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The Councilor for Hospitality, Lidia López, has highlighted that «the events manage to structure the hospitality industry, promote traditional cuisine, and showcase the restaurants in the neighborhoods with an initiative that is consolidating in Alicante in its sixth edition.»
Alicante, April 4, 2025. Alicante has successfully consolidated its Lenten Gastronomic Days in its sixth edition, which have become international as a tourist attraction, with people visiting our city from France, Italy, England, or Germany heading to restaurants like El Carví in Plaza América, El Barecito in the municipal market of Carolinas, or Bodegas Gambín in El Pla to enjoy the ‘Tapa Cofrade’.
This initiative invites locals and visitors to experience a unique gastronomic journey in Alicante with its ‘Tapa Cofrade’ and ‘Lenten Friday Menus’ to savor traditional recipes like vigilia stews, putxero de polp, chickpeas with prawns, lentils with cuttlefish and clams, cod rice, marmitaco, or fritters. All the proposals are a culinary legacy crafted to pay tribute to our spoon dishes with a selection of well-crafted recipes that harken back to traditional cooking.
The events also promote the restaurants in the neighborhoods of Alicante, as highlighted by the Councilor for Hospitality and Commerce, Lidia López, emphasizing that «this edition is a success, with more than five hundred people enjoying the tapas and menus, and most importantly, we manage to structure the hospitality industry by showcasing the neighborhood restaurants with an initiative that has become international and is consolidating in our city.»
The Alicante City Council and the Provincial Association of Hospitality Entrepreneurs of Alicante – APEHA – are the entities organizing the events as part of the activities of Alicante Spanish Capital of Gastronomy to promote and disseminate typical dishes before Holy Week with the collaboration of thirty restaurants.
Gastronomic events until April 17
Councilor Lidia López encouraged locals and visitors to attend until April 17, when the events conclude, «to taste the best Mediterranean cuisine, quality, innovative, and traditional in the classic bars of San Blas, Carolinas, Benalúa, El Pla, the center, or Playa de San Juan.»
All thirty gastronomic proposals can be found on the website. APEHA President María del Mar Valera expressed pride in the quality and success of this edition, stating, «just look at the atmosphere in the restaurants during this event, tourists are moving to the neighborhoods and asking for our tapas to taste. That was the idea we had when we created it, for people to move to the neighborhoods to discover restaurants offering high-quality cuisine.»
Each dish and tapa has a carefully crafted recipe behind it, where the ingredients and base are sourced from zero-kilometer products from our municipal markets, the epicenter of local gastronomy.
This year, you can try dishes like a squid from our coasts filled with its tentacles, local vegetables, and Villajoyosa white prawn, finished with seafood sauce and topped with La Vega Baja artichoke chips at the Carví restaurant, winner of the best ‘Tapa Cofrade’ in 2024. A ‘marinera’ of mero salad and roe cubes at El Barecito in the Carolinas Market. Or a ‘Manola’ tapa of eggplant croquette with bacon mousse and montilla at Bodegas Gambín.
The events are one of the best showcases of Holy Week, as highlighted by Lidia López, bringing us closer to our gastronomic roots, promoting traditional cuisine with dishes that transport us to childhood, full of flavor, and also to culinary innovation with tapas crafted by the best chefs in Alicante.
President of the Major Board of Brotherhoods and Confraternities, Alfredo Llopis, expressed satisfaction at the successful development of the event over the six years, emphasizing that «it is a wonderful feeling to see that from Holy Week, we can contribute to the valorization of the traditional and Mediterranean gastronomy of our land, from the orchard and the coast, because it is also part of our culture.»
Lenten Friday Menus
Sixteen establishments participate in the Gastronomic Events «Lenten Friday Menus,» serving on Fridays until April 11. The proposals for these events offer starters, main course, and dessert, ranging in price from 15 to 43 euros. The typical ingredients of Lenten Friday menus do not include meats or sausages.
Among the restaurants participating in the menu preparation are Racó del Pla in Playa de San Juan and Alicante, Insensato Vermouth and anchovies, Sorell, Casa Pepe, Casa Riquelme, Cervecería Ca Mati, Poniente, Teselas, Taberna La Vendimia, Cervecería Carvi, Gastrobar Jorge, Bodegas Gambín, La Barra del Ibarra, and Casa Ibarra.
The Tapa Cofrade
In the sixth edition of «The Tapa Cofrade,» there are 13 proposals from the following restaurants: Bar Nou Pinet, Pipirrana Vermouth, Insensato, Teselas, Cervecerías Carvi, Chacoli, Restaurante Chapeau San Juan, Portabella, Gastrobar Jorge, El Barecito in the Carolinas Market, La Barra del Ibarra, Casa Ibarra, and Bodegas Gambín. Attendees can enjoy a tapa and a beer or wine for 4.50 euros, every day until April 17.
Competition to vote for the favorite tapa
In addition, customers can vote and choose their favorite tapa of the year through the websites as well as on social media.
Among all participants, on April 22, a draw will be held where the 5 winners will be rewarded with the following prizes: a gift card worth 100 euros to spend at the Municipal Markets of Alicante, a visit for two people to Bodega Bocopa with a complimentary bottle of wine, a package of Carmencita products, a package of Economato Ibérico products, and a package of Chocolates Clavileño products. The three establishments with the most voted tapa will receive an accreditation diploma.
