Nou Manolín

Nou Manolín has been on Calle de Villegas since 1971 and is, by consensus, the archetype of a serious Alicantino tapas house. Founded by Carlos Castillo and now run by his sons, it has set the template — long marble counter, impeccable shellfish display, a kitchen that treats classic tapas with the precision of a fine-dining room — for half a generation of Spanish restaurateurs.

The ground floor is bar and counter; the restaurant upstairs is a handsome traditional room of perhaps eighty seats, wood-panelled, white-linen-set, and preferred by the lawyers and notaries of the surrounding district for business lunches. The layout means you can eat quickly at the bar or settle in upstairs for a three-hour lunch.

The menu is a serious recitation of the Alicantino canon. Shellfish from the Bay of Palamós and the Galician coast; the city's definitive arroz a banda; a salmorejo the kitchen makes to order; a vitel toné that is the most-ordered plate on the bar counter. The counter itself is part of the experience — ordering is a conversation with the man slicing your jamón.

Dinner for two upstairs with a bottle of wine runs €80–130; the bar is considerably cheaper. The wine cellar is one of the oldest in the city and carries serious Vega Sicilia and Pingus positions for those who want them.

Nou Manolín is the business-lunch table of Alicante. The upstairs room absorbs a serious conversation — well spaced, acoustically forgiving, discreet service; the wine cellar signals respect for any guest who drinks seriously; the menu is a comfortable Spanish vocabulary rather than a challenging tasting menu; and the price point is defensible. For a deal that wants to be closed over rice and Ribera del Duero, this is the address.