This is the Best Tapas in Alicante's Taverns

The Tavern Route, which has revived the flavour of historic old taverns of Alicante, has concluded after offering up to 23 tapas and wine for five euros. Each was named after the old taverns documented in the city since the 17th and 18th centuries, recorded in the 'Junta d'inhibició del Ví foraster de Alacant'.

Among them, the best was the 'Las Torres' proposal from the Insensato establishment in the Churruca shopping galleries. The tapa pays homage to the "Taberna de las Torres", a tavern with a shop that existed in 1722 in the city centre owned by Cristóbal Gironés. In this case, it is recognised for "the balanced combination of very Alicante raw materials to result in precisely that, a very local flavour".

It is made with salted fish and tomato with a special alioli. An ideal tapa to "pair with a Monastrell" according to its owner, Luis Pérez, and the chef Andrés Naranjo.

The second prize went to the 'Luis Lombardía' tapa from El Mincho bar, and in third place was 'Mesón del Olmo' from Carvi bar. The jury's decision was made on the five finalists emerging from the votes cast by customers participating in the Tavern Route, completed by Sabolé and Tapería El Txoko. These finalists reached the jury through popular votes recorded by the public on social media.

The jury was composed of the Councillor for Tourism, Ana Poquet, the territorial director of the Ministry of Innovation, Commerce and Tourism, Rosa Aragonés, the president of the Regulatory Council of the DOP Alicante, José Juan Reus, José Luis Menéndez from the Archaeological Museum MARQ, and David Carbonell from CRDO Alicante.

Poquet highlighted that "the initiative has revived the history of wine and taverns in Alicante, and the jury found it difficult to choose the best tapa because all of them were of great quality and very different from each other".

The initiative took place between mid-October and November 15th as part of the international congress "Alicante, historical capital of wine in the Mediterranean" on the occasion of Alicante being the Spanish Capital of Gastronomy.