El Turco: Puzol Beach

Don’t expect kebabs at this strangely named restaurant. Its name apparently refers to a faithful hunting dog that used to live in the area in the 30s.

El Turco is the first restaurant you come to when you reach the beach by car, or even by the cycle lane that brings you all the way from the town.

There are several up and down the beach, which at its northern extreme takes you to the Marjal de Moros wetland, where you can watch people watching birds if that is your thing.

What I most like about El Turco is that among its selection of wet and dry paellas you will find the blue crab wet ‘meloso’ paella. As the blue crab is an invasive species, I believe we should all eat as many as we can and help save the planet while gorging ourselves.

The large terrace is right by the beach with excellent views of a deep blue sea and handy for social distancing if you happen to be in the middle of a pandemic.

The house salad is very varied and full of surprises (and walnuts) and the paellas are frequently unusual combinations, which led us to try the octopus and artichoke option, a good choice.

And the blue crab? Smug and aggressive, but we put it in its place.

El Turco: Plaça Rosa dels Vents, 2,