This snazzy contemporary tapas restaurant is Alicante’s other destination for visiting gourmet chefs. Essentially a gastrobar of what its owners call “auteur cuisine,” it is run by María José San Román of Monastrell (above) and her daughter Geni Perramón. Far more than a bar, La Taberna del Gourmet is a deli, a dining room, and a virtual museum of contemporary tapas. The full menu offers more than 100 dishes that range from a few bites of goat cheese with herbs and honey to a bowl of black rice with cuttlefish, prawns, artichokes, and red peppers. Special tasting menus of 9 or 11 tapas are available if at least two people at the table elect the option.