Occasionally, the lucky eater happens across a restaurant which not only lives up to all expectations, but actually surpasses most of them.i fratelli is such a wonderful find, slap bang in the middle of the tourist centre of Benidorm, just a few metres from the beach and a haven of tranquility and gastronomic delight.

The Esposito brothers, Salvatore and Tomasso, set up in business some 30 years ago and were, virtually, on the front line. “Then they built a second line, then a third line, then a fourth, a fifth and a sixth, so that we are now surrounded by the

development that has become Benidorm,” says Salvatore. “On the one hand, it’s a great advantage because we are at the epicentre of tourism in this town. On the other, it’s rather surprising to find a restaurant such as we have created in the midst of this amazing touristic melee,” he adds. One thing you don’t find in i fratelli is hordes of people wanting fast food, fast served and fast eaten, all washed down with fast lager. It’s a place to be savoured, a place to relax, a place to enjoy the undeniable pleasure of superbly-cooked food, prepared by staff who take immense

pride in their work, and reap their reward from the obvious satisfaction of discerning clients.Salvatore and Tomasso also run a distinctively-styled trattoria/pizzeria in another part of Benidorm and a hotel back home in Italy. “Basically, I look after the restaurants here and my brother concerns himself mainly with the hotel side of the operation,” says Salvatore. “We do, occasionally, swap our respective roles but between the two of us we try to keep on top of the whole business.”

Lest there be any doubt about how on top of the job these immensely amiable brothers are, the plethora of awards they have accumulated over the years bears ample testimony to their capabilities. The restaurant is stylishly decorated in what might best be described as lax art deco, perhaps reflecting the casually professional atmosphere. You feel at home in i fratelli, no-one is going to hurry you, and no-one gets indigestion. The food is a blend of Italian and French dishes, with a Mediterranean bias, all delightfully presented in an artistic manner, but without the paucity which so characterised the heyday of nouvelle cuisine.

Any diner could do far worse than take Salvatore’s recommendations when it comes to choosing from the menu. He diligently guides you through a choice of dishes which complement each other and let your taste buds have a rare treat.

It could be sole with caviar in a champagne sauce, sea bass stuffed with Russian crab, halibut in a fresh celery cream sauce,chicken,veal, beef, lamb or duck – pasta, maybe, it’s a cornucopia of the best you could dream about.