Restaurant in Benissa, Spain
Michelin-starred Italian tasting menus, sea terrace.
Casa Bernardi holds a Michelin star (2024) and makes the case for Italian contemporary cooking in the Costa Blanca hills more convincingly than anything else at €€€ in Alicante province. Two tasting menus — Terreta and Casa Bernardi — apply Italian technique, including disciplined pasta cookery, to seasonal local produce. Book well ahead: post-star demand is high and the sea-view terrace fills fast on weekends.
At the €€€ price tier, Casa Bernardi sits in a compelling position: a Michelin-starred tasting menu experience on Spain's southeastern coast that doesn't ask you to fly to Bilbao or drive to Barcelona to eat at this level. For a special occasion dinner in Alicante province, this is the strongest case you'll find for Italian contemporary cooking outside of Italy itself. If you're weighing it against the region's Spanish fine dining options, the format here is meaningfully different — tasting menus built around Italian technique applied to Alicante's seasonal produce, rather than the Valencian or Basque traditions you'll find elsewhere.
Casa Bernardi earned its Michelin star in 2024, which makes this a recent arrival in the guide — and one worth tracking before it becomes harder to book. That recognition is not a coincidence. The kitchen, led by Ferdinando Bernardi from Rimini, operates around two tasting menus , Terreta and Casa Bernardi , structured to show different faces of the same philosophy: Italian rigour applied to local Mediterranean ingredients. The Terreta menu leans into the regional terroir of Alicante, while the Casa Bernardi menu functions as a broader statement of the kitchen's technical range. For a first visit, the choice between them is a genuine one worth considering before you arrive.
The credential that matters most here is pasta. Michelin's own write-up flags pasta cooked al dente as a point of distinction , and in a coastal Spanish context, where Italian technique is rarely the focus, that discipline carries weight. The kitchen's approach to pasta is not decorative; it's structural. The Spaghetti Carbonara built on a base of mantis shrimp is a clear example of how the cooking works: a classical Italian preparation recontextualised through a hyper-local Alicante ingredient, where the briny depth of the crustacean does real work in the dish rather than serving as garnish. The cuttlefish lasagna operates on the same logic , pasta form and method from the Italian tradition, with Mediterranean seafood driving the flavour. This is the kitchen's clearest point of difference from the progressive Spanish fine dining scene: the grammar is Italian, the vocabulary is local.
Working closely with local suppliers, the kitchen commits to seasonal Alicante produce throughout both menus. That seasonal dependency is worth factoring into your visit timing. The menus will read differently in late spring than in autumn, and if you're travelling specifically for this meal, it's worth checking what's current before you book.
Casa Bernardi sits in an refined residential area in Partida Pedramala on the outskirts of Benissa, with a terrace that looks out over the sea. For a date or celebration dinner, the combination of the terrace, the tasting menu format, and the Michelin recognition makes this a direct first-choice in the Marina Alta. The formality is calibrated for special occasions without being stiff. The €€€ pricing puts it below the €€€€ tier of Spain's most recognised fine dining rooms , [Quique Dacosta in Dénia](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/quique-dacosta-dnia-restaurant) or [Ricard Camarena in València](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/ricard-camarena-valncia-restaurant), for instance , which makes Casa Bernardi a more accessible entry point into Michelin-level cooking on this stretch of coast.
If you're visiting the Marina Alta for more than one night and want to build a trip around the food, the wider area has more to explore. [Our full Benissa restaurants guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/benissa) covers the local picture in detail, and [Casa Cantó](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/casa-cant-benissa-restaurant) offers a regional Valencian counterpoint if you want a second dinner that shows the other side of local cooking. For accommodation and wine context, [our Benissa hotels guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/hotels/benissa) and [Benissa wineries guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/wineries/benissa) are worth consulting before you plan the full itinerary. There's also a [Benissa bars guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/bars/benissa) and [Benissa experiences guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/experiences/benissa) if you're planning a longer stay in the area.
Dinner only, Tuesday through Sunday. There is no lunch service listed, so if you're planning a midday meal, this is not the right venue. The tasting menu format means you're committing to the kitchen's structure for the evening , plan for two to three hours minimum and don't book onward plans immediately after. Given the 2024 Michelin star, booking well ahead is the correct approach; tables will not hold at short notice, particularly on weekends in summer when the Costa Blanca is at peak season. For Italian Contemporary fine dining with a comparable tasting menu format elsewhere in Europe, [Agli Amici Rovinj](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/agli-amici-rovinj-rovinj-restaurant) in Croatia and [L'Olivo in Anacapri](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/lolivo-anacapri-restaurant) offer useful reference points for what this category delivers at its upper end.
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Casa Bernardi | A nice place in the Marina Alta? Make a note of this restaurant, as it is certainly an establishment where you are made to feel special; in fact, it is run by a very talented chef from Rimini (Ferdinando Bernardi) and defines itself as ‘that place where italianità (true Italian hospitality) meets the environment’. The establishment, in an elevated residential area and next to the road, is committed to a modern-day Italian cuisine that meticulously prepares pasta ‘al dente’ and tasty Mediterranean dishes (we really liked their cuttlefish Lasagna and their Spaghetti Carbonara on a base of mantis shrimp) that always celebrate seasonal Alicante produce, as they work closely with local suppliers. Here the proposal revolves around two tasting menus: Terreta and Casa Bernardi, with a delightful terrace overlooking the sea!; A nice place in the Marina Alta? Make a note of this restaurant, as it is certainly an establishment where you are made to feel special; in fact, it is run by a very talented chef from Rimini (Ferdinando Bernardi) and defines itself as ‘that place where italianità (true Italian hospitality) meets the environment’. The establishment, in an elevated residential area and next to the road, is committed to a modern-day Italian cuisine that meticulously prepares pasta ‘al dente’ and tasty Mediterranean dishes (we really liked their cuttlefish Lasagna and their Spaghetti Carbonara on a base of mantis shrimp) that always celebrate seasonal Alicante produce, as they work closely with local suppliers. Here the proposal revolves around two tasting menus: Terreta and Casa Bernardi, with a delightful terrace overlooking the sea!; Michelin 1 Star (2024) | €€€ | — |
| Aponiente | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
| Arzak | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
| Azurmendi | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
| Cocina Hermanos Torres | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
| DiverXO | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
How Casa Bernardi stacks up against the competition.
Yes — this is one of the clearest cases for a special-occasion booking on the Costa Blanca. A 2024 Michelin star, a sea-view terrace, and a format built around two named tasting menus (Terreta and Casa Bernardi) give the evening a defined arc. For a celebration dinner in the Marina Alta, very few restaurants at the €€€ tier offer this combination of credential and setting.
The venue data doesn't confirm a private dining room or explicit group capacity, so large parties should check the venue's official channels before booking. The elevated residential setting and terrace format suggest an intimate scale more suited to tables of two to four than to large groups.
Book at least two to three weeks out, and further in advance during peak summer months on the Costa Blanca. Casa Bernardi is closed Mondays and operates dinner-only (7 PM–10:30 PM), which limits available slots. A Michelin star in a seasonal coastal area means demand consistently outruns availability from June through September.
Dinner only — Casa Bernardi does not offer lunch service. Hours run 7 PM to 10:30 PM Tuesday through Sunday. The sea-view terrace makes an evening sitting the obvious choice anyway, so this isn't a constraint in practice.
The format is tasting menus only — choose between the Terreta and Casa Bernardi menus. The kitchen is run by chef Ferdinando Bernardi from Rimini, and the cooking pairs Italian technique (including pasta cooked al dente, flagged specifically by Michelin) with seasonal Alicante produce sourced from local suppliers. The address is Partida Pedramala, 60C, Benissa — an elevated residential area, so plan for a car or taxi rather than walking from the town centre.
At the €€€ tier with a 2024 Michelin star, yes — provided tasting menus are a format you want. Michelin's own notes single out the pasta and dishes like cuttlefish lasagna and spaghetti carbonara with mantis shrimp as highlights, and the kitchen's commitment to local Alicante produce gives the menus a regional specificity that generic Italian restaurants on the coast don't offer. If you prefer à la carte flexibility, this kitchen isn't set up for it.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
