Por Pablo Arranz 
The restaurants Malaspina and La Taberna Andaluza have been awarded the jury and public prizes in the ‘XV Tapas and Pinchos Contest of Benidorm’, the third event of the Benidorm Gastronomic of 2025, which took place from June 20 to 29 in our city. The decision was announced today at an event held at the Centre Municipal El Torrejó and attended by Mayor Toni Pérez; members of the municipal corporation; as well as the president of Abreca, Javier del Castillo; the godfather of the Benidorm Gastronomic, Licinio García; and representatives of numerous business associations and participating restaurants.
Both the president of Abreca and the mayor of Benidorm have highlighted that this edition of the ‘Tapas and Pinchos Contest’ has «broken all records so far», both in the number of participating establishments and in the number of attendees. Thus, the 23 bars and restaurants that presented their gastronomic proposals during the competition have served more than 9,000 tapas and pinchos during these ten days, which according to sources from Abreca represents «a great success that drives us to continue betting on this type of events.»
Regarding the awards, the technical jury composed of professionals linked to the world of catering and gastronomy, has considered that the best proposal was ‘Ali-Baba’ from the restaurant Malaspina. The second prize from the jury has gone to the ‘Taco Japo-Valenciano’ presented by La Fava, while the third place has been awarded to the ‘Festín de Cecina’ from Chiringuito Beach.
On the other hand, the diners who tasted the tapas and pinchos in competition for ten days have decided with their votes that the best proposal was from La Taberna Andaluza with their ‘La cabra tira al monte’. The second prize went to the DNI Ibéricos bar with ‘Filo Délice’ and the third was for the pincho ‘Atún rojo sobre torrezno a la brasa con wasabi’ from El Mesón.
After the award ceremony, the Mayor of Benidorm pointed out that the ‘Tapas and Pinchos Contest’, which was the seed of the Benidorm Gastronomic, is an event «already fully consolidated» and that «showcases the enormous work» carried out by the city’s restaurateurs, «a work that, along with «the human staff of catering, hospitality, and leisure, is the best presentation card for Benidorm.»
Toni Pérez emphasized that «the city, the destination, is in a very powerful moment of activity», at the beginning of the high season, and referred to the boost of the tourism and hospitality industry. In this sense, he recalled that in the latest unemployment rate published, referring to the month of May, Benidorm had a 9.27% unemployment rate, being «the city in the Valencian Community with more than 20,000 inhabitants with the lowest unemployment rate.»
«Here there is an industry that is very solid and has great strength,» insisted the mayor to the hoteliers, before thanking them «on behalf of all the people in Benidorm who have an opportunity and the best social policies that can exist, which is to create employment and generate wealth as you do every day.»
On the other hand, like the mayor, the president of Abreca congratulated the winning establishments, thanked everyone for their participation, and highlighted the volume of sales of the tapas and pinchos in the competition. Del Castillo assured that «we will continue working and projecting our Benidorm Gastronomic, which is more recognized nationally every year», while wishing that «next year we will have more participating restaurants.»
During the event, a draw was held for two dinners for two people among the public who voted for their favorite creations throughout the Contest. Abreca will contact the two lucky winners to inform them of their prize.
The ‘XV Tapas and Pinchos Contest’ was the third event of the ‘Benidorm Gastronomic 2025’, following the celebration of the ‘XIII Spoon Days’ and the ‘V Tuna Days’. The program will continue in September, from the 19th to the 28th, when you will be able to taste the different proposals of the ‘IV Cocktail Contest’, while from the 17th to the 26th of October, rice dishes will take center stage with the ‘XIV Earth Rice Days’.
As for the 23 participating establishments, they were: Baldó, Cervecería L’Abadia, Chiringuito Beach, DNI Ibéricos, El Bodegón Aurrerá, Elk Mesón, Esturión, Freiduría Los Peces, La Brasería Aurrerá, La Cava Aragonesa, La Fava, La Juana, La Pinta, La Pinta Beach, La Tabernita del Sur, La Tapería, Malaspina, Marisquería El Puerto, Molta Pasta, Pinocchio Playa, Pintxos Aurrerá, Rock’n’Ribs, and Taberna Andaluza.