Avenida de las Naciones is the main strip and the easiest place to start. La Marquesa Golf has the quiet terraces with valley views. Spanish dining starts around 8pm, earlier than that and you will have the room to yourself. Book for Friday and Saturday in high season.
Quesada is a residential town rather than a resort, which turns out to be the reason the food is good. The restaurants here survive on people who live in the area and come back every month, not on one time visitors who will never return. That changes what gets served.
It also means the scene is more mixed than you would expect from somewhere this size. The international community here is genuinely international, and the menus follow.
Avenida de las Naciones is the main strip and the simplest place to start. Restaurants down both sides, cocktail bars, terraces that stay open late. You can walk it, read the menus, and decide as you go, which is why we send people here when a group cannot agree.
La Marquesa Golf is the quiet alternative. Terraces along the course looking out over the valley. Better for a long lunch or a dinner where you actually want to hear each other.
Rojales and Guardamar, both a short drive, are where to go for the more traditional Spanish end: grilled meat, fresh fish, a proper menu del dia at lunch, and tapas that have not been adapted for anybody.
Goyo's. Traditional Spanish tapas and meat dishes, cooked without fuss. The homely one, and the one locals name first.
Rame Food and Cocktails. Modern Mediterranean with cocktails that have had actual thought put into them. The closest thing Quesada has to a city restaurant.
Punjabi Palace. Indian, with tandoori and curries. Reliable, and a useful change of direction halfway through a week of Spanish food.
Pinxo. Spanish tapas done with a bit more refinement on the plate. Good for a slightly smarter evening without going formal.
Frank's Restaurant. International menu, family friendly, the sort of place where a table of eight with four different opinions all end up happy.
La Cantina. At La Marquesa, with the valley view. Busy with golfers at lunch, calmer in the evening.
Book Friday and Saturday in high season. The good places fill, and turning up hopeful at nine on a July Saturday is optimistic.
Spanish dinner starts around eight. Arrive at seven and you will have the room to yourself, which some people like and some find slightly eerie. Nine is normal.
Terraces go first in summer. If you want to sit outside, book and say so. Indoor seating is usually easier to come by.
Parking is fine around Avenida de las Naciones, which is not something you can say about most of the coastal towns.
What we like about eating in Quesada is that quality matters more than show here. Nobody is trying to impress a crowd that will never come back. The rooms are calm, the welcome is relaxed, and locals, golfers and families end up at neighbouring tables without any of it feeling staged.
If you are staying in one of our properties nearby and want a recommendation for a particular night, or a table for a group, message us on +34 658 235 481. We eat at most of these ourselves.
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