Paseo de Colón · Benidorm Old Town
Restaurante El Puerto Benidorm
Marisquería El Puerto is a long-running seafront restaurant on Paseo de Colón at the edge of Benidorm's Old Town, specialising in fresh fish and seafood, traditional Alicante rice dishes and Mediterranean cooking. Big street-side terrace, open from breakfast time through to the small hours.
Address
Pg. de Colón, 1, 03501 Benidorm, Alicante
Telephone
+34 965 85 37 96Specialities
Fish & seafood · Rice dishes · Mediterranean
Open
Daily · lunch & dinner service until late
About Marisquería El Puerto
El Puerto is a classic Benidorm marisquería — a seafood house in the truest Spanish sense. The counter runs on daily-market fish and shellfish from the Alicante coast: gambas rojas, cigalas, clams, mussels, lubina, dorada, rodaballo, pulpo and octopus. Cooking is deliberately simple — a la plancha, al ajillo, al horno — so the produce does the talking.
Alongside the seafood the kitchen turns out the full spread of Alicante rice dishes: paella valenciana, arroz a banda (rice cooked in fish stock), arroz negro with squid ink, arroz meloso (soupier, spoonable rice) and fideuà, the local short-noodle cousin of paella. Rices are prepared to order and take 25–35 minutes — order at the start of your sitting.
What to order
- Arroz a banda — the Alicante classic; rice cooked in intense fish fumet, served with aïoli.
- Arroz negro — squid-ink rice, glossy black, topped with tender calamari.
- Paella de marisco — full seafood paella with prawns, mussels and clams.
- Gambas a la plancha — grilled prawns with flakes of sea salt.
- Pulpo a la brasa — chargrilled octopus with olive oil and pimentón.
- Lubina or dorada a la sal — whole sea bass or bream baked in a salt crust.
- Mejillones al vapor — steamed mussels with lemon and parsley.
- Fideuà — the short-noodle Alicantina cousin of paella.
Opening hours
| Monday | 10:00 – 23:00 |
| Tuesday | 09:00 – 23:30 |
| Wednesday | 09:00 – 00:00 · 18:00 – 00:58 |
| Thursday | 09:00 – 18:00 · 18:00 – 00:58 |
| Friday | 09:00 – 01:00 · 18:00 – 00:58 |
| Saturday | 09:00 – 01:00 · 18:00 – 00:58 |
| Sunday | 09:00 – 01:00 · 18:00 – 00:58 |
Kitchen typically serves lunch 13:00–16:00 and dinner from 18:00. Hours can vary on public holidays — call ahead to confirm.
Location & how to get there
El Puerto sits at the western end of Paseo de Colón, at the foot of the stairs up into the Old Town and a two-minute walk from the Balcón del Mediterráneo. It's a straight seafront walk from Playa de Poniente or a 10–15 minute stroll from Levante Beach along the Old Town promenade.
Visitor tips
- Book ahead for weekend evenings and all of July–August.
- Order paellas and arroces at the start of the meal — they take 25–35 minutes.
- Ask for the daily fish board ("pescado del día") — it's usually the freshest option.
- Pair seafood with a chilled bottle of local Alicante white or a jug of house sangría de cava.
- The terrace is the seat to want — perfect for people-watching at the Old Town entrance.