The quieter western beach, favoured by families and locals, lined with rice and fish restaurants such as Ongi Etorri, El Barranco and Ulia, plus Balkan cooking at Shija.
Malaspina, the Mercure hotel's restaurant near Poniente beach in Benidorm, cooks Alicante rice, salt-cured fish and grilled aged meat; a Repsol Solete holder.
OrderA rice dish of the day, then aged beef from the grill if you have room.
TipIt took second prize at the 2026 Benidorm tapas contest; the Corner Bar on the same floor serves cocktails and casual plates.
Ongi Etorri Manolo 1 has fed Poniente beach in Benidorm since 1968, a family house cooking arroz a banda, paella, bay fish and Basque-style hake by the sea.
OrderArroz a banda for two, or the merluza a la vasca the house calls its signature.
TipThe kitchen runs straight through from noon, so a late lunch after the beach is easy; rice dishes are for a minimum of two.
Arrocería La Marina cooks rice, calderos, meat and fish of the Marina Baixa in a country setting on the Camí del Palasiet, inland from Poniente in Benidorm.
OrderA rice or a caldero for the table; the kitchen is built around them.
TipBookings are confirmed only by phone; there is a car park and a children's play area, and Friday is the one late night.
El Barranco is a seafront rice and fish house on Poniente beach in Benidorm, cooking arroz a banda, arroz del senyoret and rice with anchovies and spinach.
OrderArroz con boquerones y espinacas, Benidorm's own rice, for at least two.
TipRice dishes are made for at least two; a local quoted by Guía Repsol picks the salt-baked fish and the grilled baby squid.
ConBrassa is a wood-fire asador on the Poniente seafront in Benidorm, grilling dry-aged beef, wagyu and black angus, with Dénia red prawns and market fish.
OrderA dry-aged steak from the wood grill, with Santa Pola quisquilla shrimp to start.
TipIt joined the city's April 2026 bluefin tuna week; the same group runs El Barranco further along Poniente.
Shija cooks the food of the Balkans by Poniente beach in Benidorm, serving mezze and clay-pot dishes from a kitchen that keeps neither freezer nor fryer.
OrderA spread of Balkan mezze to share, then one of the clay-pot dishes.
TipThe street is in Benidorm's low-emission zone with restricted access, so arrive on foot from the Poniente promenade.
Ulia has cooked on the Poniente seafront in Benidorm for over forty years, a beach restaurant for bay tellinas, cuttlefish in its ink and rice dishes.
OrderTellinas from the bay, then a rice dish with a view of Benidorm Island.
TipIt sits at the La Cala end of Poniente; Sunday is lunch only and Monday the closing day.
ConBrassa is a wood-fire asador on the Poniente seafront in Benidorm, grilling dry-aged beef, wagyu and black angus, with Dénia red prawns and market fish.
OrderA dry-aged steak from the wood grill, with Santa Pola quisquilla shrimp to start.
TipIt joined the city's April 2026 bluefin tuna week; the same group runs El Barranco further along Poniente.
Malaspina, the Mercure hotel's restaurant near Poniente beach in Benidorm, cooks Alicante rice, salt-cured fish and grilled aged meat; a Repsol Solete holder.
OrderA rice dish of the day, then aged beef from the grill if you have room.
TipIt took second prize at the 2026 Benidorm tapas contest; the Corner Bar on the same floor serves cocktails and casual plates.
Bolikki is a family-run beach restaurant at the La Cala end of Poniente in Benidorm, where rice dishes lead a menu that also runs a good-value set lunch.
OrderOne of the rice dishes the kitchen is known for, ordered for the table.
TipA daytime place, serving from noon to early evening; it took part in the city's 2026 spoon-dish week and the 2025 rice week.
Ongi Etorri Manolo 1 has fed Poniente beach in Benidorm since 1968, a family house cooking arroz a banda, paella, bay fish and Basque-style hake by the sea.
OrderArroz a banda for two, or the merluza a la vasca the house calls its signature.
TipThe kitchen runs straight through from noon, so a late lunch after the beach is easy; rice dishes are for a minimum of two.
Shija cooks the food of the Balkans by Poniente beach in Benidorm, serving mezze and clay-pot dishes from a kitchen that keeps neither freezer nor fryer.
OrderA spread of Balkan mezze to share, then one of the clay-pot dishes.
TipThe street is in Benidorm's low-emission zone with restricted access, so arrive on foot from the Poniente promenade.
Arrocería La Marina cooks rice, calderos, meat and fish of the Marina Baixa in a country setting on the Camí del Palasiet, inland from Poniente in Benidorm.
OrderA rice or a caldero for the table; the kitchen is built around them.
TipBookings are confirmed only by phone; there is a car park and a children's play area, and Friday is the one late night.
Aruba Gastrolounge is an all-day beach restaurant on the Poniente promenade in Benidorm, its kitchen running non-stop from breakfast and brunch to dinner.
OrderBrunch on the terrace, or homemade cake and coffee in the afternoon.
TipThe bar mixes tiki cocktails with Km 0 ingredients; it joined the April 2026 bluefin tuna week, and the ConBrassa group also runs it.
Aruba Gastrolounge is an all-day beach restaurant on the Poniente promenade in Benidorm, its kitchen running non-stop from breakfast and brunch to dinner.
OrderBrunch on the terrace, or homemade cake and coffee in the afternoon.
DrinkCoffee with homemade cake in the afternoon
TipThe bar mixes tiki cocktails with Km 0 ingredients; it joined the April 2026 bluefin tuna week, and the ConBrassa group also runs it.
Madness Coffee roasts specialty coffee daily at its Benidorm café near Poniente beach, one of four roasteries it runs between Alicante and Cartagena.
DrinkCoffee roasted in the café
TipIt buys each origin green, following harvest seasons, and roasts to its own profile; the café serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Madness Coffee roasts specialty coffee daily at its Benidorm café near Poniente beach, one of four roasteries it runs between Alicante and Cartagena.
BeansSeasonal origins, bought green by harvest
BrewsEspresso, Filter, Whole bean retail
TipIt buys each origin green, following harvest seasons, and roasts to its own profile; the café serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Shija, the Balkan restaurant on Poniente beach in Benidorm, runs a Saturday-morning cooking school: a three-day course on herbs, fish and meat, and single-theme classes.
TipSingle classes are €35 and the three-day course €95, Saturdays 10:00 to 12:00; you take home what you cook, and bookings go by email to the restaurant.
Bolikki is a family-run beach restaurant at the La Cala end of Poniente in Benidorm, where rice dishes lead a menu that also runs a good-value set lunch.
OrderOne of the rice dishes the kitchen is known for, ordered for the table.
TipA daytime place, serving from noon to early evening; it took part in the city's 2026 spoon-dish week and the 2025 rice week.
Aruba Gastrolounge is an all-day beach restaurant on the Poniente promenade in Benidorm, its kitchen running non-stop from breakfast and brunch to dinner.
OrderBrunch on the terrace, or homemade cake and coffee in the afternoon.
TipThe bar mixes tiki cocktails with Km 0 ingredients; it joined the April 2026 bluefin tuna week, and the ConBrassa group also runs it.
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