Arroz a banda is the dish that separates serious rice cooking on the Valencian coast from tourist paella. The name means "rice on the side" — the rice is cooked separately in the rich stock made from the heads, bones, and offcuts of the day's catch, then served alongside the fish rather than mixed with it. The result is rice that has absorbed layer upon layer of seafood flavour, finished with a crust at the bottom of the pan that the best cooks spend years learning to calibrate. Alioli is served separately and stirred in at the table. It is a dish that rewards attention and patience, and it is one that Torrevieja's restaurants, drawing on fresh catches from the local port, do consistently well.
The best versions are found in the mid-range restaurants along the paseo marítimo and the streets immediately behind it — places that have been cooking rice dishes for decades rather than producing factory paella for coach parties. Look for restaurants that make arroz a banda for a minimum of two people and require twenty to twenty-five minutes' wait: both are signs that the rice is actually being cooked to order rather than reheated. The fish component changes with the season and the catch — rascasse, monkfish, cuttlefish, and langoustines all appear — and a good restaurant will tell you what is fresh that day. Order a cold local white wine or a dry rosado and eat at lunch rather than dinner, when the rice is always at its best.