Asador Ilicitano: the real verdict on the Elche grill house

Getting 607 people to agree on anything is hard. Asador Ilicitano has them averaging 4.5 stars on Google, and that number is the most useful thing you can know about the place.

Scores like that usually mean one of two things: a tourist spot coasting on its location, or somewhere that does one thing properly and has done it for years. Asador Ilicitano is the second kind - an Elche institution that has spent decades on grilled meat and not much else.

What the numbers actually tell you

A 4.5 from 607 reviews beats a 5.0 from a handful, every single time. Small samples are noise - three happy customers tell you almost nothing. Six hundred opinions still averaging 4.5 tell you the place is consistent, and consistency is the whole game for an asador. You're not going for surprises. You're going because the grill does today what it did ten years ago.

What you're there for

Meat, grilled the traditional Spanish way. Lamb, beef and pork, charred and brought to the table still sizzling. You'll find it at Carrer Mestre Giner 9 in Elche, and locals reckon it's worth the 20-minute drive from Alicante. They're right, with conditions: go hungry, and go for the grill.

Now the honest bit. A place this committed to meat is not for everyone. If you're vegetarian, or you just want something light, this is the wrong room for you. And it's in Elche, so from Alicante it's a planned trip, not a stroll after the beach. None of that is a flaw. It just tells you which evenings this place is for.

How it stacks up

The directory files it under restaurants alongside places like Bibliotekcafé and Casa Del Mar, both down in Torrevieja. They're not really rivals - they're answers to completely different questions.

• Bibliotekcafé is a café built around a library on Calle Ramón Gallud, books in several languages on the walls, many donated by customers, and no television anywhere. One of the calmer places to sit in Torrevieja. Go for a quiet coffee and an hour with a book, not for a big dinner.
• Casa Del Mar keeps things intimate, with a seaside feel its listing compares to eating at a friend's coastal home. It holds a 5.0 on Google, but from just 3 reviews - remember what we said about small samples. Promising, not yet proven.
• Asador Ilicitano is the one with the track record. If the evening is about the food itself, it wins this group without much of a fight.

The verdict

If you want grilled meat done properly within easy reach of Alicante, this is the one to plan around. We've already covered what Asador Ilicitano is actually like and who it's for, and if you're weighing up an Elche food trip more broadly, there's our look at whether Restaurante La Finca is worth the drive from Alicante.

Skip lunch, make the drive, order off the grill.