Asador Ilicitano in Elche: what it's actually like, and who it's for
A grill house in Elche with a 4.5 from 607 reviews. What it does well, who it's not for, and why locals say it's worth the drive.
Nobody drives from Alicante to Elche for a salad. If you're making that trip for food, it should be for something Elche does better than the coast, and grilled meat is near the top of that list. Asador Ilicitano is the case in point: a grill house that's been at this for decades, with the sort of local following that doesn't happen by accident.
What you're walking into
An asador is a grill house, and this one plays it straight: lamb, beef and pork off the grill, brought to the table still sizzling. The cooking is traditional Spanish grilling rather than anything inventive, and that's the appeal. Locals treat it as an institution, the kind of place they'll tell you is worth the 20 minute drive from Alicante.
You'll find it at Carrer Mestre Giner 9, in Elche. That's a real drive, not a stroll, and it matters for how you plan the meal - more on that below.
Read the review count, not just the stars
Asador Ilicitano holds a 4.5 on Google across 607 reviews. Compare that with Casa Del Mar in Torrevieja, an intimate, seaside-inspired little spot showing a perfect 5.0 - from three reviews. A perfect score from three people tells you almost nothing.
A 4.5 from six hundred people tells you the kitchen has been doing the same thing well, week after week, for a long time, and that a few people caught an off night. For somewhere you're driving twenty minutes to reach, trust the second kind of number every time.
The alternatives are a different night out
Here's the honest bit: the closest comparisons in our directory aren't really comparisons. Bibliotekcafé in Torrevieja is a café built around a library - shelves of donated books in several languages, no television, one of the calmest rooms in town. Lovely, and the polar opposite of a plate of sizzling lamb.
Casa Del Mar is the quiet, intimate dinner. Asador Ilicitano is the feast. Decide which night you're having before you decide where to go, because none of these three does the other's job.
Elche itself has range too. We've already asked whether Restaurante La Finca is worth the drive from Alicante - a very different style of restaurant at the end of the same motorway. The asador is the lower-ceremony, higher-fire version of that trip.
Who should skip it
If you don't eat meat, don't try to make this work. A traditional asador is built around the grill, and ordering around it is like going to the beach for the parking. And factor in the drive: 20 minutes from Alicante means someone isn't drinking, or you're pricing in a taxi each way.
Go at Spanish hours, and go hungry. Lunch in Spain means 2pm, not noon, and asador portions are not a light lunch. Turn up at noon sharp and you'll have the room to yourself, which is rarely a good sign in Spain.
The verdict
This is what a proper local grill house looks like: decades in, still busy enough to pull 607 reviews, still landing at 4.5. If La Sal Bistro in El Campello is your idea of a proper dinner out on the coast, this is the inland answer, with more smoke and less sea.
Pick a weekend lunch, drive over hungry, and let the grill decide the order.