Rice at Ros

Whenever we get visitors who want to go to a restaurant to eat rice from this area, or a paella (three syllables pronounced 'pa-aye-ya'), we usually take them to Restaurante Ros.

I like this restaurant for various reasons - the do really good, freshly prepared and cooked paellas and rices, the nice view out over the bay of Albufereta towards Alicante, the service is good and it is very reasonably priced.

The view from Restaurante Ros, Albufereta, Alicante

The restaurant is situated within the Club Náutico Alicante Costa Blanca (Nautical Club) of Albufereta and you have to make a reservation.  The decoration inside is not the most modern but the view and the food make up for it.

What we usually order

To start with, we usually order some slices of toasted fresh bread with crushed tomatoes  a and garlic mayonnaise (pan con tomate y aioli).  You spread them both on the toast and its a really tasty combination.  Then a house salad (ensalada de la casa), with the basic Mediterranean ingredients.  To lots of you, the tomatoes may look green and under-ripe but that is actually how the salad tomatoes grown over here are at their best - and I guarantee you they are nicer than your regular tomatoes you buy from the supermarkets in the UK.

Ensalada de la Casa at Ros

We also order calamares a La Romana (squid rings in a light batter and fried) to share.

Calamares a La Romana at Ros

Paellas and rices have to be ordered for a minimum of 2 people and we always order 2 different types of rice: one with meat, specifically pork, and vegetables (arroz con magro y verduras), and the other with a liquidy fish stock (arroz a banda).  Arroz a banda is a typical rice dish of Alicante which originated from when the fishermen sold off their best catch and kept the leftovers to make a stock to cook the rice in for themselves.  It is cooked in a deeper paella pan and is served with the garlic mayonnaise called aioli, or spelt here quite often as alioli.

Arroz con magro y verduras at Ros

Arroz a banda at Ros

We usually have some of both types of rice on our plates...

I saw someone else's rice just come straight out of the kitchen.  This is a seafood paella with mussels, prawns and langostinos, which are like crayfish or small lobster.

Finally, we have helado de turrón which is ice cream made with pieces of the nougat-type confectionery especially from this area of Spain called turrón de Jijona and is made with honey and almonds... and a coffee.

Price per head

This is around 22€ per head for what we had with our drinks.

Views and activities

It's a relaxing place to be and you can watch people taking out their boats, learning to sail, navigate and row amongst other activities.  I'll leave you with some photos I took of the view.