Where are the best restaurants in Benidorm?

Where's the best steak for a birthday?

The restaurant street at the Old Town end of Calle Gerona is the answer visitors give most. It's pedestrianised, with several steak houses next to Indian, Mexican and Spanish places, so a mixed group can stroll and choose. Visitors say many places there are small, but the bigger steak houses can take a group if you ring ahead. Country Ribs got a 2025 thumbs-up for an excellent steak (check it's still open). For a treat, La Fachada on Levante cooks aged Galician beef on a charcoal grill.

Do we need to book for ten?

Yes. Ring or call in two or three days ahead, and a week ahead for a Friday or Saturday. Ask for one long table and whether they do a set menu for groups, which keeps the bill simple. Visitors in 2026 warned they had seen people turned away from busy places, and rice dishes often need ordering in advance too.

Where's good for tapas in the Old Town?

Calle Santo Domingo, known to Brits as Tapas Alley, is the street everyone names. Gaztelutxo is a narrow pintxos bar where you pick at the counter, at €10 to €20 a head; it takes no bookings, so go before 13:30 or after 21:30. La Cava Aragonesa on Plaza de la Constitución has served pinchos since 1980 and was reported a Repsol Solete in May 2026. Just off the alley, a courtyard of tapas bars known as Tapas Square did six tapas and a bottle of wine for €9 in a 2026 report.

Where should the fish lovers go?

Head where Spanish diners go. Bar Mal Pas is a stone tavern below the Mirador cooking rice and seafood at €20 to €30 a head; it takes bookings and is closed on Tuesdays. La Mejillonera on Paseo de la Carretera serves mussels a dozen ways, with nearly 10,000 Google reviews and a queue that moves fast, but no bookings. Rice is a lunchtime dish at most Spanish places, so plan a paella for midday.

Is there anywhere special for a big occasion?

Yes, a short taxi or bus ride away. Malaspina, in the Mercure hotel on Poniente, has a Repsol Solete and cooks Alicante produce and aged meat over charcoal, at €30 to €60 a head. At La Cala, Strat is run by Claire Hutchings, a MasterChef UK winner. Hotel Don Pancho on Levante sells evening buffet places to non-residents, about €50 for two with a drink each in a 2025 report, which suits a group that can't agree.