Restaurante La Cuina de Nico — Restaurant in Alicante

Awful experience. This place is called La Cuina de Nico, it should be called La Cuca de Nico

Owner is very pedantic and they have pests. A friend of mine and I happen to walk past the restaurant past lunch time. It seemed authentic and so we inquired about setting up a reservation for the two of us and another two friends, do dinner later that day. We requested timing to be the latest as possible since we had prearranged activities booked. The response from the owner/manager was “maybe this is not the restaurant for you. if you want a tourist thing like that get out of here”.

My friend feeling somewhat discriminated and challenged in a manner of say, agreed and said to give her the slightly earlier time.

Time for dinner arrived, we approached the restaurant, were sat and although the initial interaction was very negative, we decided to simply enjoy the food and give the benefit of the doubt. Food was alright, but in no way as good as many other places in this magnificent city. Halfway through the dinner we asked for more bread, and when it arrived one of my friends immediately said “something moved in the bread”, I turned around the basket of bread and a cockroach graced our table.

We immediately called the waiter, who upon realising took the basket and dumped it empty on the bar counter. We tried not to make too much of a fuss and tried not to react too much. The waiter apologised. We dined in discomfort and didn’t really eat the rest of the food as our hunger was completely gone after that.

We ended dinner and asked for the bill. The manager/owner brought our bill, and to our surprise, although he had been incredibly disrespectful and the experience was an unforgettable nonetheless, he did not apologise or even mention nor acknowledge the scenario that took place in front of his eyes. He handed us the full bill.

We paid the full bill and left. Never go there no matter if you’re a local or a tourist travelling. We speak Spanish natively, but live abroad and still we felt...

We had high hopes for La Cuina de Nico, but it turned out to be one of the worst dining experiences I’ve had. The issues started even before we sat down. After stopping by to ask about a late dinner reservation for four, the owner responded dismissively, telling us, “Maybe this isn’t the place for you,” and implying we should go elsewhere if we wanted something more tourist-friendly.

Trying to stay optimistic, we returned later for our reservation. Despite the earlier rudeness, we hoped the food might redeem the visit. It didn’t. The meal was underwhelming, and halfway through, things got worse: one of my friends noticed movement in the bread basket—turns out, there was a cockroach crawling among the slices.

We flagged it immediately. The waiter quickly removed the basket and apologized, but the damage was done. Appetite gone, we barely touched the rest of our food. When the bill arrived, the same owner who had dismissed us earlier brought it over. Not a single word about what had happened. No apology, no gesture of goodwill—just the full charge.

Whether you’re a local or just visiting, I’d strongly advise skipping this place. It was unwelcoming, unhygienic, and handled poorly from...

The duck and peach paella was super yummy as well as the seafood and sausage one. The pricing was great for such a big meal and they have great 2-course deals (appetiser+main) too for ~16 euros. It had a great atmosphere and nice modern interior. Their garlic foam and bread was amazing.

However, we did not feel welcomed at all (we clearly looked like hungry tourists). We were a group of 7 and the host shoved us into 2 tables with 7 seats arranged around it. We asked for a third table to be joined but just got ignored. Metal foldable chairs were taken out to fit 7 of us in 2 tables. The waiter also gave a cold look when taking our orders. As much as we enjoyed the food, we left quickly because we felt unwanted in the restaurant which is quite...