Alquimia Gourmet - Alicante

This is a class above your average tapas bar and we had a great visit there. From start to finish it oozes class and is beautifully done out inside. We took a seat at the bar and were served by the very pleasant staff. You choose your tapas from the glass cases on the bar and these are served to you either hot or cold. They were absolutely delicious and very inventive indeed. True, it isn’t the cheapest place around but at €11 for a large beer, a glass of wine and two of their delicious small dishes we considered it excellent value.

Called in for lunch whilst visiting Alicante. Great variation of cuisine,we went for the freshly prepared tapas,absolutely outstanding. Try the pulpo,or the smoked salmon or the chorizo or the Murcian sausage....the choice is endless!!The wine list is also good,and considering the restaurants location,it certainly isn’t over priced.

My wife and I wanted a quick snack and the restaurant looked appealing. Sadly, the service was very disappointing. The menu offered a gluten free muffin and it encouraged you to talk to the staff about gluten free options. However, when I mentioned the word gluten free they waiter got rather excited and interrupted my by saying: NO NO NO NO.. Speaking to another of the staff, I asked if I could get something based on ham, vegetable, cheese. The answer was more polite this time, but not very service minded. She kept saying: No Sir, I am sorry. I inquired why, and she said: Because of the ingredients. This did not make any sense, and I felt annoyed like I had stepped into a Seinfeld episode. However, we had a glass of cava and a coffee before leaving. For me, this was not a good experience.

Came across this lovely venue and have visited a few times now. The set daily menu is amazing value at 12.95 euros. The wines by the glass are great too. So why only three stars. Well . . . . 1. Each time I have been there they are too keen to serve the next course. You literally don’t have time to blink. 2. The staff can be quite unfriendly and tend to mood swing from happy to **** rude in the space of one hour. But it’s got great decor and if you can get a table then give it a try !

For service, taste, presentation and price, 16 euros , their offering of a standard menu with 3 choices of starter, main, dessert plus coffee, bread, a drink and two little mini welcome raciones , well this place is absolutely first rate. Go! Admittedly the portions are small, but perfectly adequate and we all left feeling well fed but not bloated. Not sure how often the menu changes so with such a small choice you may not wish to go every week. Not sure how vegetarians are catered for either. Ask when you book a table. After the two welcome raciones I had wonderful seafood arroz then carilladas and a pineapple wrapped around pomelo dessert. All yummy. Others were delighted with their choices. We certainly will return. Such an amazing place it deserves to do well. Being fairly small it didn't become too noisy once it filled up after 2pm (we tend to dine early).