La Perla de Jávea

La Perla is the family-run rice house on Arenal beach in Xàbia, and it's where you go for a proper paella with the sea in front of you. It's been going since 1984, started by Dolores Candela and Antonia Box, and Sonia Box now runs the kitchen. Rice is the reason to come: dry and creamy rices, paellas and fideuà, made with blue lobster and cuttlefish from the local fish market. Most rices are for two or more. Beyond that there's grilled octopus, baby squid, oysters, fish of the day like turbot in pil-pil, and a wine list of well over a hundred bottles. It's in the Michelin Guide and picked up a Repsol Sun in 2016. It looks out across the promenade towards Cap de Sant Antoni and the Montgó, so sunset dinners are the move. It's closed on Mondays, bookings are by phone, and it takes an autumn break, so check before you go in late October or November.