Restaurant in Alacant, Spain
Mid-price tapas with a serious take-away counter.
A 2025 Michelin Plate traditional grocery store concept in central Alicante, Manero serves Iberian hams, salted dishes, and high-quality tinned seafood at mid-range prices. With a 4.5 Google rating from over 4,200 reviews and take-away products available, it works well for solo diners, casual lunches, and anyone who wants to eat well and shop at the same time.
Manero is the right call if you want a low-pressure, mid-price meal in central Alicante that also doubles as a serious food-shopping stop. It works particularly well for solo diners or couples who want to graze on tapas, pick up a tin of quality conservas, and leave with a bag of Iberian ham or salted fish to take home. With a Google rating of 4.5 from over 4,200 reviews and a 2025 Michelin Plate, this is a venue the city has consistently endorsed — not a flash-in-the-pan opening. Right now, heading into the warmer months on the Costa Blanca, it is the kind of spot where a mid-afternoon stop for tapas and a glass of something cold makes complete sense.
Manero has been designed to feel like a traditional Spanish grocery store , a colmado , brought back to life as a sit-down eating and take-away destination. The physical layout mirrors that concept: shelves stocked with tins, cured meats hanging or displayed under glass, and a counter culture that encourages you to point, order, and eat without ceremony. The atmosphere is unhurried and unpretentious. This is not a room set up for a long, formal tasting experience; it is built for the kind of eating you do standing or perched at a small table, working through a plate of jamón and a portion of salted anchovies before deciding what to take home. For a special occasion, the intimacy here is informal rather than theatrical , more suited to a relaxed anniversary lunch than a milestone dinner with speeches.
The Michelin Plate, awarded in 2025, signals consistent kitchen quality rather than avant-garde ambition. Manero's strengths are in the sourcing: Iberian hams, salted dishes, high-quality tinned products, and seafood form the core of what's on offer. These are not categories where execution requires technical fireworks , they require excellent suppliers and careful selection. The fact that Manero packages many of its products for take-away is significant. It means the quality you eat in the room is the same quality you can bring home, and that the venue functions as both a restaurant and a curated deli counter simultaneously.
This is where Manero genuinely separates itself from most tapas bars in Alicante. The take-away offer is not an afterthought or a pandemic-era pivot , it is structurally baked into the concept. If you are staying nearby or travelling by car, leaving with a selection of tinned seafood, a vacuum-packed cut of Iberian ham, or a bag of salted products is a practical extension of the meal. Quality conservas and jamón ibérico travel extremely well and hold their integrity over days, which makes Manero a useful stop for anyone planning a longer trip through the region. Compare this to La Taberna del Gourmet, which is excellent for eating in but does not operate as a take-away retail destination in the same way. If shopping for quality Spanish pantry staples matters to you as much as the sit-down experience, Manero is the stronger choice.
The €€ price range keeps this accessible. You are not paying for a tasting menu or a chef's table experience; you are paying for well-sourced traditional products served with minimal fuss. At that price point, the Michelin Plate recognition makes Manero one of the better-value propositions in the city centre.
Manero is located at C. Médico Manero Mollà, 7, in the 03001 postcode , central Alicante, walkable from the main hotel zone and the old town. Booking difficulty is rated as easy, which means walk-ins are generally viable, but calling ahead or reserving online for a specific time is still sensible during peak summer weeks when Alicante fills with visitors. No website or phone number is currently listed in our records, so checking Google Maps for current hours before you go is advisable. The €€ price band means a full grazing session , tapas, ham, a salted dish or two , should land comfortably without surprise. For anyone exploring the wider Alicante dining scene, our full Alacant restaurants guide gives a complete picture of the city's options across price tiers.
Quick reference: Central Alicante location | €€ price range | 4.5 Google rating (4,245 reviews) | 2025 Michelin Plate | Easy to book | Take-away products available.
If Manero's traditional, product-led approach appeals to you, the logical next step up in Alicante is Nou Manolín for a more structured Spanish meal at €€€, or Baeza & Rufete if you want to see what modern Alicantine cooking looks like at the serious end. For something more contemporary and mid-range, Tabula Rasa and Maestral are both worth considering. Alba and Celeste y Don Carlos represent the contemporary end of the city's dining scene if you want to push further.
For the full picture of what to do while you're in the city, our guides to Alacant hotels, Alacant bars, Alacant wineries, and Alacant experiences cover the region in detail. If this trip is part of a wider tour of Spain's serious kitchens, Quique Dacosta in Dénia is an hour up the coast and represents a completely different level of ambition. Further afield, El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, Arzak in San Sebastián, Azurmendi in Larrabetzu, Martin Berasategui in Lasarte-Oria, and Cocina Hermanos Torres in Barcelona form the backbone of Spain's leading dining itinerary. For traditional cuisine comparisons outside Spain, Cave à Vin & à Manger in Narbonne and Coto de Quevedo Evolución in Torre de Juan Abad offer useful reference points for what traditional cuisine at Michelin-recognised level looks like in neighbouring regions.
The closest peer at a similar price is El Portal Taberna & Wines (€€), which focuses on tapas with a strong wine list. For cheaper eating, La Taberna del Gourmet (€) is the value option. If you want a step up in formality and are happy to spend more, Nou Manolín (€€€) offers farm-to-table Spanish cooking. Manero's specific combination of sit-down tapas and a take-away retail offer has no direct equivalent in central Alicante.
Yes, at €€. A 2025 Michelin Plate with a 4.5 Google rating from over 4,200 reviews at a mid-range price is strong value. You are paying for well-sourced Iberian products , jamón, tinned seafood, salted fish , rather than complex cooking. The take-away element adds practical value if you are self-catering or travelling on. At this price tier, Manero outperforms most casual tapas bars in the city centre on product quality.
It is well-suited to solo dining. The colmado-style format , counter service, small plates, a browse-and-order approach , makes it easy to eat alone without feeling exposed or pressured to fill a table. A solo diner can work through two or three tapas, pick up some conservas to take away, and be done in 45 minutes or stretch to an hour comfortably. At €€, the solo bill stays manageable.
Come expecting a traditional grocery-store atmosphere, not a polished restaurant room. The appeal is in the product: Iberian hams, salted dishes, tinned seafood. Many items are available to take away, so consider arriving with a bag. The 2025 Michelin Plate means kitchen quality is consistent, but this is not a tasting-menu venue , order like you would at a good Spanish deli counter. Booking is easy, but confirming hours via Google Maps before visiting is sensible as current opening times are not published in our records.
The colmado concept strongly implies counter or bar-style eating is part of the format. The space is designed around the feel of a traditional grocery store, which typically means standing or perching at a counter is natural and expected. That said, specific seating configuration is not confirmed in our records , if counter seating matters to you, call ahead or arrive early when options are widest.
It depends on what the occasion calls for. Manero is a good choice for a relaxed celebratory lunch , a birthday where the point is good food and atmosphere rather than white-tablecloth formality. It is not the right venue for a milestone dinner that requires a private room, extensive wine service, or a set-menu format. For that kind of special occasion in Alicante, Baeza & Rufete at €€€€ is the stronger option.
Manero does not appear to operate a tasting menu format based on available data. The concept is tapas, Iberian products, and salted dishes ordered individually. If a tasting menu experience is what you are after in Alicante, Baeza & Rufete is the appropriate venue to consider instead.
Booking difficulty is rated easy, which means same-day or next-day reservations are generally achievable. During peak summer weeks in Alicante, a day or two of advance notice is sensible. The venue's Michelin Plate recognition may increase foot traffic from visitors, so if you have a specific time in mind, booking a few days ahead removes any risk. Walk-ins are likely viable outside peak hours.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manero | Traditional Cuisine | €€ | A unique restaurant that has recreated the ambience of a traditional grocery store, where you can enjoy delicate tapas, Iberian hams, salted dishes, high-quality tinned products and even seafood, many of which are packaged ready to take away.; Michelin Plate (2025); A unique restaurant that has recreated the ambience of a traditional grocery store, where you can enjoy delicate tapas, Iberian hams, salted dishes, high-quality tinned products and even seafood, many of which are packaged ready to take away. | Easy | — |
| Baeza & Rufete | Modern Cuisine | €€€€ | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| La Taberna del Gourmet | Gastrobar-Seafood, Regional Cuisine | € | Unknown | — | |
| Nou Manolín | Spanish, Farm to table | €€€ | Unknown | — | |
| El Portal Taberna & Wines | Tapas Bar | €€ | Unknown | — | |
| Piripi | Rice Dishes | €€€ | Unknown | — |
What to weigh when choosing between Manero and alternatives.
La Taberna del Gourmet is the closest rival for product-led eating in central Alicante and suits those who want a broader Spanish wine list alongside their tapas. Nou Manolín is the step up if you want a more structured sit-down meal. Piripi works well for groups wanting classic rice dishes and a fuller menu, while Baeza & Rufete and El Portal Taberna & Wines both push further into creative territory if Manero's traditional format feels too straightforward for the occasion.
At €€ pricing, Manero delivers good value relative to what it offers: Michelin Plate recognition in 2025, quality sourcing across Iberian hams, salted dishes and tinned seafood, and a take-away counter that adds practical utility most tapas bars at this price point don't have. If you're after a cheap-and-cheerful pintxos crawl, there are lower-cost options nearby, but for the quality of the product you're getting, the price holds up.
Yes. The colmado format, designed around individual tapas and tinned goods, works naturally for solo diners who want to graze without committing to a full-table meal. The take-away option also means you can pick up packaged products without sitting down at all. Solo diners will feel more at ease here than at Nou Manolín or Piripi, where table-format dining is more the norm.
Manero is built around a traditional grocery store concept rather than a conventional restaurant, so expect Iberian hams, salted dishes, high-quality tinned products and seafood alongside the sit-down tapas offer. Many items are packaged to take away, which is part of the point — it's a food shop as much as a restaurant. Its 2025 Michelin Plate signals consistent kitchen quality, so the sourcing is taken seriously even if the format is relaxed.
Bar seating is consistent with Manero's colmado concept, and the format is well suited to informal counter eating. Hours and exact seating configurations are not confirmed in available records, so it's worth checking directly with the venue at the address on C. Médico Manero Mollà, 7, before visiting if that's a priority for your visit.
It depends on what kind of occasion. For a low-key celebration centred on great produce and an interesting concept, Manero works well and the Michelin Plate adds some credibility to the choice. For a formal dinner or a milestone event where a full tasting menu and polished service are expected, Baeza & Rufete or El Portal Taberna & Wines would be more appropriate picks in the Alicante area.
A dedicated tasting menu format is not documented for Manero in available records, and the venue's concept centres on tapas, tinned goods and take-away products rather than a structured multi-course format. If a tasting menu is your priority, El Portal Taberna & Wines or Baeza & Rufete are the stronger options in the region.
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