Carnaval in Jávea
It had been for a while that I wanted to go to Playa del Arenal in Javea for lunch, and we finally managed a couple of weeks ago. It was mid September, gorgeous weather, and the beach looked phenomenal. It was nicely busy, nothing to do with the amounts of people in high season, in August.
We walked up and down the promenade, which is full of various shops, ice cream parlours, and of course, all kind of restaurants. We hadn’t decided up front what to have for lunch, so we stopped here and there to have a look at the different menus, till we found what we didn’t know we were looking for.
Carnaval is more or less in the center of the promenade. It’s a fairly big restaurant, with a somehow minimalistic decoration, chairs and tables of neutral colours, only a red sofa here and there to break the monotony. The wall behind the bar is dark, which gives a certain touch of elegance. The different touch came from the moorish-like golden lamps clinging here and there from the ceiling. Overall a very nice combination.
What really caught our attention was the menu. Carnaval gathers the best of Mexican, Thai, Japanese and Mediterranean cuisines in a single place. We thought it was a great idea, it’s the best way to make sure that there will be always something someone likes. But it leaves you wonder if the quality of the food would be at pair with the variety. We decided we had to try.
The selection of cocktails and drinks with and without alcohol was huge. I decided I needed a margarita, and J went for a “detox” juice, as he was in charge of driving.
The juice had spinach, cucumber, apple, celery and ginger in it, with a twist of lemon, for the taste and to keep the juice from oxidating. The drinks are prepared on the spot behind the bar, so we could see that all the ingredients were fresh. Truth be told, the beverage was very good. Besides, they serve it in a very cute jam-like-jar, and the size of it is more than decent. Spotless presentation.
What can I say about my margarita? It was just perfect, not too strong or too weak, not too sweet or too sour. If you like margaritas, you want to drop by Carnaval.
Drinks in hand, we started having a close look at the menu. They have a limited choice of dishes per type of cuisine, yet you always will find the usual suspects: nachos and fajitas from Mexico, sashimi and maki from Japan, curries, noodles and rices from Thailand. Besides the typical Spanish tapas, sandwiches and salads. They also have a kid’s menu. Overall, a wide variety of choice.
We went for crunchy, cucumber and tuna maki as a starter, and a Thai chicken with noodles (you could choose rice instead) as main, both to share. We also wanted to order some nachos, but the waitress recommended to wait and see if we were hungry afterwards. It was a wise advice, I may add.
The presentation was impecable. The maki were neat and tidy in a black dish, very Japanese style, accompanied by seaweed salad, fresh ginger and wasabi. The soy sauce they use is a bit thicker than what I am used to, with the consistency of hoisin sauce.
I am not the maki expert, but I know something about maki, and these were delicious. The only critique, if any, is I wanted a bit more wasabi. Besides, as the soy sauce was not liquid, it is a bit more difficult to mix the wasabi. But that’s it.
Once we finished the maki, chicken and noodles came our way. They put the peanuts aside (very intelligent decision, so they skip problems with allergies). The dish is simple, just chicken, sweet beans, and a lightly spicy coconut sauce. It looked -and was- delicious as well.
After the drinks and the food, we really could not order anything else - goodbye nachos. The moment of truth came: we ordered the bill. Nothing to be worried about, the restaurante is more than reasonably priced, specially taking into account the quality you get.
I would like to mention the waitresses. Clearly they are cherry picked, all of them are gorgeous, and very nice. They use casual clothes: jeans, black t-shirt and sneakers. The service is very good and they always have a smile on. Without a doubt they are the icing of the cake of an all round pleasant experience.
Summarizing: Carnaval is a must. With its very high price quality ratio, laid back ambiance, and an interesting and varied menu, there is always something for everybody.
We will definitely come back. Soon.
Carnaval, Av. Amanecer de España 5, 03730 Jávea, Alicante, Spain
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