29th April saw us drive upto Alicante to meet up with Sophs mum and her friend, who were across for a weeks holiday. We ended up having lunch at Restaurante Don Pepe Alicante, a place we’d not eaten at before.
Our, or should I say my intention was to call here, have a cold drink and maybe see what the tapas was like, seeing as they advertise themselves as a tapas bar. Then carry on to Momen!
We got a table outside, in the shade. The female server asked if we wanted menus, then asked if we wanted Spanish or English versions, so we took 2 of each. One reason here is Soph and I have found sometimes that we understand the Spanish menu easier than a badly translated English version, if that makes sense.
Anyway, the tapas listed was very limited, there were I think 6 dishes, that I’d regard as tapas, the others listed under this were 16-18 each. Not what I’m used to paying.
Soph however, has spotted an A board notice board, next to the doorway, advertising a menu del dia, type lunch offering. The server saw us craning our necks, to read this and so she brought across a couple of A4 menus to the table. at 14.90 ( I think it was) per head we decided to go for this.
What we had.
Drinks
I ordered a tanque of beer, to keep it simple. Soph had a Coke Zero, her mum had the same and Anne went for a white wine.
I did have a second tanque and Anne had a second glass of the white.
Food
Starters ( Without Images).
I chose for my starter, Gazpacho while the three ladies, all went for what was advertised as salmon salad.
I’d say what they got was a couple of small scoops of Russian Salad with a slither of salmon in there, not at all what any of us were expecting. My gazpacho was ok, there was a small dish of croutons on the side of the plate.
My Gazpacho was ok to the taste, nothing to write home about.
While we were having the starters, a male server brought out a bread basket with 6 pieces of bread in ( between 4 of us…. ) but there was no alioli with it.
Mains
I chose salmon, Soph went for the cheese and ham pizza, while the two ladies went for the entrecote. My salmon to be honest wasn’t the biggest. Sadly it hadn’t been filleted all that well. The chips with it were quite bland, I actually added salt to them.
Soph said her pizza wasn’t too bad, especially for the price. She passed me across a piece and I have to say she probably had the best selection of the mains.
Anne enjoyed her entrecote, but Sophs mum left hers, as it was almost breathing on the plate. I did offer to call one of the servers and ask for it cooking some more ( mas hecho ) but she declined. I must say, when these were served and the plates put on the table, I did think they looked a lot better than my salmon.
It would have been nice to have been asked how you wanted the steak cooking here, but sadly this wasn’t the case.
To Finish
The choice here is dessert or coffee, so we asked one of the servers what the desserts were. Cheese cake was the first on the list, there was also ice cream, Tiramisu and a flan. Three of us went for the cheese cake, while Sophs mum who was undecided was swayed when the waiter whispered to her that the tiramisu was good.
I have to say the cheese cake was the star of the meal for me. We all enjoyed the dessert. Sophs mum said the tiramisu was tasty, especially if you were a choloclate lover, as it was covered in chocolate powder.
What We Liked
Service was prompt, friendly and communication was good. This is a nice outdoor seating area, great for people watching.
What Could Be Improved
Hmmm, not sure where to start here. The obvious one was to ask customers who were ordering the entrecote ( even as part of the lunch menu ), how they liked it cooked.
How Much Did It Cost?
Ok, please bear with me on this one. I asked for the bill, the server brought it to the table and before he’d put it in front of me, Anne snatched it out of his hand, announcing she was paying, it was on her. Soph caught a glimpse of the receipt and it was over 90€ she later informed me.
As you can imagine, it would be rude of me to ask to see the receipt or ask to take a photo, so be gentle here.
As a very rough working out, the 4x menu del dias which do not include a drink were 14.80€ each ( I think ) so that is 59.20€ for the food. I’d guess that my two beers were 4.00€ each, the two glasses of wine were 5.00€ each, the two soft drinks possibly 2.50€ each and then the service charge on top OR the lunch price did not show the IVA.
*** These are just a rough guesstimate ***
Would We Return To Restaurante Don Pepe Alicante
To be honest, no, we wouldn’t do so to eat. Maybe a drink, but not to have a meal.
How To Find Restaurante Don Pepe In Alicante
They are quite easy to find.
Their address is Passeig Esplanada d’Espanya, 7, 03002 Alacant, Alicante.
Just across from the marina, along the same street as Momen, where we have been previously.
They do have a Facebook page, but are not active on the platform.
