Piripi

Piripi is the Castillo family's second Alicante restaurant, opened in 1978 on Avenida de Óscar Esplá and operated with the same standards and the same kitchen discipline as Nou Manolín. For locals, the two are interchangeable choices; for first-time visitors, Piripi reads as slightly brighter, slightly more modern, slightly better for a dinner that needs to be romantic.

The bar on the ground floor works a serious tapas counter. The same shellfish displays, the same jamón slicing, the same aged cheeses. The restaurant upstairs seats approximately sixty in a softer, more feminine room than its older sibling; natural light floods in through large street-facing windows during the lunch sittings.

The menu is almost identical to Nou Manolín's, with a slight tilt toward rice dishes and lighter salads. The signature arroz del senyoret. Peeled and deshelled shellfish with saffron-rich short-grain rice. Is arguably the better version of the two restaurants; the seasonal asparagus appears in spring; a cold almond soup with shellfish runs in high summer.

Dinner for two with wine lands at €75 to 120. The wine list is drawn from the same cellar as Nou Manolín, with a slightly narrower selection but a better selected set of Mediterranean whites. Godello, Albariño, Valencian Verdils. That suit the rice-heavy menu.

Piripi is a measurably softer first-date room than its older sibling Nou Manolín. The lighter decor, the natural light (for early dinners), the slightly smaller scale of the room, and the absence of the lunchtime business-table rhythm make it the better choice for an evening with someone new. The menu is approachable. Nothing too avant-garde. But the kitchen is serious enough that the evening feels selected.