As you stroll Along Avenida Maria Del Mar Rodriguez - Algorfa's sleepy main street - you'll almost certainly be drawn to the large blackboard outside Restaurante Alquibla which details the Menu del Dia. For just 9 Euro at lunchrime and 11 Euro in the evenings (12 and 15 Euro respectively on Saturdays and Sundays) you can enjoy 4 courses with bread, ali oli, tomato paste and half a bottle of wine per person.
Alquibla has been run by the same family for as long as anyone in the village can remember. Madre does the cooking, while her son and husband do the serving. In between courses Papa can be found at the table in the bar, playing cards for cash with his compadres, but as soon as the call from the kitchen comes, he's on his feet.
Last week, the husband added to his store of Brownie Points by sweeping me off to Alquibla for Sunday lunch. He reckoned I was spending too much time writing and I deserved a break. I wasn't about to disagree - especially as Alquibla is my favourite restaurant bar none.
As we waited for our first course,the waiter brought a bottle of the house white over. I have to say 
it's one of the best house wines we've ever had. In fact often we splash out an extra 6 Euro on a second bottle. Then it's time for the bread and ali oli, and the house special salad. It seems that every time we go to Alquibla there is even more salad on the plate - it's almost a meal on it's own, and so fresh I think they must keep it on ice.
Alquibla offer a choice of around 5 starters, but a soon as I saw paella on the menu that was me sorted. It was rabbit paella, and as usual it was cooked to perfection. Tony chose the meatball soup, and I would have included a pic so you could see the size of the meatball, but he was in there before I could say 'smile.' I kid you not, there must have been at least 100 grams of meat in it - it was almost the size of a tennis ball.
After demolishing that lot, I wondered if I'd have room for my grilled tuna, but it was so perfectly 
cooked, and so moist it just slipped down easily. Tony went for the rump steak, which was so tender the steak knife was surplus to requirements. I left at least half of my chips, but it would have been rude to have left even a morsel of that succulent tuna.
We still had Alquibla's famous desserts to go, and I was glad I'd chosen to wear a dress with an elasticated waist, because I could almost feel myself expanding. I'm obviously predictable in my habits, because the waiter asked if I would like tarta queso (cheesecake) before running through the available options for Tony. He chose apple cake, and we surprised ourselves by demolishing the lot.
Over the 6 years we've lived in Algorfa, we've been to Alquibla dozens of times, and we've never been disappointed. If I have one small criticism, it's that during the week, there are only two choices of main course, a meat course and a fish course. That said, there is always something I like, and the choices are written up outside, so you can decide before you go in. And of course, it helps to keep the price down. at weekends there are more main course options to choose from, and there is a children's menu available at 6 Euro a head. As well as the usual suspects like fish fingers and burgers, there's home made pizza, and smaller servings of some of the main course options. In fact, the kids meal would be more than enough for an adult with a small appetite.
Restaurante Alquibla is on Avenida Maria Del Mar Rodriguez, midway through the village on the right hand side opposite Mailpoint as you head in the direction of Benijuzar. It's closed on Mondays, but open for lunch and dinner from Tuesday to Sunday. Booking is advisable, especially at weekends and evenings in the summer.
Phone: 965 701 972