Mediterranean Cuisine at Mercure Benidorm's Malaspina Restaurant

Sample innovative Mediterranean cuisine made from quality local produce and ingredients at Malaspina, a chic, refined Mercure restaurant in lively Benidorm. 

Tucked behind the serene façade of Mercure Benidorm – an oasis of calm and sophistication in the heart of busy, bustling Benidorm – Malaspina serves an intoxicating Mediterranean cuisine bursting with sun-kissed local flavours.

Steps away from Levante Beach, this beacon of gastronomic excellence among the fast-food joints of Benidorm is an elegant restaurant decked out in soothing shades of terracotta and russet. It’s blessed with a terrace shaded by century-old ficus vines, olive trees and palms, where guests can feast all year around on exquisite seasonal dishes featuring regional produce from Alicante’s abundant natural larder. 

A local man through and through, Álvaro Abad’s roots are firmly on the Costa Blanca; he took the first steps towards his cooking career at CdT Alicante and earned his culinary stripes in several of the city’s top restaurants, including Roca and El Plantío Golf Resort. He perfected his skills at Pedro Subijana’s sublime Michelin-starred Akelarre in San Sebastián, and with 20 years of experience in all aspects of catering behind him, Abad joined Mercure Benidorm as Executive Chef in 2024.

This multi-award-winning chef – he was a semi-finalist in the Chef of the Year 2018 competition, confirming his reputation as an outstanding figure in Spanish gastronomy – now runs the kitchens at Malaspina, working with his talented kitchen brigade to create a fusion of traditional Mediterranean cuisine and contemporary flair.

Abad’s inspired cuisine reflects his profound love of and respect for local produce. As he explains, “A perfect dish combines tradition and innovation, highlighting local ingredients with modern techniques.” His hope is to surprise guests with innovative new dishes showcasing superb Mediterranean cuisine using fresh, zero-kilometre ingredients.

Step inside Malaspina and you enter a world of relaxed finesse, far from the boisterous vibe of downtown Benidorm. In our restaurant you’ll get to experience the “slow life” as you enjoy regional Mediterranean cooking packed with fresh produce, lean meats and fish, organic rice and olive oil. Not only does our food taste delicious, but it’s a cuisine rich in life-giving properties that aid heart health and holistic well-being.

At Malaspina, Chef Abad crafts regional ingredients into delicious traditional paellas, while signature cuts of local meat or seafood pulled from the Mediterranean are grilled over simmering flames in the open kitchen. 

As well as serving up regional favourites, Abad looks to dazzle the palate with new interpretations of classic Mediterranean dishes. His creative specialties include succulent red prawns – a Costa Blanca speciality – served on toast with marrow gel and seafood broth, or market-fresh fish of the day with buttery Mantecado sauce, white sausage from Alcoyano near Valencia and a garlicky alioli sponge. 

Many of our tempting desserts have ancient roots, so guests with a sweet tooth can tuck into treats like Arnadí cake – believed to be of Moorish origins – with white chocolate soup, passionfruit gel and cardamom ice cream, or crème brûlée made with soft turrón (another sweet Arabic confection) and served with raspberry ice cream.

Chef Abad is conscious of environmental concerns too, using only seasonal produce and working with his team to reduce food waste and water consumption. Many of the fruits and vegetables used in his kitchen are grown in the hotel’s own gardens. 

Chef is proud to offer his selection of stellar local ingredients and produce on the exciting menu at Malaspina. Recent arrivals into his kitchen include heirloom tomatoes from coastal Altea, avocados and loquats from Callosa d’en Sarrià in the Alicante foothills, and almond-and-honey-filled turrón nougat from nearby Jijona. That all-important staple of Costa Blanca cooking, Designation of Origin (DO) paella rice, is cultivated – as it has been for centuries – in Albufera Natural Park, a vast freshwater lagoon in the Gulf of Valencia.

Blue crab also comes from Albufera, with juicy red prawns sourced in Dénia Bay and fresh fish delivered daily from the markets at Altea, Calpe or Santa Pola. Artisan cheeses and cured meats come from farmers in the Alcoy and Benissa regions, and dried ñora peppers from Guardamar del Segura in southern Valencia – and of course, we have our own source of seasonal vegetables and fruit grown right here at the hotel. 

Malaspina sits adjacent to a circular bar, which has the same soft, calming décor as the restaurant. Here expert bartenders whip up our signature Cremaet cocktail, a clever take on the popular Valencian drink of the same name. This refreshing concoction of iced rum, sugar, lemon peel and espresso coffee is perfect for the long days of summer – and the secret of this unique drink is to pour the rum mixture into a martini glass and then add the espresso carefully so the two liquids do not mix. Craft beers are sourced locally too, and our light, fresh Mercure-branded red is from the up-and-coming Sierra de Gredos wine region west of Madrid.

Also central to our hotel’s foodie offerings is the buffet restaurant, where local produce again steals the show. Freshly squeezed fruits from Costa Blanca orchards are used in the breakfast juices, the honey comes from local hives and the freshest of eggs are poached to perfection at the cooking stations.

Thanks to the mild winter temperatures and reliable sunshine of the Costa Blanca, you can dine on Malaspina’s leafy terrace all year round, accompanied by subtle and melodic entertainment in the evenings: perhaps a singer, a saxophonist or a Spanish guitar player. Occasional DJs spin mood music on the terrace, and instrumentalists accompany breakfast on Sunday mornings.

Outside we also have a secluded terrace, separated from the rest of the garden by greenery and hedges for total privacy, perfect for small al fresco weddings, family parties or work presentations.

On the central drag bookended by the sandy stretches of Levante and Poniente beaches, Mercure Benidorm is one of the few hotels in the resort with a restful ambiance, for which we are famous. The hotel is also pet-friendly; your dogs are welcome (for a small supplement) everywhere, but we ask they please stay by your table in the restaurant and bar.

In accordance with our hotel’s sustainable principles, you can park up the car and easily stroll to Benidorm’s beaches, the appealing old town or the gleaming-white Balcón del Mediterráneo, with its spectacular panoramas over the high-rise skyline and turquoise sea. Several beguiling Costa Blanca towns and attractions – such as Alicante, with its enchanting historic quarter crammed by baroque churches, or Les Salines nature reserve, where pink flamingos stalk saltwater pools – are around half an hour’s drive away. Most are served by public transport as well.

But you don’t even have to be resident at Mercure Benidorm to sample Chef Abad’s delicious cuisine at our Mediterranean restaurant; while the buffet is reserved purely for hotel guests, Malaspina is open to all – residents, overseas visitors and locals too – for leisurely lunches and dinner under the stars.