A plate of arroz a banda - rice cooked in fish broth (Alicante)

🇪🇸Alicante, Spain

The Arroz a Banda Pilgrimage

Not paella. Better than paella. The fisherman's original.

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Why this dish?

Before paella became a global icon, the fishermen of the Alicante coast were eating arroz a banda - rice cooked separately (a banda means 'to one side') in a concentrated fish stock made from the catch they couldn't sell, served with alioli. It is humbler than paella, simpler in its ingredients, and in the right hands, deeply extraordinary: each grain of rice swollen with the flavour of the sea, with a socorrat - the caramelised crust at the bottom of the pan - that is worth the flight alone.

Alicante is where this dish belongs. The city sits on a coastline where the rice comes from the L'Albufera wetlands and the fish comes in each morning from the Mediterranean. Eating arroz a banda here is a lesson in the kind of cooking that needs no improvement.

Our Picks

La Taberna del Gourmet

Address: Calle San Fernando 10, Alicante Old Town
What to order: Arroz a banda for two. Ask for extra alioli. A glass of their recommended white wine.
Book ahead: Book ahead for lunch. Arroz takes 20–25 min to cook - order it first.
Pro tip: Order the arroz first, before anything else. It takes 20 minutes and you don't want to rush it or eat it cold.

Nou Manolín

Calle Villegas 3, Alicante

The address that Alicantinos give to anyone serious about rice. Family-run since 1972, Nou Manolín is considered by many locals to be the definitive arroz a banda in the city. Slightly more formal but equally serious about the socorrat.

What to order: Arroz a banda. The gambas de Dénia (local prawns) as a starter - among the finest in Spain.

Good to know

Arroz a banda is an Alicante original and you will find it across the city. Quality indicator: a good arroz a banda takes a minimum of 20 minutes from order to table - if it arrives quickly, it was pre-made. The socorrat (crispy bottom layer) should be mentioned by the waiter; a kitchen proud of their rice will always point it out.

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