Large open market that moved to this area from Torrevieja city center a couple of years ago. A lot…read moremore space is available now, good for buyers and sellers alike. The market is open every Friday from 8am till 2pm, except public holidays when the day changes to Thursday. Food. You can buy fruits, vegs, meat, often cheaper than on supermarkets. Non-food. Clothing, paintings, bags and so on. Parking can be easily found on surrounding streets (free). I don't like shopping and almost never visit but thousands of locals and visitors do love it, as a lot of stuff can be found in one place, often cheaper than everywhere else. If you don't have better things to do on a Friday morning, why not?

This short review is about "Roscón de Reyes" (Three Kings Pie) offered by LIDL this year…read more This post is very unlikely to be useful to anyone for two reasons: 1) I'm one of the few yelpers still reviewing anything in Spain. Almost all others stopped several weeks ago when Yelp announced their plans to leave Europe (and all other countries except US and Canada). So, this is mostly just a note to myself for 2018. 2) Reason number two is that rascóns are sold only once a year before the Reyes Magos holiday. Nobody knows what LIDL and their competitors will sell next year. Anyway, this year LIDL brought an awesome product to the market (I tried others too). It tastes better than others. It looks better (important if you post stuff online). It is also 30% cheaper :))) For those who never bought a rascón - be careful, they put a figurine of one of the kings inside every pie. Don't break your teeth! Whoever finds a figurine inside their piece is supposed to get very lucky in the new year. I will buy rascón here in 2018!

3 & 1/2...Unsurprisingly considering the hordes of mostly British tourists that swarm into the…read morebeachside city of Torrevieja during the scorching Spanish summer, this longtime stalwart really laid it on thick with both the verging on Epcot level, verging on cheesy "traditional" decor right down to the hanging hams, as well as the waiters schtick-heavy presentation that we fell for resulting in him "putting together" a way too massive order for us, and the corresponding sky high check to match. Luckily the meal overall was good enough to push it over the line to make my first real meal in Spain rank as a sweet experience as opposed to an exasperating rip off, though it certainly straddled the line. The definitive highlight of the meal for me, and the taste that sticks with me most vividly were the sea urchin, served au natural in their own spiky shells cracked in half they tasted as rich and unctuous as imaginable an deeply and wholly of the sea, with a texture as smooth and creamy as foie gras or fresh durian. I've had uni countless times both atop sushi and numerous in other creative preparations, but I had never experienced it presented so simply allowing the deep richness to permeate so profoundly. The simple presentation of these creatures in their gnarly and scary shells only reinforced my longtime fixation on imagining who was the first person crazy enough to think to try eating them, and how self satisfied they must have felt after discovering that their insanely reckless behavior yielded such insanely delicious results. Also very memorable was a massive plate of various prime cuts of tuna, which is rightfully just as venerated in Spanish cuisine as the cured hams, presented in a manner as you would serve prime cuts of beef in a steakhouse, with the different cuts offering just a much richness and depth of flavor that would would encounter with top-tier dry-aged beef. Other highlights included huge platters of those Serrano hams that are hanging above you, salty, smooth with gloriously marbled fat, clams in a flavorful garlic sauce and well cooked shrimps in their shells in slightly lighter sauce, as well as perfectly fried octopus and an extremely rich and decadent oxtail cannelloni in a béchamel sauce, which I would surprisingly come to find to be a staple of menus across the country, apparently just a much a Spanish dish as an Italian one. There were a few duds on the menu, like an astonishingly bland and mealy foie gras dish, and we certainly could have done with out the at the table stone cooked beef set we were heavily pushed by the waiter which was also strangely bland and of which we barely made a dent in as it arrive late in the meal. Overall if you find yourself in this tourist town and looking for a nice meal I would give this place a shot, just maybe exercise some restraint and don't be taken in by the skills of the longtime old school staff who have become very talented in their presentation and limit yourselves to a few dishes to start. Like the old adage goes, you can always order more, but you can't order less.

This restaurant ranks on the top 3 of my best meals. We were seated after a few minutes. It…read moreimpressive that the food is displayed at the door, clearly they are proud of the kitchen product. The wait staff hustle and I can see that may be misunderstood as being gruff. In reality they are proving top Notch service. Like fine dining but at a higher pace. The quality and execution is awesome. We did not wait long and enjoyed our food at a great pace. Delicious. The wait staff was very helpful, offered us 4 languages and guided us with precision to aGreat meal! You can't miss this place.

The widest choice of food in the area, there are hundreds of varieties of anything you may need. It…read moreis probably too big for daily visits, but I recommend it if you want to find something special. There's an organic food section.

A big store, with easy free parking, reasonable quality, massive range of food and clothes, garden…read morestuff, electrical stuff, games etc.

Beachfront location, friendly staff. This corner of the La Mata beach is the best - not too…read morecrowded, sandy shore without sharp rocks. Your plan here should be: swim, sunbathe, have a beer at The Sands, repeat. The La Mata main square is just around the corner. Outdoor seating with views to the La Mata tower. Visited around 2pm. I will go here again in the evening, they have karaoke :)

Seafront restaurants are usually more expensive (by at least 50%) but no regrets. Small plate of…read morebreaded anchovies: €9. Mara Mar is close to La Mata town center and the square with attractions for kids and adults. All tables were reserved, you need to ask them if they are in fact available. Or maybe reserve one in advance. Good service, cards accepted. Dogs allowed in the outdoor seating area.