Benidorm Brings Its Almadraba Heritage to the Table

Every year, spring arrives in the tourist capital of the Costa Blanca with the start of one of the key events of the Benidorm Gastronomic Festival: the Tuna Days. In 2025, fourteen establishments will use this ingredient as a common thread, bringing the city's history to the table and blending it with culinary innovation.

There was a time, before the advent of tourism, when Benidorm's 'arráeces' were the most sought-after in the Mediterranean, where no almadraba could be found without at least one Benidorm native on board. Now, almadrabas (almost) no longer exist, but the admiration of gourmet enthusiasts for tuna remains as strong as ever.

This is what the Benidorm Tuna Days aim to address, which kicked off this Thursday morning in the Plaza del Castell, where a 320-kilogram tuna was ceremonially carved, attended by the mayor of Benidorm, Toni Pérez, along with a significant part of the city's restaurant sector.

The mayor, along with many guests and onlookers who witnessed the ceremony, observed how expert cutters extracted up to 24 pieces, including both prime cuts and internal parts, using both traditional methods and techniques learned from Japanese culture.

"We are in the place where our city was founded 700 years ago," highlighted the mayor of Benidorm during his speech, where he also recalled the tradition and expertise of Benidorm's people in the art of almadraba and tuna handling.

Toni Pérez reminisced about how "this sound we are hearing, the 'ronqueo', and its peculiar accompanying smell, was what many generations of Benidorm residents heard as a moment of joy after a 'levantá'," and that "Benidorm's people were present in all the almadrabas of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic for nearly three centuries, being the most experienced technicians and crews in this fishing art."

For this reason, and as a reminder of this historic connection, the mayor invited citizens and visitors to "enjoy the Tuna Days starting tomorrow," an initiative he praised for "highlighting the quality of our gastronomy and the high level of our restaurateurs and culinary and service professionals."

The Tuna Days will continue until Sunday, the 13th, in a total of 14 restaurants in the city. In all of them, the public will find various gastronomic proposals where the base of all dishes, menus, or tapas offered for these days is bluefin tuna.

Prices range from 6.95 euros for the most economical tapa to 55 euros for the most complete menu.