Bars & Restaurants

It is generally advised to book your reservation - especially for large parties and more especially in high season. We'll start with our favourite - La Casa del Rel j ( The Clock Tower). Here you will get a six-course meal of superb quality with wine for under £20 per person - there is a choice of four set menus plus an a la carte menu. The restaurant is in a building which in the past was owned b., the monarchy. There is a piano bar on the first floor. Superb surroundings, superb service - if you don't like it here I'll pay your bill.

To get there go past Mercadona roundabout and turn right onto the N332. You need to get onto the AM motorway but don't access it at Villamartin -you'll pay a toll. Join it at the, next access at Dehesa de Campoamor and take direction towards Cartagena. Exit at Junction 774 turn right at the roundabout, past 'Splash' disco and you'll see the restaurant 300 metres on your left, The town is San Pedro del Pinatar and it will take about 25 minutes to get there in normal traffic conditions. Enjoy!!

Fairways is our second favourite restaurant located at Villarnartin Plaza. Good menu of mainly English fare but excellent quality. We've never been let down at this restaurant. A three course meal costs between £10 - £15 plus wine. There are between 20 - 30 restaurants in Villamartin Plaza, we've tried most of them but this is the best. Turn right onto the N332 past Mercadona and then right at the first roundabout towards Villamartin. Journey is approximately 15 minutes.

Casa Vicente is our local tapas bar - just choose a portion of each dish that takes your fancy from the display, get a plate and fork each and tuck in. We like it but we have found that kids don't they've been conditioned to MacDonalds - no sense of adventure. Get a flagon of wine and sit here all night watching how the Spanish live. There is also a more formal area serving set menus - 3 courses for about £6, but it's still laid back- Turn left onto N332 towards Torrevieja you will come to Punta Prima shopping arcade on your right. At the end of the arcade look for Casa Vicente on your left.

Calypso bar / restaurant is a good venue for an evening as they have live music several nights each week. They also serve a very good T-bone steak for about £7 and have weekly barbecue nights in high season. Turn right onto the N 332 past Mercadona. Over the roundabout and about 2 km on look for Sinatras on the right and Calypso is right at the end of the parade.

Sinatras does a strange mix of cuisine including Indian but it has probably the best karaoke in the area. A good fun night out, See directions above. Olympia restaurant in Mil Palmeras is a venue we enjoy mainly because they have a poolside disco every Wednesday in season. The menu is varied and good value at £7 for 3 courses including a bottle of wine per four diners. An enjoyable night out if you need to entertain the kids. Turn right onto the N 332 past Mercadona. Continue on this road for approximately 8 km. to the Dehesa de Campoamor / Mil Palmeras roundabout. Turn left and then right and immediately left. Proceed to the end of the road and you will see Olympia on your righ.

Pizza Nostra is another popular restaurant serving a very wide variety of dishes in addition to the obvious. Most enjoyable and moderately priced. Turn left onto the N 332 past Mercadona and you will see Pizza Nostra on your right about 3 km on before the Punta Prima parade. Bar Atlantis is a great place to sit outside any time of day and watch the yachts sail by. A very limited menu and a small tapas bar but worth a visit. Turn left onto the N 332 past Mercadona and continue past the Punta Prima parade turning right just before the Hotel Torrej oven. Proceed down to the seafront and you will see the Atlantis.

Back to Villamartin Plaza and two other restaurants worth a visit if you struggle to get a table at Fairways are The Brasserie and Birdies. The former specialises in shoulder of Welsh lamb which is so big Hazel normally has to share with one of the children. The latter serves a good 3 course traditional British meal for £8. For directions see 'Fairways'.

Within walking distance there is a Chinese restaurant on the main road up from Mercadona roundabout and the Bola Bar next door. The new commercial parade at Flamenca Beach is offers a number of bars and restaurants within walking distance. Naturally Torrevieja hosts a multitude of international restaurants too numerous to review so forgive me if i leave you to experiment for yourselves.