A relaxed atmosphere, great food and friendly service on our doorstep in Benissa- Chaplin.

The team at Jacaranda spain are used to a slower pace of life here in the Marina Alta at the moment. Like everyone else in the Valle del Pop (Jalon Valley), while we are active and open for business, we are taking advantage of the relaxed vibes that the summer brings, and enjoying spending time with our loved ones and our summer visitors. Our visitors from the UK at the moment, are our very dear friends and their four year old daughter. All holidaymakers enjoy relaxing in the sun, refreshing dips in the pool and good food and company in the evening. For us hosts, it can be hard work, coming up with ideas for where to dine. Most of our summer guests appreciate good food at a reasonable price, but it is just as important to get the location right.

Here in the Valle del Pop, we are lucky enough to be within a short drive of many excellent restaurants and, as the area is home to a large expat population and a very popular holiday spot, there is a vast variety of gastronomy to choose from. 

One of our favourite choices, for as long as we have been here, is located in the town of Benissa. Chaplin is a small family run restaurant with a great reputation for serving consistently good food and always with a smile!

The location is perfect. The restaurant is located in a quiet back street, just around the corner from the beautiful central plaza, Plaza Rey Jaime, with the stunning Basilica of the Puríssima Xiqueta and San Pedro Apóstol

As always, we reserved a table outside for our group of five. The temperature was perfect to dine alfresco but the atmosphere is just as good inside and, when the heat is too much the air conditioning is a godsend!

It is important to stress that, although the name above the door says “Pizzeria Chaplin”, this charming eatery serves so much more than pizza. In fact, our favourite things on the menu are the salads and the tapas.

The waiter, also the son of the owner, speaks perfect English, great for our guests who don´t speak Spanish, as there is always a long list of specialities of the day that are not on the menu. We were ravenous and proceeded to order too much food, against the advice of our lovely waiter, who told us when he thought we had ordered enough. Turned out we should have listened to him. That said there wasn´t a lot on the plates that went back!

Our youngest members pizza arrived quickly which, as anyone with small children knows, is great! A delicious goats cheese salad to share was followed by; chipirones- baby squid or cuttlefish fried in a light batter, croquetas con jamon, albondigas- meatballs, gambas al ajillo- prawns in garlic, higados- liver fried with garlic, lasagna and garlic mushrooms. Of course we had to have some bread and alioli to dunk in the various sauces. 

Needless to say, we were stuffed but had no regrets! Our guests were amazed when the bill arrived. The food was faultless, excellent rustic fare that is consistently good every time we go. The staff are mostly family members and they are always pleasant, friendly and very helpful. 

We were ready to go home and sleep it off, but we had made a promise to littlest guest. A walk around the corner took us to Jijoneca for ice cream. Chocolate, strawberry, peanut caramel and Red Velvet were our choices and it was a lovely end to the evening, sitting in the plaza, on a cool summer evening, planning our guests return visit and their next meal at Chaplin.

We recommend booking your table in advance, especially in the summer months!

We love this restaurant and we feel very lucky that we can call it our “go to” place to eat, any time of year, whether it is just us when we don´t want to cook or with a large group of friends. Whoever we take, always becomes a regular.