspiration? Find out more about our favourite recommended things to do on the Orihuela Costa or join the La Zenia community Facebook group and find out what's going on in the local area.

Photo credit: Makai Cafe / Food and Visuals

Eager diners regularly flock to the venue year after year, attracted by its friendly atmosphere, live music and sports events shown on numerous large screen TVs, a fabulous selection of beers and wines (including the obligatory draught Guinness), and an exhaustive food menu.

Paddys Point has a large inside seating area, tastefully decorated to give the impression of a cosy traditional Irish bar, that wouldn't look out of place in the heart of Dublin.

Outside there is a large terrace area with a retractable cover that's away from street noise and gives protection from the sun during the height of the summer.

We attended the venue last week for an evening meal and received a friendly and welcoming greeting from the staff upon arrival. It soon became clear that cleanliness and customer care is a key focus. All areas of the establishment were spotless and nothing was too much trouble for the attentive staff.

Paddys Point, the original Irish bar on the Orihuela Costa

Although live televised sporting events were being shown in the main bar area, it did not distract from the relaxed atmosphere and casual dining experience.

We found the menu comprehensive, and whether you pop in to watch the live events and just want a quick snack, a light lunch before some much-needed retail therapy at La Zenia's superb Zenia Boulevard shopping centre, or an evening meal experience, there's sure to be something to make your mouth water.

The venue serves an all-day breakfast daily from 09:30 until 16:00. You can enjoy a full breakfast menu including an Irish breakfast, a vegetarian option, scrambled eggs on toast, or the traditional Spanish option of a tostada.

If you prefer a light lunch or you have a smaller appetite then your options are similarly extensive. A full range of salads are on offer, favourites like Caesar Salad and Prawn salad, or warm goat cheese with caramelised onions for a truly Mediterranean-tasting salad.

The range of sandwiches, wraps and paninis will keep you deciding which takes your fancy for a while, and if you're still undecided, continue on to the selection of delicious burgers.

Restaurant review, great quality food and super value

There's plenty to choose from, including the impressive Paddys Point Burger – a double beef patty, fried onions, bacon, cheese, and topped with onion rings. All burgers are served with a side salad and chips, or you can choose to swap your chips for a jacket potato.

A full 3-course evening meal experience won't disappoint, with a good range of starters from garlic bread, a prawn cocktail, or spicy chicken wings.

The main course offers something for every price point. Bangers and mash with onion gravy, the best-selling homemade lasagne, served with a side salad and chips, or the Southern fried chicken goujons – crispy breaded chicken goujons served with chips or a jacket potato, a side salad and a sweet chilli dip.

There are two premium options on offer – a full rack of baked barbecue ribs comes served with chips and a side salad, and the Paddys Point 10 oz sirloin steak arrives at the table with onions, mushrooms, and a side of chips.

During our visit we sampled their famous fish goujons, battered strips of fresh cod served with chips and coleslaw. The fish was beautifully cooked and paired well with the accompaniments.

We also ordered the pan-fried chicken breast with gravy, mash, and fresh vegetables. The chicken had a good char and the mash and vegetables were perfect – not overcooked at all. The pictures here show how the food was presented when it arrived at the table.

The bar and tables were spotlessly clean and attention had been paid to every important detail. The staff were helpful, knew the menu well, and were able to answer any questions we had about the food.

Notably, almost the entire menu is available gluten-free at no additional cost. The only exception is the Cajun Chicken dish which is substituted with a plain chicken breast, and lactose-free ingredients are also available as a no-cost option.

We would recommend trying Paddys Point for yourself. The comprehensive menu, beautifully presented food, super-friendly team, and casual relaxed atmosphere make it a unique and special find in La Zenia.

The venue is open from 09:30 until 01:30 every day of the week. To find out more about Paddys Point and their live events visit their official Facebook page, or just click here to find them on Google Maps.

Looking for holiday ideas and travel inspiration? Find out more about our favourite recommended things to do on the Orihuela Costa or join the La Zenia community Facebook group and find out what's going on in the local area.

Photo credit: LaZenia.com

Whether it's grass-fed Galician steak from Spain's northwesternmost region or prime cuts of Argentinian sirloin, Spain is a mecca for meat lovers with many claiming the country's restaurants serve the best steak in the world.

So we asked members of the La Zenia Community Facebook Group to give us their recommendations of the best steak restaurants in our locale, and we've compiled this guide to the best steakhouses in our part of the South Costa Blanca.

But don't think of this as ranking venues from worst to best, this is the “best of the best” speciality steak restaurants that the Orihuela Costa has to offer, based on personal recommendations from the people who live here or visit our area.

10 | Viejo Tango, Villamartin

Located between San Miguel de Salinas and Villamartin, Viejo Tango is an Argentinian grill house specialising in the finest flame-grilled steaks and South American flavours.

The restaurant boasts a large interior dining room, a spacious outdoor terrace, and a large garden that makes the most of the sunshine year-round.

The menu balances quality with value, and the venue proudly serves farm-fresh authentic steaks. A small selection of salads provides alternative choices for non-meat eaters, but as expected, the menu is heavily meat-focused.

A Flamenco show takes place Saturday evenings for a passionate and traditional dinner experience. Reservations are recommended and can be made by phone or online via their website.

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09 | Surfers Bar & Grill, Playa Flamenca Beach

With such close proximity to Playa Flamenca's beaches, Surfers Bar and Grill offers one of the most idyllic places along the Orihuela Costa coastline to enjoy a fabulous meal.

The venue offers a relaxed and casual dining experience with a cosy dining room and an impressive outside terrace. Surfers is a popular choice year-round with residents and visitors alike.

The menu is as laid-back as the ambience, with an all-day kitchen service that starts with a selection of breakfasts, sandwiches, paninis, and light bites.

Main courses focus on fresh salads, pasta dishes, prime beef burgers, and grilled fish and meats. The menu's highlight is a 12 oz (340 g) rib-eye steak accompanied by a salad garnish, a creamy rich pepper sauce, and your choice of thick-cut chips or a healthier baked potato option.

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08 | Long Horn Flamenca Beach Restaurant, Playa Flamenca

It's easy to feel the North European influence on Long Horn's menu. Pork steak in a peppered Dijon mustard dressing and spicy chicken wings sit aside fragrant Cod Provençal and German Wiener Schnitzel – a type of schnitzel made of a thin, breaded, pan-fried veal cutlet.

But as the name rightly suggests, burgers and steaks remain the star of the show with past diners noting the exceptional presentation of steak dishes, a perfect cook and sear, and the quality of the ingredients used.

The venue offers seating inside and out, with a spacious covered terrace that can be used throughout the seasons, and the restaurant is accredited with TripAdvisor's Travellers' Choice Award for consistently positive reviews.

You can find Long Horn Flamenca Beach Restaurant in neighbouring Playa Flamenca, located on the upper storey of the Flamenca Beach commercial centre.

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07 | The Stone Grill Restaurant, Dehesa de Campoamor

Located in the La Fuente commercial centre, The Stone Grill occupies a premium location overlooking a central square and offers a surprisingly spacious dining room and covered outdoor seating suited to use year-round.

The menu is unapologetically meat-heavy (there's a rump steak option on the children's menu), with special dishes such as a slow-baked full rack of barbecue ribs or an Argentinian Angus steak burger.

The steak menu is comprehensive with prime cuts of South American fillet, sirloin, and rump steaks available in a variety of weights to suit your appetite, complimented by a veritable armada of side dishes and sauces to customise your plate.

Steaks are stone-served, and mixed grill options including pork tenderloin, New Zealand lamb, chicken, king prawns and salmon, round out the restaurant menu.

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06 | The Hens Teeth, Villamartin Plaza

Sporting a coveted Tripadvisor Travellers' Choice Award, The Hens Teeth deserves the desirable accolade and enjoys an enviable local reputation as one of the finest dining venues in South Costa Blanca.

The restaurant specialises in Spanish and Mediterranean cuisine, with influences taken from contemporary urban street food. The Hens Teeth isn't a steakhouse, the menu features just one option – a grilled rump steak, but that hasn't stopped the venue from garnering enough recommendations to warrant inclusion.

At first glance, the Spanish theme is abundantly clear, with Iberian favourites such as cod croquettes and grilled prawns headlining the tapas menu. Dive deeper and you'll find meat, fish and seafood mains accompanied by a choice of hand-cut dirty fries.

The Hens Teeth offers a bespoke and entirely separate vegan menu, gluten-free options, a fixed-price menú del día, and a specials menu that changes weekly.

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05 | Che Argentinian Grill House, Villamartin Plaza

It seems that when it comes to fine quality meats, all roads lead to Villamartin Plaza, and Che Argentinian Grill House is another proven firm favourite with local carnivores.

The venue offers a three-course à la carte menu with a selection of speciality meat dishes including steaks cooked to order, skewered meats, sausages, and a variety of grilled plates.

There's a children's menu, an extensive wine menu, and a separate gluten-free menu that´s as close to the original as possible, substituting ingredients and adapting dishes to fit the dietary requirements of people with Coeliac Disease.

Diners praise the restaurant for the quality of the food, the outstanding location with tables in the central square, the friendly and attentive service, and the value offered by the set menus.

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04 | Rustica, Playa Flamenca

Rustica might have only just missed out on a top-three podium position in this list of most recommended local steak restaurants, but don't underestimate the quality of the food on offer here – this restaurant in Playa Flamenca is a hardcore steakhouse.

Take a look at that photo at the very top of this page – that's Rustica's succulent and exquisitely presented Chateaubriand tenderloin. Galician rib eye is available as an option. Be under no misapprehension, when it comes to steak these guys mean business.

The menu is sharply chiselled, with starters and main courses barely covering two sides of an A4 sheet each. But what might be lacking in choice is more than compensated for by the exclusive use of world-class Mediterranean ingredients.

This is fine dining at its best, with the kitchen team delivering Michelin Star quality food that you would usually expect to find in an upscale Parisian boutique brasserie. Their flawless reviews on Tripadvisor speak volumes, with the vast majority of diners awarding them the highest possible five-star accolade.

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03 | Steakstones Hot Rock Grill, Villamartin Plaza

The number one restaurant according to Tripadvisor, Steakstones in Villamartin specialises in premium cuts of the finest quality meats cooked to order and served to the table atop a hot lava stone.

You'll find the usual menu selection of rump, fillet, and sirloin steak, amongst some exotic menu choices such as kangaroo, crocodile, venison, and ostrich steaks – all beautifully presented tableside with a selection of side dishes and dipping sauces.

The extensive menu offers plenty of choices but the clear focus lies around dishes from the grill, including restaurant staples such as chicken and pork alongside Mediterranean seafood offerings such as tuna and salmon.

The restaurant occupies a prime location with an elegant dining room and a terrace located inside Villamartin Plaza's central square on the ground floor, offering a choice of seating all year round.

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02 | El Gallego, Pilar de la Horadada

Technically not a part of Orihuela Costa, but good food knows no boundaries, and this magnificent Spanish steakhouse tucked away in neighbouring Pilar de la Horadada scored too many votes to ignore.

From the “walk-through” corridor of wine to the butcher's counter packed a half-meter deep with the finest cuts of Spanish meat, there can be no doubt that El Gallego is at the raw edge of pure steak enjoyment.

Simply pairing fine Spanish wine with high-quality ingredients is the name of the game, and fish and meat lovers will appreciate the no-frills honest food served in a well-appointed dining room.

Portion sizes are best described as generous, and the venue is commended by diners for its authentic Spanish vibe, consistent quality food, and an award-worthy entrecote steak that never fails to impress.

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01 | Fairways Restaurant and Chill Out Lounge, Villamartin Plaza

With more personal recommendations than any other steakhouse, Fairways Restaurant in Villamartin Plaza is the venue of choice for local diners looking for the very best in carnivorous fulfilment.

Boasting a spectacular terrace nestled amongst the palm trees and overlooking the beautiful Mediterranean square, Fairways offers an idyllic location to enjoy some of the most exquisite culinary treats you'll find in our part of Spain.

Menu highlights include market-fresh seafood and fish dishes such as bream, wild salmon, and lobster; plus a comprehensive selection of pasta and meat.

But when it comes to the best steak restaurants on the Orihuela Costa, the perfect sear, cook, and high-quality taste of the sirloin, rib eye, and fillet steaks at Fairways Restaurant simply can't be beaten.

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The best steak restaurants on the Orihuela Costa

How do our Community Group members' recommendations compare with your experiences? Is there a venue that warrants inclusion on our list of best steak restaurants in Orihuela Costa? Let us know in the comments below.

Looking for holiday ideas and travel inspiration? Find out more about our favourite recommended things to do on the Orihuela Costa or join the La Zenia community Facebook group and find out what's going on in the local area.

Photo credit: Provided by local restaurants / LaZenia.com

Situated on the beach in Punta Prima, the restaurant is a firm favourite with locals and tourists alike due to its amazing beachfront location, a spotlessly clean nautical-themed dining room, and spacious outside terraces offering year-round al-fresco dining and speciality cocktails.

The chic bistro has been welcoming guests since 1975, enchanting diners for the better part of a half-century with its unique mixture of panoramic Mediterranean vistas and a resplendent Spanish menu.

So we couldn't resist the opportunity to sample the fare on offer, and we visited for an early dinner just this past weekend.

Restaurante Nautilus, a part of the culture and history of the area

Upon arrival, guests were greeted by a DJ playing modern (but thankfully ambient) background music on the large outside terrace to the rear of the restaurant.

The terrace has casual seating overlooking the sea with ample car parking provided to the rear. A covered gallery runs the full length of the restaurant offering beachfront seating immediately adjacent to the water's edge, while a smaller terrace at the front of the property offers further seating with views over Punta Prima's smaller Cala Piteras sandy beach.

Indoor seating downstairs is arranged in American-style booths offering a personal and informal dining space beside the bar (one of three bars on-site serving beverages to diners), with oversized porthole windows to the gallery.

An upstairs dining hall provides an extensive formal dining space with elevated panoramic views over the Mediterranean Sea, with a floor-to-ceiling folding glass wall to two aspects that retracts to fuse both inside and outside space.

We were seated in the gallery and greeted by multilingual staff who seemed more than happy to accommodate our requests.

An extensive fusion menu, with plenty of choice for all palates

The restaurant was exceptionally busy, and we were lucky to get one of the last tables. Clearly, advanced booking is highly recommended to avoid potential disappointment – particularly good advice during the current summer season.

The restaurant menu is extensive with more than 80 dishes on offer. The Mediterranean cuisine is a fusion of traditional Spanish dishes and American ranch-style cooking, emphasising beef as a result.

But this is no one-trick pony, and the restaurant caters well for vegetarian, vegan and other dietary requirements, with plenty of choices to suit everyone's tastebuds.

The menu offers a fine selection of starters including cheese and meat platters, freshly prepared soups, and Spanish speciality dishes such as Andalusian-style grilled calamari, beef or salmon carpaccio, and steamed mussels.

Salads provide a lighter dining alternative when the weather is warmer, and Restaurante Nautilus offers a variety of delicious salads that pair familiar ingredients in imaginative ways such as chicken and apple, or salmon and avocado.

Our visit, booking is highly recommended

Continuing the Mediterranean theme, the restaurant offers an extensive choice of authentic wood-fired pizzas and pasta dishes to choose from, including several vegetarian options.

No fine dining bistro menu would be replete without an offering to satisfy the pure meat-eaters, so Restaurante Nautilus offer chicken breast dishes, premium cuts of entrecôte, and tenderloin steaks with a choice of accompanying sauces.

Finally, as would be expected of any restaurant located in such close proximity to the sea, salmon, hake, and sea bass feature on the fish menu, and for those looking for the ultimate Spanish experience, the restaurant offers a selection of freshly cooked traditional Paella, including a luxury fresh Lobster Paella.

We visited with friends at a table of four and sampled the grilled sea bass, a Diavola pizza, pork rack of ribs with barbecue sauce, and the grilled Iberian pork steak.

The menu is presented in five languages (Spanish, English, German, French and Russian), and the service was polite and efficient – especially impressive given the mammoth size of the dining area and the sheer volume of eager diners.

The best sea views, beautiful food in a magical beachside location

The restaurant team should be commended for providing a comprehensive menu complete with allergen information that's so often essential for many diners with special dietary requirements.

The dishes were delivered to the table piping hot and beautifully presented (the photos show the actual dishes as they arrived).

Dishes are served with a potato and Mediterranean vegetable accompaniment where appropriate (chips are optional at no additional cost).

Restaurante Nautilus is not the cheapest eatery you'll find along the Costa Blanca coastline, so expect to pay for quality food and you won't leave disappointed.

The quality of the food is absolutely first class and portion sizes are exceptionally generous (the rack of ribs was essentially the entire side of a large pig).

The Chuleton Tomahawk bone-in rib-eye steak is a Nautilus speciality, but the full 1-kg beef cut is more than generously sized and priced to feed two people.

Similarly, the “Nautilus” Seafood Flamed-Grill speciality fish dish is prepared for two people and comprises half a lobster, grilled crayfish, prawns, mussels, and squid. The presentation is nothing less than spectacular.

Those on a budget can choose from the pizza menu and expect to pay around €15.00 – €20.00 per person including a drink (very reasonable for this area), while those with a more decadent palate can indulge in Spanish beef fillet steak.

Despite the Mediterranean seafront location, the menu is pleasantly balanced between an assortment of sharing dishes, grilled meats, and speciality fish dishes. The addition of a dedicated pizza menu and a variety of Spanish paella is just perfect for diners looking for a lighter dining experience during the summer months.

The venue offers a significant wine selection with bottles of locally produced Rioja or fine Spanish cava available. Dom Pérignon Brut vintage champagne is available at your table for those with deep pockets and extravagant tastes.

Restaurante Nautilus, one of the finest restaurants on the Costa Blanca

Whatever your budget, Restaurante Nautilus proves that while quality has its price, sometimes quality is worth paying for.

The Mediterranean influence of the menu and the Spanish cooking style render some truly unique dishes, which you'll want to try again and again.

The Pork Knuckle with Spanish Sauce is the perfect example of how the kitchen executes provincial Mediterranean fusion with such finesse, to produce a unique dish that you just won't find elsewhere.

Fresh food, attentive service, and what must surely be the finest of beachfront locations for any restaurant in the South Costa Blanca locale, make Restaurante Nautilus an experience that's well worth paying that little extra for. We can highly recommend this prestigious Spanish restaurant.

Need more information? You can find the TripAdvisor reviews online or visit the official Restaurante Nautilus Facebook page.

Looking for holiday ideas and travel inspiration? Find out more about our favourite recommended things to do on the Orihuela Costa or join the La Zenia community Facebook group and find out what's going on in the local area.

Photo credit: LaZenia.com

Originally opened in April 2013, Fish Bowl has evolved through a continual transformation over the years, with the latest iteration of the restaurant firmly in place since February 2017.

Located opposite Club Náutico in Dehesa de Campoamor and adjacent to Playa Barranco Rubio beach, the eastward orientation and elevated position offer spectacular views over the Mediterranean Sea.

And that location is unique, as Fish Bowl occupies a somewhat unusual position – on a roundabout. More accurately, Fish Bowl is a roundabout, and the space restrictions form the restaurant into a 12-sided almost perfectly circular dodecagon.

Quirky and beautiful, the dining experience

Inside, visitors will find more exciting quirks and features that make the venue unique and memorable. The cavernous dining room is open, with a “Rainforest Cafe” style bar that wraps around one-quarter of the building.

Rustic glazed wooden tables add a natural look to the space, and numerous arched floor-to-ceiling windows offer unparalleled views of the surrounding flora and the azure colours of the Mediterranean Sea beyond.

A beautiful vaulted ceiling dominates the dining room. This masterpiece of elegance and architectural design is exquisite, with oversized lightbulbs suspended from the complex weave of trusses, and a polished stainless steel ventilation shaft snakes majestically through the roof void.

The decor is neo-industrial yet welcoming, a fusion of modern chic and classical elegance. Its immediately striking appearance is something diners will no doubt remember long after the food has gone.

More than just fish on the menu

As the name and the ornate mural of a giant red octopus that adorns the outside of the venue might suggest, fish delicacies are abundant on the menu. Squid and prawns are local Mediterranean specialities, while salmon, monkfish, lobster, and tuna are offered as snacks or starters.

Steaks offer an alternative to fish, with ribeye, classic fillet, Tomahawk and Chateaubriand cuts available from the menu. A wide variety of side dishes allow for the personalisation of each meal experience, with Asiatic rice, chips, summer vegetables, chestnut mushrooms, and an array of sauces to compliment the chosen main dish.

Main courses include slow-cooked beef cheek with truffle mash, a Korean fried chicken burger, a gourmet beef burger with smoked cheese, and Aloo Gobi – a cauliflower and potato South Asian curry suited to vegetarians and served with turmeric rice and flaked almonds.

A mouthwatering selection of desserts rounds out a comprehensive menu, and a children's menu caters for younger palates with a simple cheeseburger and fries, mac and cheese pasta, or chicken fillet goujons for lovers of finger food.

Fish Bowl restaurant in Dehesa de Campoamor

Popular with guests of all nationalities, the restaurant comes highly recommended with a first-class rating on Tripadvisor and a history of excellent reviews. Visitors can call +34 966 392 891 to book a table, or visit Fish Bowl's Facebook page to make a reservation.

Fish Bowl restaurant opens for dinner each evening from 17:00 Monday until Saturday, with additional lunchtime services from 13:00 on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Plentiful free on-street parking is available around the venue.

Want to know more? Tap here to read the menu (complete with helpful allergen information), or follow this link to visit their website, available in English, Spanish, and German languages.

Looking for holiday ideas and travel inspiration? Find out more about our favourite recommended things to do on the Orihuela Costa or join the La Zenia community Facebook group and find out what's going on in the local area.

Photo credit: LaZenia.com

It's a popular venue due to its stunning large terrace that offers commanding views of Punta Prima's main beach and the Mediterranean Sea.

We paid the restaurant a visit earlier this week one afternoon for a late lunch and were able to easily get seated, although booking would be recommended during the summer season.

The multilingual waiting staff were friendly and helpful, and we were escorted to an outside table adjacent to the modern dining room.

The restaurant has a choice of seating options, with a contemporary formal indoor dining space with floor to ceiling glass walls, and an extensive rear terrace which is divided into two areas.

Alfresco dining with amazing Mediterranean views

One area is available for a more casual dining experience, offering tapas and light snacks, while the other terraced area is dressed for those seeking the full Spanish restaurant experience. Whatever your preference, each location offers fabulous views while eating.

We found the premises immaculately clean, and the staff were extremely knowledgeable about the menu and understood the importance of allergens (the menu is marked with complete allergen information).

As you might expect, the Spanish style menu offers the usual selection of speciality fresh seafood and prime cuts of steak, an exceptional selection of authentic Paella and rice dishes, with classic Spanish dishes adding to the flavour of the menu.

Restaurante Punta Prima has an appealing selection of starters with prices starting at €6.50 for the Mojama with almonds (a type of filleted salt-cured tuna fish). Octopus served baked or Galician style (served with boiled potatoes or sweet Spanish paprika oil) costs €17.90.

For a complete Spanish dining experience consider a starter to share – the Iberian ham and tomato served with “Pan de Cristal”, a Valencian speciality bread similar to ciabatta, costs €20.00 for two people.

An extensive classic Spanish menu with so much choice

The kitchen team's discernible love of Spanish cuisine means the menu offers something to suit everyone's taste, from meat lovers to vegetarians and vegans; and they are more than happy to cater for people with special dietary requirements.

We chose to eat from the à la carte cuisine menu, and both the snack menu and the full cuisine menu are available online via their website.

We sampled the Thai-style vegetable curry with tofu, accompanied by pure white basmati rice, and the bone-in New York Strip short loin steak served with fried potatoes, Padron peppers, and a decorative salad.

Each dish was wonderfully presented (the photos illustrate how the dishes arrived at the table), and service was expedited rapidly. The curry was priced at €14.80 and was one of four speciality vegetarian menu options.

The look may say it was thrown together by sheer accident, but the balanced, lasting aromatic flavours tell you it wasn't.

Traditional Spanish food at Restaurante Punta Prima

The New York Strip weighed in at €25.40, with a Sirloin steak option available for €22.00, and a Spanish inspired rack of lamb appearing on the grill menu for €18.90.

Grilled dishes can be ordered with your choice of four sauces for an additional €2.50, and extra side dishes (steamed rice, a green salad, French cut fries, or grilled Mediterranean vegetables) cost €4.90 per dish.

A meal can be rounded off with one of their inventive desserts which complement the traditional Spanish cuisine, and prices start from €5.90.

Tempting treats from the dessert menu include pineapple carpaccio, strawberry cheesecake, or a simple Mediterranean fruit salad – a refreshing palate cleanser to end your meal.

Although the prices are a little higher than some other restaurants in the area, Restaurante Punta Prima is definitely one to try. The food is outstanding, the staff extremely helpful and the views – A-MA-ZING!.

Fine dining at Punta Prima beach restaurant

This is the place to visit for that special occasion, milestone celebration, or just because you fancy treating yourself.

The restaurant offers a dedicated car park for guests and there's plenty of free on-street parking nearby. You can find the Restaurante Punta Prima's official website here, or click here to visit the restaurant's TripAdvisor listing.

A truly fabulous Spanish dining experience accompanied by those wonderful views. Try it once and it will become one of your most treasured holiday memories.

Looking for holiday ideas and travel inspiration? Find out more about our favourite recommended things to do on the Orihuela Costa or join the La Zenia community Facebook group and find out what's going on in the local area.

Photo credit: LaZenia.com

The seafront is exceptionally popular with tourists during the warmer months, attracted by the vibrant cafes, the urban culture, and the cooling breezes that lap the coastline during the height of the Mediterranean summer.

But with so many local eateries jostling for space (and keen diners), choosing which restaurant to eat in can be a daunting experience.

We chose to pay the La Cantina restaurant a visit a couple of weeks ago, for a spot of lunch on a typically sunny Friday afternoon.

You can find the restaurant beside the Mediterranean Sea as you leave the port area, and it’s one of the first establishments you’ll come to along the promenade.

It is the perfect place to stop for a drink, a quick lunch, dinner or a cocktail, as you enjoy a stroll along Torrevieja’s famous promenade.

La Cantina Restaurant, a totally Mediterranean experience

You can watch the numerous yachts and traditional sailing vessels go by, majestically weaving their way in and out of port as the marina conducts its business as usual.

The whole visiting experience is enhanced by your ability to enjoy the amazing unobstructed views of the harbour and the Mediterranean Sea waves lapping at the natural rock pools, free from any noise of passing road traffic.

On arrival, you’ll notice that this casual restaurant has an international theme to its menu, although there is an underlying Spanish influence at its heart.

The restaurant has a choice of seating options with a large gazebo providing an “inside” dining room, and beachside tables outside on a private part of the promenade itself, offering a totally al-fresco dining experience with the sea just a few metres away.

We found the premises immaculately clean, and the multilingual staff were friendly and helpful. We were escorted to an outside table just inside the gazebo, with a wonderful view of the harbour.

As expected the multilingual menu (Spanish, French and English) offers the normal prime cuts of meat and fresh fish dishes but the international flavour is enhanced with the addition of pizza and pasta to the menu.

One of the things that La Cantina is proud to point out to customers is that all the food is cooked fresh to order on the premises. The menu caters for all tastes, including a dedicated gluten-free section.

La Cantina Restaurant has an extensive menu for all tastes

The restaurant has a wonderful selection of starters including a homemade vegetable soup, a cheese selection, breaded Camembert, and grilled prawns. The starter prices are a little higher than we’re used to, starting at €6.50, although you can choose a bargain-priced breadbasket for just €2.00.

For those looking for a lighter option, the range of salads is not to be overlooked, with prices from €7.50. We chose the Mediterranean Salad which was delivered to the table beautifully (as pictured).

And this is no simple salad! The salad combined smoked salmon, lettuce hearts, avocado slices, fresh olives, and crisp Piquillo peppers, alongside the expected salad ingredients.

The salad was priced at €9.80, with a selection of four different salads available including a traditional Chicken Caesar salad, and a special “Ensalada Cantina” salad fusing the flavours of goats cheese, sunflower seeds, and raisins.

The menu offers 12 different pizzas to choose from, and we can report that the Pepperoni Pizza was delivered to the table well-topped, with a beautifully crispy base, and generously topped. A snip at €10.25.

Three of the pizzas are suited to vegetarian diets, and unusually, there is a choice to create your own pizza from the toppings available.

For meat lovers, La Cantina restaurant offers an Entrecote steak for €16.50 and a speciality Angus Sirloin steak for €24.50. Fresh fish dishes start at €12.50 for flame-grilled swordfish.

The extensive 16-page international menu has something to appeal to everyone’s taste, from meat lovers to vegetarians and vegans; and the owners are more than happy to cater for people with special dietary requirements.

Service was relaxed and suited to the idyllic setting, and each dish was wonderfully presented.

Alfresco Mediterranean dining with stunning vistas

La Cantina offers a daily special and a menú del día which are advertised on boards in front of the restaurant that changes in keeping with the season.

La Cantina restaurant truly offers something for everyone's taste buds to enjoy with its extensive international menu, and the owners and their team make you feel welcome, whether you are just stopping for a drink, or enjoying their menu of delicious fresh dishes.

If you plan to visit Torrevieja’s harbour and promenade then we would recommend you try La Cantina restaurant for yourself. That gorgeous view is hard to beat!

Need more information? You can find the La Cantina Restaurant TripAdvisor listing or visit the official Facebook page.

Looking for holiday ideas and inspiration? Find out more about our favourite recommended things to do on the Orihuela Costa this year, or join the La Zenia Community Facebook group and find out what's going on in the local area.

Photo credit: LaZenia.com

During the summer months, the restaurant is a firm favourite with locals and tourists, who flock to the elegant bistro attracted by its close proximity to the cosmopolitan city's beaches, a spotlessly clean and contemporary dining room, and the streetside terrace which affords outdoor alfresco style eating all year round.

We paid the establishment a visit one evening earlier this week, just one additional venue on our personal quest to find the best possible pizza on the Costa Blanca.

Upon arrival, we were greeted with a smile, by a very friendly lady who spoke Spanish and good English, certainly good enough for those of us with limited language skills to comfortably get by, and we did not experience any problems communicating what we wished to order.

Pergola Pizzeria-Restaurante, a comprehensive menu for all tastes

We attended for an early dinner, and although the restaurant was quiet at that time we understand that the restaurant can get very busy at peak times so booking is highly recommended – especially if you prefer an outside table on the beachside terrace.

The restaurant menu is comprehensive with plenty of choices and more than 70 dishes on offer. The cuisine is a fusion of Mediterranean Italian cooking and traditional Spanish food, with something to suit all palates. The kitchen provides a host of options for vegetarian, vegan, and other dietary requirements.

And perhaps uniquely for the area, the restaurant offers ALL of its pizza and pasta dishes with ingredients guaranteed to be free from gluten.

This is an option for which the restaurant charges a very modest €2.00 in addition to the menu price of the dish being ordered. A very reasonable price, and an absolute boon for sufferers of Celiac disease for whom such Italian luxuries are usually strictly off-limits.

Pergola Pizzeria-Restaurante, from simple dishes to lobster luxury

There is a fine selection of starters on the a la carte menu, with plenty of vegetarian options to choose from including garlic soup, Spanish Gazpacho (a cold served soup), and grilled seasonal vegetables. For meat-eaters, the Pergola salad mixes ham and melon or the local favourite: a Veal Carpaccio with parmesan and arugula.

Soups and salads are well represented and provide a lighter alternative when the weather is warmer. And continuing the Spanish and Italian fusion theme, the restaurant offers choices such as a Provolone Casserole, fresh steamed mussels, or garlic and mozzarella Foccacia.

No fine dining bistro menu would be complete without an offering to satisfy the pure meat eaters, so we're happy to report that Pergola Pizzeria-Restaurante offers chicken breast dishes, salmon, hake, seabass, entrecote and tenderloin steaks with a choice of three accompanying sauces.

For those looking for the ultimate Spanish experience, the restaurant offers home-cooked traditional Paellas with prices from just €12.00 per person, including a luxury fresh Lobster Paella for €19.00 per person.

The little Italian restaurant, beautiful homemade pizzas

The popular regional Valencian rice-based dish originated along the Mediterranean coastline, but do remember that in Spain, Paella is ordered to be shared between a minimum of two people.

Of particular note is the extensive pizza menu, with no less than 20 different pizzas to choose from (including three wholly vegetarian choices).

On our visit, we tried the De la Casa (the pizza of the house), and the Sophia, replete with tuna and onion on a tomato sauce base topped with mozzarella cheese. Both orders went to the kitchen with a request for gluten-free optional ingredients.

Creating a tasty pizza with a gluten-free dough base is incredibly difficult. Usually, the replacement of traditional wheat flour with rice flour creates a dough which doesn't rise as well and tends to go sloppy at the slightest application of a sauce.

Service was polite, fast, and efficient. The pizzas were delivered to the table beautifully presented (the photos show the actual pizzas as they arrived).

The pizza bases were perfectly cooked to the centre, crispy, light, and airy. To the taste, if you had not been forewarned that the pizza contained no gluten whatsoever, you simply would not have guessed.

The influence of Spanish fusion is evident within the varied range of Italian pasta choices. In addition to the usual Spaghetti Bolognese, Cannelloni, and Lasagne, fresh fish and exotic local pine nut sauces combine to provide a different flavour to the dishes on offer.

The Black Tagliatelle with prawns and clams is the perfect example of how the kitchen executes this Mediterranean fusion with such precision to produce a unique and mouth-watering dish, that will be so difficult to find anywhere else.

A fine dining restaurant in Torrevieja with great prices

And remember, for a small additional price Celiac sufferers can enjoy their choice from the entire pasta menu without worry or fear.

The restaurante proves that high-quality fresh food need not cost a fortune. Starters cost from €7.50 upward, meat and fish dish prices start at €12.50, and pizza and pasta main course prices start as low as €10.00.

The bistro also offers a Menu del Dia, a fixed price money-saving lunchtime deal that combines their fresh food with a choice of drink.

The restaurant owners should be commended for their use of technology and social media, vital for modern businesses yet so frequently absent from local restauranteur's playbook here in Spain.

In addition to offering an informative website that showcases their eatery with finesse and style, the restaurant menus can be downloaded in English, Spanish, French and Russian, to ensure that prospective diners can be enticed by the variety of fayre on offer, irrespective of their nationality.

The restaurant menu is high quality, fresh and inclusive, with quite possibly the largest selection of gluten-free Italian menu choices available throughout the South Costa Blanca.

Catering for all tastes, with vegetarian options in each menu section, great value prices, and a beautifully appointed and spotlessly clean dining room in a prestigious city setting, we can highly recommend this fine Torrevieja Mediterranean fusion restaurant.

You can find directions to the restaurant here or visit the official Pergola Pizzeria-Restaurante website.

Looking for holiday ideas and travel inspiration? Find out more about our favourite recommended things to do on the Orihuela Costa or join the La Zenia community Facebook group and find out what's going on in the local area.

Photo credit: LaZenia.com